Service Packs Hotfixes and Windows Update
By Matt Western.

It is not uncommon for software companies to release updates to their software. Sometimes these updates can be fixes, sometimes they can add new features.

The most well known PC software in the world, Microsoft Windows is no exception to this.

From time to time Microsoft release updates to Windows. Sometimes these updates are to fix problems, sometimes they add additional features, sometimes they do both.

Microsoft have different terms for their software updates.

Smaller updates are known as hotfixes, larger updates are known as service packs.

Several years ago, Microsoft had no way in which you could easily access these software updates, now however they have a system known as Windows Update.

Windows Update was, initially, a manually invoked service, you had to visit the Windows Update site and ask the Windows Update web site to scan your PC to see if it required any updates.

Now however, Windows Update is fully automated.

Windows Update, if left unchanged, will go visit the Windows Update web site for you, the web site will scan your PC and if any updates are required it will automatically download and install them.

This is a pretty good service and allows you to keep your PC up to date without doing anything.

However, from time to time, service packs and hotfixes have been known to come out with bugs (pieces of software code that don't work quite right). These bugs have on occasion caused PC's to not perform as they should and in some cases have made the affected PC's susceptible to LAN and Internet based hackers.

This can be a problem.

So how can we get around this problem?

One of the things I like to do, especially when a service pack is released, is to not install the service pack immediately.

There are no prizes for being the first on your block to have the latest service pack installed.

In fact I believe it is wise to let the rest of the world install these new service packs and hotfixes before you do. Let the rest of the world discover any bugs that may be in this new software. Let them report the faults (if any) and let Microsoft and the rest of the world come up with resolutions to any problems that may arise from the installation of the new updates.

So how can you stop all the hotfixes and service packs being automatically downloaded and installed on your PC via Windows Update?

It's quite simple.

Depending on the version of Windows you are running, Windows 98, ME, XP etc, all you have to do is go into Control Panel and hunt around for the icon that allows you to access the Windows (may also be called Automatic) Update settings.

Browse around the settings and you should see that you can turn Windows Update off, change the time it downloads, tell it not to auto-install and a few other functions.

Set Windows Update up the way you want and you're done.

However, having said all that, you will want to download and install the supplied hotfixes and service packs at some point in time. I don't recommend never installing any updates. It is a good idea to keep your Windows based PC up to date by always installing the updates for your version of Windows.

So how long should you wait before you install any new hotfixes or service packs?

I suggest you wait about 1 - 2 weeks before you apply any updates. This gives the rest of the world long enough to find any faults in the updates and have those faults fixed.

But what if you're not concerned about these updates containing bugs (buggy updates are becoming less of a problem these days)?

Well you dont have to do anything, just leave Windows Update as is. It will work as it always has.

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