Computer and Software Support


HOW TO: Schedule Automatic Updates in Windows XP, Windows 2000, or Windows Server 2003

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This article was previously published under Q327838

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SUMMARY

If you are logged on as an administrator, the Automatic Updates feature in Windows notifies you when critical updates are available for your computer. There is a new Automatic Updates feature that you can use to specify the schedule that Windows follows to install updates on your computer. This article describes how to install this new Automatic Updates feature in Microsoft Windows XP and Microsoft Windows 2000 and how to use it to schedule Automatic Updates.

Note This new Automatic Updates feature is included with Microsoft Windows Server 2003.

For additional information about how to configure other Automatic Updates settings in Windows XP, click the link below:

HOW TO: Configure Automatic Updating in Windows XP  

For additional information about how to configure other Automatic Updates settings in Windows 2000, click the link below:

HOW TO: Configure and Use Automatic Updates in Windows 2000

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Update the Automatic Updates Feature (Windows 2000 and Windows XP Only)

Note If you use Automatic Updates, the feature may have been automatically updated on your computer. To make sure that the new feature is installed, use the procedure that is described in the Schedule Automatic Updates section of this article to confirm that the Automatically download the updates, and install them on the schedule that I specify option is available on your computer.

To use the new Automatic Updates feature, install any one of the following updates:
  • The "Windows Automatic Updating, June 2002" update.

    To install this update, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

    http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com

  • The "Automatic Updates June 2002" update.

    To install this update, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

    http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/ downloads/recommended / susclient/default.asp

    Note This update is a Windows Installer package that is used for corporate deployment. You must use the new Automatic Updates feature if you are a network administrator who is using Microsoft Software Update Services. To use Automatic Updates with a server that is running Software Update Services, see the white paper on the following Microsoft Web site:

    Software Update Services Deployment White Paper

  • Windows XP Service Pack 1 (SP1). For additional information about how to obtain SP1, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

    322389 How to Obtain the Latest Windows XP Service Pack

  • Windows 2000 Service Pack 3 (SP3). For additional information about how to obtain SP3, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

    260910 How to Obtain the Latest Windows 2000 Service Pack

Note You must restart your computer after you install this update. Automatic Updates does not download any updates until you have configured it to do so. If Automatic Updates is not configured in 24 hours after you install it, either the network administrator or the user who is logged on locally as an administrator is prompted to configure it.

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Schedule Automatic Updates

Note To modify Automatic Updates settings, you must be logged on as an administrator or a member of the Administrators group. If your computer is connected to a network, network policy settings may prevent you from completing this procedure.

In Windows XP or Windows Server 2003

To configure a schedule for Automatic Updates:
  1. Go to System (This link will open in a different window)
  2. On the Automatic Updates tab, click Automatically download recommended updates for my computer and install them.
   
  1. Click to select the day and time that you want to download and install updates.
When critical updates are detected, Automatic Updates automatically downloads these updates in the background while you are connected to the Internet. After the download is complete, Automatic Updates waits until the scheduled day and time to install the updates. On the scheduled day and time, all local users receive the following message that has a five minute countdown timer:
 
Windows is ready to begin installing the updates available for your computer.

Do you want Windows to install the updates now?

(Windows will restarts your computer if no action is taken within 5:00 minutes)
If you are logged on as an administrator, when you receive this message, you can either click Yes to install the updates or click No to have Automatic Updates install the updates at the next scheduled day and time. If you do not take any action in five minutes, Windows automatically installs the updates.

IMPORTANT: You may have to restart your computer to complete the update installation.

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In Windows 2000

  1. Click Start, click Control Panel, and then double-click Automatic Updates.
  2. Click Automatically download the updates, and install them on the schedule that I specify.
  3. Click to select the day and time that you want to download and install updates.
When critical updates are detected, Automatic Updates automatically downloads these updates in the background while you are connected to the Internet. After the download is complete, Automatic Updates waits until the scheduled day and time to install the updates. On the scheduled day and time, all local users receive the following message that has a five minute countdown timer:
 
Windows is ready to begin installing the updates available for your computer.

Do you want Windows to install the updates now?

(Windows will restart your computer if no action is taken within 5:00 minutes)
If you are logged on as an administrator, when you receive this message, you can either click Yes to install the updates or click No to have Automatic Updates install the updates at the next scheduled day and time. If you do not take any action in five minutes, Windows automatically installs the updates.

IMPORTANT: You may have to restart your computer to complete the update installation.

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REFERENCES

For additional information about how to use Automatic Updates, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: