24. Updating Windows
In this chapter, you find out how to manage the Windows Update process—and reset your computer if necessary.
Microsoft thinks of Windows as a dynamic thing. It’s not just a piece of software you install once and never touch again; it’s an operating system and environment that is constantly being tweaked and updated to better meet the needs of its users.
To that end, Windows receives regular updates that are delivered over the Internet. More often than not, these updates fix bugs and security issues, but sometimes they deliver new or changed features. It’s important to manage how your computer receives these updates so that you get the patches you need with minimal disruption to your daily routine.
Managing Windows Update
With Windows 10, Microsoft started referring to Windows as a service, meaning that it’s never “done.” Microsoft is continually updating the operating system to make it better—more stable and with more features.
Microsoft delivers two types of updates to Windows: feature updates and quality updates. As the name implies, feature updates deliver new features to the basic operating system. These are the big twice-a-year updates, such as the 2004/20H1 update delivered the first half of 2020.
Quality updates are smaller updates delivered once a month, typically on the second Tuesday of each month. (Tech folks call this day Patch Tuesday.) These updates offer quality improvements that address bugs, security issues, and the like.
All of these updates are delivered via the Windows Update service. You can control, to a degree, when these updates are installed on your computer, as well as view which updates have been previously installed.
Need a Connection
Windows updates are delivered automatically over the Internet. If your computer isn’t connected to the Internet, you don’t get the updates—which is not a good thing.
View Update History
Windows keeps a detailed history of which updates are installed on your computer. This may be useful if you need to know precisely which version of Windows your PC is running.
Click the Start button and then click Settings to open the Settings tool.
Click Update & Security.
Click the Windows Update tab.
Click View Update History.
Recent updates are displayed here, organized by type of upgrade—Feature Updates, Quality Updates, Driver Updates (for hardware drivers), Definition Updates (for Windows Security’s antimalware detection), and Other Updates.
Uninstall an Update
On occasion, Microsoft distributes an update that causes more problems than it solves. A bad update can affect Wi-Fi connectivity, app operation, or system performance, and sometimes it causes Windows to crash. It doesn’t happen often, but when an update causes problems (like slowing down or crashing your computer), you may need to uninstall it.
Open the Update & Security page in the Settings tool and click the Windows Update tab.
Click View Update History.
Click Uninstall Updates to open the Installed Updates window.
Click the update you want to uninstall.
Click Uninstall.
Schedule Updates
Windows updates install automatically but take full control of your computer while they’re installing. That means you can’t use your computer while updates download and install. Depending on the size of the update and the speed of your Internet connection and computer, the time you can’t use your computer can last anywhere from 10 minutes to more than an hour.
For this reason, you want to schedule updates to occur when you’re not using your computer—typically in the overnight hours. Windows can do this automatically, based on your typical computer activity.
From the Update & Security page in the Settings tool, click the Windows Update tab.
Click Change Active Hours.
On the Change Active Hours page, click “on” Automatically Adjust Active Hours for This Device Based on Activity.
Delay Updates
If you’re working on a big project and don’t want to risk your computer misbehaving after an update, you may want to delay updates for a bit and not install on Patch Tuesday. Windows 10 lets you pause updates for a full week.
Open the Settings tool, select Update & Security, then click the Windows Update tab.
Click Pause Updates for 7 Days.
Resetting Your Computer
If your computer frequently freezes or crashes, the problems may be caused by the Windows system files getting damaged or deleted. If this happens, Windows lets you reset your computer’s system files with the original versions of these files.
Reset This PC
The Reset This PC tool works by checking whether key system files are working properly. If Windows finds an issue with any files, it attempts to repair those files—and only those files.
This option is somewhat drastic in that it removes all your apps and settings. That means you’ll need to reinstall all your apps and reconfigure all your settings after the tool has done its job.
There is also the option of keeping or deleting your personal documents and files. The Keep My Files option deletes apps and settings but keeps your files; the more drastic Remove Everything option deletes your personal files, too.
From the Settings tool, open the Update & Security page and click the Recovery tab.
Go to the Reset This PC section and click Get Started.
Click Keep My Files if you don’t want to delete your personal files and documents. Or…
Click Remove Everything to totally wipe everything from your system and return your computer to its original state.
When prompted, click Cloud Download to download the latest version of necessary system files. (This downloads the system files from the Internet.) Or…
Click Local Reinstall to reinstall the original system files stored on your computer’s hard disk.
