Auto Update Configuration

  • Thread starter Thread starter bonehead
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bonehead

Greetings,

I am getting set to roll out my first XP SP2 machines this weekend. I
have a few questions about configuring Automatic Updates by local policy
(PS I do not have a Domain Controller configured...yet...)

I see where this can be configured on each individual machine in the
Local Computer Policy, under Computer Configuration\Administrative
Templates\Windows Components\Windows Update, using the Configure
Automatic Updates policy.

It seems to me that if I set this to "3", the users could simply defeat
the install by clicking the "X" on the notification. It appears that the
only way to ensure that the updates will be installed is to set this to "4".

But according to the explanation for this setting, "If no schedule is
specified, the default schedule for all installations will be every day
at 3:00 AM. If any of the updates require a restart to complete the
installation, Windows will restart the computer automatically. (If a
user is logged on to the computer when Windows is ready to restart, the
user will be notified and given the option to delay the restart.)"

I realize I can change the default time for installations, but my first
question is, what happens if I leave the default installation time at
3am, and the computer is *off* at 3am? Will the machine install the
updates when the user first starts the computer at 8am, and then ask the
user to immediately restart?

A separate question would be, what if the installation of new updates is
completed, and requires a restart, but the computer is *unattended* at
that moment. For instance, what if the user has left files open, and
walked away for lunch or whatever?

My users typically start Meeting Maker, Eudora, and Word, first thing in
the morning, and leave them open all day. Will the machine restart
itself after a specified period whether the user has saved open files or
not?

Any enlightenment will be gratefully appreciated.
 
bonehead said:
Greetings,

I am getting set to roll out my first XP SP2 machines this weekend. I
have a few questions about configuring Automatic Updates by local policy
(PS I do not have a Domain Controller configured...yet...)

I see where this can be configured on each individual machine in the
Local Computer Policy, under Computer Configuration\Administrative
Templates\Windows Components\Windows Update, using the Configure
Automatic Updates policy.

It seems to me that if I set this to "3", the users could simply defeat
the install by clicking the "X" on the notification. It appears that the
only way to ensure that the updates will be installed is to set this to
"4".

But according to the explanation for this setting, "If no schedule is
specified, the default schedule for all installations will be every day
at 3:00 AM. If any of the updates require a restart to complete the
installation, Windows will restart the computer automatically. (If a
user is logged on to the computer when Windows is ready to restart, the
user will be notified and given the option to delay the restart.)"

I realize I can change the default time for installations, but my first
question is, what happens if I leave the default installation time at
3am, and the computer is *off* at 3am? Will the machine install the
updates when the user first starts the computer at 8am, and then ask the
user to immediately restart?
Yes.


A separate question would be, what if the installation of new updates is
completed, and requires a restart, but the computer is *unattended* at
that moment. For instance, what if the user has left files open, and
walked away for lunch or whatever?
Click to expand...

After a while, the computer will reboot, and unsaved data will be lost,
unless you enable the policy setting listed below:

"No auto-restart for scheduled Automatic Updates installations"

<quote>
Specifies that to complete a scheduled installation, Automatic Updates
will wait for the computer to be restarted by any user who is logged
on, instead of causing the computer to restart automatically. If the
status is set to Enabled, Automatic Updates will not restart a computer
automatically during a scheduled installation if a user is logged in to
the computer. Instead, Automatic Updates will notify the user to
restart the computer. Be aware that the computer needs to be restarted
for the updates to take effect. If the status is set to Disabled or
Not Configured, Automatic Updates will notify the user that the
computer will automatically restart in 5 minutes to complete the
installation. Note: This policy applies only when Automatic Updates
is configured to perform scheduled installations of updates. If the
Configure Automatic Updates policy is disabled, this policy has no
effect.
My users typically start Meeting Maker, Eudora, and Word, first thing in
the morning, and leave them open all day. Will the machine restart
itself after a specified period whether the user has saved open files or
not?
Click to expand...

See above.
 
Great! Thanks very much!
After a while, the computer will reboot, and unsaved data will be lost,
unless you enable the policy setting listed below:

"No auto-restart for scheduled Automatic Updates installations"

<quote>
Specifies that to complete a scheduled installation, Automatic Updates
will wait for the computer to be restarted by any user who is logged
on, instead of causing the computer to restart automatically. If the
status is set to Enabled, Automatic Updates will not restart a computer
automatically during a scheduled installation if a user is logged in to
the computer. Instead, Automatic Updates will notify the user to
restart the computer. Be aware that the computer needs to be restarted
for the updates to take effect. If the status is set to Disabled or
Not Configured, Automatic Updates will notify the user that the
computer will automatically restart in 5 minutes to complete the
installation. Note: This policy applies only when Automatic Updates
is configured to perform scheduled installations of updates. If the
Configure Automatic Updates policy is disabled, this policy has no
effect.



See above.
Click to expand...
 
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