Which Updates Should I Install? When Dick Mc. Graw checks Windows Update, he wonders which patches he should download and install. It's confusing. Microsoft throws a lot of stuff at you, often with little information. And somehow you have to figure out what you really need, what you might like, and what Microsoft wants you to have for their own purposes. It doesn't help that most of the updates have totally useless names. Without looking it up, can you tell me why you may or may not need Windows Vista (KB9. I can't, either. You can actually display a useful description of any update.

It's Monday morning and just want to get a quick poll of who in /r/sysadmin install Windows optional updates. If you do, with ones and why not. Should I Install Optional Updates? After you click "Install," Windows installs the update. If you don't allow Windows Update to update your computer. They're optional, so you don't need to take them, but should you?

In Vista, double- click an update for the description in a pop- up windows. In XP, click the + next to the update name to expand the list and show the details. It's also useful to consider the level that Microsoft assigns each update. Vista updates come in three levels: * Important: Most of these updates are security fixes that you really need to safely use your computer. Unfortunately, Microsoft occasionally throws something into this group that they really want you to have for their reasons, not yours, such as Windows Genuine Advantage (sic).* Recommended: Nothing horrible will happen if you skip these, but you might miss something that will make your PC work better.

• Are they equally unnecessary? Answer: As a general rule, you should.
• Which of the Windows updates are really. You should install ALL of the updates that affect. In Windows Vista/7, I would NOT install optional language.

Read the descriptions and make your own decision.* Optional: You might occasionally find a useful driver update here, but more likely you'll just find marketing hype. XP only has two levels: * High Priority: This is pretty much the same as Vista's Important category- -most of what you get here really is important. It's worth noting that if you're still using Internet Explorer 6, the upgrade to IE8 is a high priority upgrade. There's a reason to that- -IE8 is significantly more secure- -but it's a big change and some people hate it (see Remove Internet Explorer 8).* Optional: Divided into separate Software and Hardware sublevels, this combines useful but not vital updates, drivers (although not many), and useless hype. Use your judgement. Most updates, for any version of Windows, are not cumulative.

This is true even for the Important and High Priority ones. If they were cumulative, you'd only have to update one of them.

Sometimes Microsoft releases a cumulative update and removes several others from the list. And the big service packs are always cumulative. In fact, while I was researching this article, a long list of Vista updates was replaced with one: Service Pack 2. Add your comments to this article below. If you have other tech questions, email them to me at answer@pcworld. PCW Answer Line forum. To comment on this article and other PCWorld content, visit our Facebook page or our Twitter feed.

Should I install optional Windows driver updates? Driver updates can be tricky beasts.

Because they deal with hardware at a. In your example, the latest and. Vidia's own web site.

I don't even give that optional driver update much. I tend to shy away from them unless I'm specifically. It's. difficult to quantify, but to put it vaguely, they make me nervous; they're. While they'll have gone through the manufacturer's own testing. That's where Microsoft's Updates come in. Before a driver shows up in Windows Update, not only will it have. Microsoft's as. well.

One of the things that Microsoft does take into account when testing Windows. Windows is the massive variation in hardware and software. In fact, it's one of the. Microsoft so darned long to release software: the amount. The net result for me is that by the time something shows up on Windows. Update I'm fairly confident that it'll probably work. In fact, I've had some.

I'd been living with disappear after taking optional driver updates. I guess that's some positive reinforcement.

Now, of course, the Microsoft haters will point out repeatedly and. Windows Update regularly causes them grief. And I certainly can't dispute that. Systems have become so complex that getting anything absolutely positively. So. it becomes a situation where someone literally has to say .

Chances are that you'd never run into it, right? Now. figure that according to Microsoft predictions by now there are well over a. Windows installations.

It doesn't mean that you won't have a problem. And if you're truly concerned, then you also control the steps you can take. Oxygen Xml Editor Keygen Download Sony. Backup first. Naturally, you should be backing up regularly. Skip it. It's optional. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. No problem: skip it.

Me? I backup of course. Every night. Should I end up being.