Somebody forgot this guide which I must post again:
Many times you really get bugged up if you had to reformat your HDD and lose all your updates installed and you have to redownload them and reinstall for which you waste your time and money.
Now I will show you how to save all Windows updates to your HDD.
There are several methods and we will discuss all of them.
1st Method: Easiest and only for Windows XP with SP2.
Firstly you have to configure your Automatic Updates Settings through MyComputer(right click)>>properties>>Automatic Updates.
*img100.exs.cx/img100/2953/autupdates2do.th.jpg
Choose the option shown in the above shot and click ok. Your SP2 Security Center may warn you but ignore or disable it. Now connect to the net and wait for some time. You will get a notification in the system tray that Updates are available for download. Now double click on the System Tray Icon and it opens up a window and now you can see all the updates listed with their KB Article Numbers. Here is a screenshot.
*img49.echo.cx/img49/7135/autupdates2ta.th.jpg
Now copy all the numbers to your notepad and now use the link
*support.microsoft.com/?kbid=XXXXXX or click the link given in the box above.
Here XXXXXX is the 6 digit number you copied earlier. From the support page you will find a link to the patch and now you can download it convieniently.
2nd Method: Work for any Windows - Best Method
You can download all the updates that are available from Automatic Updates by using the Windows Update Catalog. For additional information about how to download updates from the Windows Update Catalog, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
HOW TO: Download Windows Updates and Drivers from the
Windows Update Catalog
• Visit the Windows Update Web site:
*windowsupdate.microsoft.com
• Click Personalize Windows Update.
• Select the Display the link to the Windows Update Catalog under
See Also check box.
• Click Save Settings.
• A Windows Update Catalog link appears under See Also.
• Click the Windows Update Catalog link.
• Click Find updates for Microsoft Windows operating systems.
• Click the appropriate product, and then click Search.
• Click Critical Updates and Service Packs.
• Locate the patch you want, and then click Add.
• Click Go to download basket. In the Type or browse to the download location of your choice box, type the full path for the folder in which you want to save the patch. Or, click Browse to browse to the folder. Click Download Now.
If you don’t find the link to Windows Update Catalog (as in SP2) then go to Administrator Options and there is a heading named “Update multiple operating systems� and under it link to Windows update Catalog is given.
A manual link (no guarantee on link working on diff Windows) to Windows Update Catalog is given below:
*v4.windowsupdate.microsoft.com/catalog/en/default.asp
I used this On WinXP SP2 and it worked and plus you can download updates for any Windows i.e. you can 98 updates while running XP. This works best for Networked PC’s.
Source: MS-KB 283147 - Automatic Updates Downloads Cannot Be Installed on Other Computers
3rd Method: Works in any Windows but not always
Another method to save the patch locally is to install the update 'as usual' from the Windows Updates page. Once the copy process is complete and the Install process is about to begin, look for the WUTemp folder in C:\ (or whatever drive you've installed Windows). This is the destination folder used by Windows Updates to save the hotfix. The hotfix will be deleted automatically once installed. Therefore, copy the WUTEMP directory contents to a new folder, while the install process has just started.
For Windows XP SP2, the installer is stored in a sub-folders under %Windir%\SoftwareDistribution\Download
Another Note: Sometimes you find a long named file with random characters and without an extension in %Windir%\SoftwareDistribution\Download. Try renaming the file by just adding .exe to the end of the filename. Do not modify anything else. Now right click and check its properties. It may turn out to be an update and its KB number is listed in its properties. You can now copy the update to any folder. Don’t move the update, just copy it to any location. This will work any time and even if you are not connected to the net.
Tip: After downloading the updates, save them to a CD if you're planning to apply across multiple systems or a stand-alone system without internet connection. Before applying the downloaded updates, you can run through Windows Updates scan (don't download yet) to know the list of Cricital Updates (Q######) pertaining to that particular computer. Note all of them to a piece of paper and install them one by one from the CD. This one works even better when combined with 2nd Method.
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