How To Get Windows Updates To Install

Microsoft releases new security updates for its products at least in one case a month. In about cases, the Windows Update service does an excellent job of downloading and installing Windows updates automatically. Y'all can also manually download and install the latest cumulative security update for your Windows version (build). For example, on computers with the wususerv service disabled, on asunder environments (if you are not using a WSUS server where you lot tin can manually test and approve Windows updates), on a local network with a metered connection, etc.

Contents:

Checking Windows Update History
How to Notice and Download the Latest Security Update for Windows?
Manually Install Cumulative Security Updates on Windows
How to Manually Upgrade a Windows x Build (Feature Update)?

Every second Tuesday of the month, Microsoft releases new updates for all supported Windows editions and other MSFT products (patches for critical vulnerabilities tin can be released faster without having to wait for this appointment). Besides, keep in heed that a cumulative update model is now used in Windows. This means that you merely demand to install one, the latest cumulative security package to update your Windows example.

Checking Windows Update History

Yous can check the date of the recent updates installed on your computer using the following PowerShell control:

gwmi win32_quickfixengineering |sort installedon -desc

PowerShell: How to see the most recent updates Windows 10 installed?

Source Clarification HotFixID InstalledBy InstalledOn ------ ----------- -------- ----------- ----------- PCname1 Security Update KB5011352 NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM 2/9/2022 12:00:00 AM

This screenshot shows that the last security update was installed on this computer on Feb 9, 2022.

You tin as well brandish the Windows Update installation history using the Get-WUHistory cmdlet from PSWindowsUpdate module:

Get-WUHistory|Where-Object {$_.Championship -like "KB*"} |Sort-Object date -desc

Next, you demand to find out the version and build number of your Windows. Apply the following PowerShell command:

Get-ComputerInfo | select WindowsProductName, WindowsVersion, OsHardwareAbstractionLayer, OsArchitecture

WindowsProductName WindowsVersion OsHardwareAbstractionLayer OsArchitecture Windows 10 Pro 2009 10.0.19041.1566 64-bit

powershell: get windows veriosn and build number

In my case, I demand to download the latest security updates for Windows 10 20H2 x64.

How to Detect and Download the Latest Security Update for Windows?

You can manually download the recent updates for Microsoft products from the Microsoft Update Catalog — https://www.itemize.update.microsoft.com/Home.aspx. You tin can find any update for all supported Windows versions (the straight import of updates via WSUS panel is also supported). The master trouble is that in that location is no convenient search role in the Update Catalog. If yous don't know the number of KB you lot need to install, it'southward pretty hard to find and download the correct MSU update package.

Let's accept a look at how to brand a correct query to find updates for your Windows version in the Microsoft Update Itemize. This article was written on March x, 2022, and so the latest security updates were released two days ago on March 8 (the second Tuesday of the calendar month). In our case, to search for March 2022 security updates for Windows ten 20H2 x64, copy the following search query and paste it into the search field in the right upper corner:

windows x 20h2 x64 3/%/2022

search for windows updates in microsoft update catalog

Microsoft Update Catalog has returned a list of 3 updates.

How can yous make up one's mind which of these updates you need to download and install? Of course, y'all can download and install them all, just you can salve time. Since Microsoft uses cumulative updates, y'all just need to download and install the latest Cumulative Security Update for your OS version.

There is only one large (over 600MB) cumulative update bachelor for my Windows x build:

2022-03 Cumulative Update for Windows 10 Version 20H2 for x64-based Systems (KB5011487), Windows 10 version 1903 and later, Security Updates, three/7/2022 — 655.6 MB

Click on the name of the security update KB5011487. In the side by side window with update info, go to the Package Details tab. This tab shows which updates this update replaces (This update replaces the following updates) and which update information technology replaces in turn (This update has been replaced by the following updates).

windows update details: update replacement

Equally you can run across, it has no replacement: This update has been replaced by the following updates: north/a. It means that it is the most contempo cumulative security update for your version of Windows 10.

Click on the Download push button, and a straight link to download the MSU update file will appear in the next window. Download the file and salvage it on your local bulldoze.

download latest cumulative update for windows 10 msu file

Y'all can too find the KB number of the latest cumulative update for your Windows 10 version on this page: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/windows-10-update-history-7dd3071a-3906-fa2c-c342-f7f86728a6e3.

Select your build of Windows 10 (in my example, it is Windows x 20H2) from the list on the left, then look at the listing called In this release. The first entry refers to a knowledge base article (KB) with the latest cumulative update for the selected Windows version. In our example, this is March 8, 2022—KB5011487 (OS Builds 19042.1586, 19043.1586, and 19044.1586. This is the update nosotros downloaded according to the in a higher place method.

find recent update KB for windows

Then download the latest bachelor Windows 10 Servicing Stack Update (SSU). This update can also be found in the Windows Update Catalog using the primal phrase: servicing stack windows 10 20h2

download recent servicing stack update (ssu) for your windows 10 build

Be sure to install the Servicing Stack Update earlier installing the cumulative Windows security update.

Starting in March 2021, Microsoft stopped releasing split up SSU updates for Windows 10 builds 2004 and newer. They are now integrated into the Latest Cumulative Update (LCU).

Downloading Windows Update Files Using PowerShell

To manually download MSU update files from the Microsoft Update Catalog, you can use the Save-KBFile cmdlet from the KBUpdate module (KB Viewer, Saver, Installer and Uninstaller) https://github.com/potatoqualitee/kbupdate

Install the module from the PowerShell Gallery:

Install-Module KBUpdate -Scope CurrentUser

To download specific update files, run the following PowerShell command:

Relieve-KBFile -Proper name KB5011487, 5005260 -Architecture x64 -Path C:\Distr\Updates

Manually Install Cumulative Security Updates on Windows

After you have downloaded the MSU file with the latest security update for your Windows ten version, you can install information technology. To exercise it, double-click the MSU file and follow the prompts of the Windows Update Standalone Installer.

installing msu file with Windows Update Standalone Installer

After the installation of the update package is complete, restart your computer (if you experience whatsoever issues with the Os or apps, you can uninstall the update according to the guide).

You can also install Windows update from the command prompt in the quiet mode using the born wusa.exe tool (Windows Update Standalone Installer). The following command volition install the specified update in the silent style and postpone the automatic reboot of the computer later on the installation is completed:

wusa C:\updates\windows10.0-kb5011487-x64_8bc93fe5c681ddf741120602899a730c65c155d6 /quiet /norestart

Manually Update Windows Defender Signatures

If you have congenital-in Windows Defender Antivirus enabled on your Windows device, y'all can manually update its signatures. An update with the new signature prepare tin can exist downloaded from the Microsoft Update Catalog, or (easier) from this page https://www.microsoft.com/en-united states/wdsi/defenderupdates#transmission.

Download the offline installation file for your version of Window. For case, Microsoft Defender Antivirus for Windows 10 and Windows eight.i 64-bit.

download and update the windows defender definition

Run and install the file fpam-atomic number 26.exe to update the antivirus definitions.

How to Manually Upgrade a Windows 10 Build (Feature Update)?

Y'all can also manually update your Windows 10 build (Feature Update). For example, you desire to manually upgrade the Windows 10 build on your reckoner from 20H2 (end of support May 10, 2022) to 21H2.

To practice this, go to https://www.microsoft.com/en-united states/software-download/windows10 and click the Update Now button.

upgrade windows 10 build manually

The wizard prompts you to update to the latest version of Windows x (Windows 10 November 2021 Update). This update requires an Net connection.

To perform an offline upgrade of a Windows 10 build, create an installation ISO image with a new Windows 10 build using the Media Citation Tool (which allows you to create an ISO image or bootable Windows ten USB flash bulldoze).

Then mount the ISO image into a Windows virtual drive and run the setup.exe file. Follow the steps of the Windows Update Wizard. This is described in more than detail in the article almost upgrading a Windows x build from the control prompt.