Windows Updates: Windows 10

I told you yesterday that a reader had asked me to go a little more in-depth about what Windows updates are how they work. 

I explained that they are security patches and bug fixes issued by Microsoft to correct holes in security that could allow hackers to damage your PC or steal your information and to correct issues with programs. Also, sometimes they bring changes to programs like Internet Explorer or Paint or add new features to the system. Then I explained how to run updates in Windows 7. 

In Windows 10, it’s a different process. For one thing, updates in Windows 10 are automatic. You can’t shut that off.  Here’s how to check if you’ve received updates and how to customize how they install.  Type Check for updates into your search box and click on the results.

Under update status, you can check for recent updates that haven’t been pushed to your PC yet or see if there are any updates that need to be installed.  In my case, I needed to restart in order to install some updates.

If there are any issues installing the updates, you’ll get a notification. You can also click on Update history

You’ll see a list of update installations.  This is where you can also uninstall an update if you think it’s giving you problems. But that doesn’t mean that Windows won’t install that same update again.

Under Update settings, you can change things like active hours and your restart options.

Click on Active hours to set when it’s okay for the device to reboot after installing an update.

If your computer needs to restart to install an update, but you need to keep using it. Choose Restart options to pick a preferred time to restart the PC to finish installing an update.

Under Advanced options, you can choose to receive updates for things like your mouse, printer, and keyboard, to defer some feature updates (but not skip entirely), and rather you want to allow the PC to sign-in and automatically finish installing updates after a restart.

I hope this makes the process easier to understand.  If you have any more questions, click here to ask.