Introduction
Starting 4/22/2024 you may notice changes in how your computer will receive Windows updates. You may also notice changes in how you receive notifications compared to updates performed on your personal computer. OU IT will begin providing updates on a monthly basis to faculty/staff computers to ensure they the receive the proper security and quality updates. We will strive to ensure a minimal impact to you and the work you do on campus.
Regular updates will generally include security updates and Microsoft .NET framework updates. Other updates, such as Windows version upgrades, will only be done when requested by department IT staff on a computer-by-computer basis.
This article will contain examples of how to check your update status and the notifications you might receive under this change. If you have additional questions / concerns please do not hesitate to contact your IT Support staff.
How Updates Will Be Published Going Forward
At the start of the last full week of the month, updates will become available for computers to start downloading. No action needs to be done by you as your computers will handle this automatically, however you can choose to perform these updates manually. During this period, you can open a utility called Software Center on your computer, click the tab for Updates and there should be one or more updates listed there.
After clicking on an entry here you can receive additional information about the update as well as the option to Install or Schedule the update. Clicking Install will immediately install the update while schedule allows you to choose when to perform the installation, now or outside business hours. If you do nothing, the installation will automatically take place on the date/time noted under the status, which is the deadline. Typically this will be the Thursday after the updates become available.
Note: If you choose to click install, there may be a delay in the status changes. If you leave the window open the status will automatically change from "preparing to download" -> "waiting to install" -> "installing" -> "pending restart" or "installed".
Edit Software Center Options
In Software Center, you are able to configure specific settings for your device. These options allow you to have more control over how application and system updates are installed.
To configure settings, click the Options tab in Software Center.
Note: Changes to the remote control or power management settings will not affect your computer, these are managed at the enterprise level.
Work Information:
Under Work Information, you are able to set business hours during which you typically work. By default, the business hours in Software Center are set from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday. Some updates can be configured to install automatically outside of your business hours, but if your device is in sleep mode or shut down the updates will not install until your device is on and awake.
If you wish to change your business hours in Software Center, adjust the Work information section as appropriate and click Apply.
Computer Maintenance (Manage Presentation Mode)
By default, Software Center allows you to suspend activities when your device is in presentation mode. Enable presentation mode to suppress system notifications from displaying and prevent your device from entering sleep mode while you are presenting.
The only time you will receive notifications from Software Center when in presentation mode is if you are past the update deadline.
To enable presentation mode, follow the steps below.
- Click the Start button to navigate to the Control Panel.
- From the Control Panel, click Windows Mobility Center.
- Click Turn on in the Presentation Setting box.
- To turn off presentation mode, navigate to the Windows Mobility Center and click Turn off.
Note: Windows Mobility Center and the Presentation Mode feature are only available on laptop computers.
What Happens After Installation?
After the installation of updates occurs, most updates require a restart of your computer. You will not be forced to immediately restart your computer, and you can delay it for up to 8 hours, which allows the computer to be restarted after normal business hours. If you shut down your computer normally, there may be a slight delay for your computer to process the changes before it shuts down. You may also experience a short delay when the computer starts up the next morning.
If your computer is turned off during the scheduled update window the updates will be performed immediately upon logging into your computer at the next possible time. You will also still be able to delay the restart up to 8 hours.
There may be times when your computer does not restart appropriately and will continue to notify you that a restart is needed. This can be due to a running application preventing the restart. Please close all open programs after saving your work and click the restart button when possible. Once the restart window is less than 15 minutes, you will not be able to cancel/snooze the restart.
Here are some examples of notifications you might see prompting for the restart after completing the installation of the updates:
Note: There is currently a bug while clicking notifications in the action center and clicking them will not automatically open Software Center. Search for Software Center in the Start Menu and open it that way to see the specific status.
How to Know Which Updates Have Been Installed
Once an update has completed the install it will be removed from the updates section in Software Center. If you want a full history of what updates have been installed on your machine, do a search for "View Update History" in the search bar or start menu. After opening this option, you will see several categories such as feature updates, quality updates, driver updates, and other updates. The update categories that we provide updates in will be listed under quality updates and other updates.
Conclusion
Keeping on top of your Windows updates helps the University stay secure and reduces vulnerabilities for outside attackers to gain access to your systems. If you believe you are not receiving regular windows updates, your IT Support staff will be able to assist you to ensure these updates are completed.
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