How to Use the Group Policy or registry settings to Configure Automatic Updates

Document directory

• Use local group policy configuration to automatically update
• Use the Group Policy in the Active Directory Service to load policy settings
• Automatically update by editing registry Configuration
• The information in this article applies:

Applicable

Important: This article contains information about modifying the registry. Before modifying the registry, you must back up the registry and know how to restore the Registry in case of a problem. For information about how to back up, restore, and edit the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

256986 Microsoft Windows registry description

Introduction

If you Log On As A Computer Administrator or administrator group member, the notification area of the taskbar may prompt you to configure the automatic update function in windows.

For more information about the availability of the auto update feature and how to configure and use it, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

306525 how to configure and use automatic updates in Windows XP

327850 how to configure and use automatic updates in Windows 2000

If you are a senior user or IT professional, you can use any of the following methods to configure automatic updates:

• Use group policy or Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 system policy
• Modify registry

This article describes how to use any of the following methods to configure the automatic update function.

For more information, use the local group policy configuration to automatically update

1. Click Start, and then click Run ".
2. TypeGpedit. MSCAnd then clickOK.
3. Expand computer configuration ".
4. Right-click "manage template" and click "Add/delete template ".
5. Click Add, and then clickWindowsIn the \ INF folder, click "wuau. ADM", and then click "open ".
6. Click Close ".
7. Expand "management template", "Windows components", and "Windows Update" under "Computer Configuration ".

   The "automatic configuration Update" policy is displayed. This policy specifies that the computer receives security updates and other important downloads through the windows automatic update function. This policy allows you to specify whether automatic update is enabled on the computer. If this service is enabled, You must select one of the following three configuration options.

8. To view policy settings, double-click "Configure Automatic update.
9. To enable automatic update, click Enable In the Option List at the top of the settings tab ".

   If you click Enable, You must select one of the three configuration options listed in Step 10.

10. Select one of the following three options:
    • 2-download reminder and install reminder

      When Windows finds an update for this computer, an icon appears in the notification area, and a message appears, reminding you that you are ready to download. If you click this icon or the message, the update option you want to download appears. Windows downloads the selected update in the background. After the download is complete, the icon will appear in the notification area again, and a message will be displayed, reminding you that you are ready for installation. If you click this icon or the message, the option you want to install is displayed.

    • 3-Automatic download and reminder Installation

      Note:: This is the default setting.

      Windows searches for updates that apply to your computer and downloads these updates in the background (the user will not receive a notification or be disturbed during this process ). After the download is complete, the icon appears in the notification area and a message is displayed, reminding you that you are ready for installation. If you click this icon or the message, the option you want to install is displayed.

    • 4-Automatic download and scheduled installation

      To specify a plan, select the corresponding option in the "Group Policy Settings" dialog box. If no plan is specified, the default plan is used for all installations. The plan is scheduled to be updated at every morning. If any update requires you to restart the computer to complete the installation, Windows automatically restarts the computer. (If you log on to your computer when Windows is ready to restart, you will receive a reminder that Windows will restart. You can choose to delay the restart operation .)

      If you select "4-Automatic download and scheduled installation", you can set a periodic plan. If you do not set a schedule, download and install all updates at every morning.

    • Other options

      You can also select "Disable" or "not configured. If you select "Disable", the Administrator must manually download and install all available updates from the Microsoft Windows Update Web site.

      If you select "Not Configured", the automatic update status is not specified at the group policy level. The status can be "enabled" or "not enabled ". However, administrators can still use the control panel to configure automatic updates. The control panel contains the same settings as those in the Group Policy.

Note:: The Windows Server 2003 automatic update function and the Software Update Service (SUS) Service Pack 1 (SP1) client provide the updated management template (. ADM file ). The following two new policies are added to the update policy file:

• Reschedule Automatic update plan Installation

  This policy specifies how long it takes to automatically update a computer after it is started to execute a previously missed plan for installation.

• Automatic Restart is not performed for the scheduled Automatic update Installation

  This policy specifies that automatic updates will wait for any login user to restart the computer to complete the scheduled installation. If this policy is not used, the computer restarts automatically.

Windows Server 2003 provides updated client and policy files. To download the SUS SP1 Client for Windows 2000 and Windows XP-based computers, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

Http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/downloads/recommended/susclient/default.asp

To download an updated management template for Windows 2000 and Windows XP-based computers, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

Use the Group Policy in the Active Directory Service to load policy settings

To use the Group Policy to load policy settings, you must use the wuau. ADM file, which describes automatically updating the new policy settings of the client. Wuau. ADM is automatically installed onWindows\ INF folder.

You canWindows\ INF \ wuau. ADM is loaded into the Group Policy object editor as a management template.

Follow these steps to load Policy Settings Using the Group Policy in Active Directory:

1. On the Active Directory domain controller, click Start and then click Run ".
2. TypeDSA. MSC.
3. Right-click the organization unit or domain in which you want to create a policy, and then click "properties ".
4. Click the Group Policy tab, and then click New ".
5. Enter a name for the policy and click Edit ".
6. Under "computer settings", right-click "manage template ".
7. Click Add/delete template, and then click Add ".
8. Enter the name of the automatic update. ADM file. For example, TypeWindows_folder\ INF \ wuau. Adm.
9. Click Open ".

Automatically update by editing registry Configuration

Warning: Improper use of the Registry Editor can cause serious problems. You may need to reinstall the operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that you can solve problems caused by improper use of the Registry Editor. You are at your own risk to use the Registry Editor.

In a non-Active Directory environment, you can edit registry settings to configure automatic updates.

Note:: You must manually create these registry items.

You can set these registry items using one of the following methods:

• Use Registry Editor (regedit.exe) to manually edit the registry.
• Deploy these registry items in a centralized manner using the system policy feature of the Windows NT 4.0 type.

To use the Registry Editor, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, click run, and then typeRegedit.
2. In the registry, locate and click the following registry key:

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Policies \ Microsoft \ Windows \ windowsupdate \ Au

3. Add any of the following settings:
   • Value Name:Noautoupdate
     Value Data: 0 or 1
     • 0: Enable automatic update (default ).
     • 1: Disable Automatic update.

     Registry Value Type: REG_DWORD

   • Value Name:Auoptions
     Numerical data: 1 to 4
     • 1: "Keep my computer up to date" in auto update is disabled.
     • 2: reminder to download and install.
     • 3: automatically download and remind you to install the SDK.
     • 4: automatically download and install the automatic execution plan.

     Registry Value Type: REG_DWORD

   • Value Name:Scheduledinstallday
     Numerical data: 0 to 7
     • 0: daily.
     • 1 to 7: All days in a week, from Sunday (1) to Saturday (7 ).

     Registry Value Type: REG_DWORD

   • Value Name:Scheduledinstalltime
     Numerical data:N, WhereNIt is a whole point (0-23) in 24 hours a day ).
     Registry Value Type: REG_DWORD
   • Value Name:Usewuserver
     Value Data: if this value is set to 1, automatic update will use the running software update service instead of the Windows Update Server.
     Registry Value Type: REG_DWORD
   • Value Name:Reschedulewaittime
     Numerical data:M, WhereMTo automatically update the waiting time for installation that missed the scheduled time from start to start. (The unit of the time is minute, from 1 to 60, representing 1 minute to 60 minutes)
     Registry Value Type: REG_DWORD

     Note:: After the client is updated to the SUS SP1 Client Version or later, this setting only affects client behavior.

   • Value Name:Noautorebootwithloggedonusers
     Value Data: REG_DWORD: 0 (false) or 1 (true ). If it is set to 1, automatic updates will not automatically restart the computer when a user is logged on.
     Registry Value Type: REG_DWORD

     Note:: After the client is updated to the SUS SP1 Client Version or later, this setting affects client behavior.

   To use automatic updates on a server that is running the Software Update Service, see the Software Update Services deployment White Paper. To view this White Paper, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

   Http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserversystem/sus/susdeployment.mspx

When you directly use the policy registry key to configure automatic updates, this policy replaces the client preferences set by the local administrator. If the Administrator deletes this registry entry in the future, the Administrator will re-use the preference set by the local administrator.

To ensure that your client and server are running sus servers for updates, add the following registry values to the registry:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Policies \ Microsoft \ Windows \ windowsupdate \

Value: wuserver
Registry Value Type: REG_SZ
Wuserver sets the SUS Server Based on the HTTP name (for example, http: // intranetsus ).

Value: wustatusserver
Registry Value Type: REG_SZ
Wustatusserver sets the SUS statistical server (for example, http: // intranetsus) based on the HTTP name ).

Registry Value

The information in this article applies:

• Microsoft Windows Server 2003, 64-bit datacenter Edition
• Microsoft Windows Server 2003, 64-bit Enterprise Edition
• Microsoft Windows Server 2003, datacenter Edition
• Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition
• Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition
• Microsoft Windows XP Professional
• Microsoft Windows XP 64-bit Edition
• Microsoft Windows XP Tablet PC Edition
• Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
• Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server
• Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional

Latest updates:	(10.0)
Keywords:	Kbregistry kbhowto kbprb kb328010

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