Auto Update Configuration

[bonehead]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.security_admin (More info?)

Greetings,

I am getting set to roll out my first XP SP2 machines this weekend. I
have a few questions about configuring Automatic Updates by local policy
(PS I do not have a Domain Controller configured...yet...)

I see where this can be configured on each individual machine in the
Local Computer Policy, under Computer Configuration\Administrative
Templates\Windows Components\Windows Update, using the Configure
Automatic Updates policy.

It seems to me that if I set this to "3", the users could simply defeat
the install by clicking the "X" on the notification. It appears that the
only way to ensure that the updates will be installed is to set this to "4".

But according to the explanation for this setting, "If no schedule is
specified, the default schedule for all installations will be every day
at 3:00 AM. If any of the updates require a restart to complete the
installation, Windows will restart the computer automatically. (If a
user is logged on to the computer when Windows is ready to restart, the
user will be notified and given the option to delay the restart.)"

I realize I can change the default time for installations, but my first
question is, what happens if I leave the default installation time at
3am, and the computer is *off* at 3am? Will the machine install the
updates when the user first starts the computer at 8am, and then ask the
user to immediately restart?

A separate question would be, what if the installation of new updates is
completed, and requires a restart, but the computer is *unattended* at
that moment. For instance, what if the user has left files open, and
walked away for lunch or whatever?

My users typically start Meeting Maker, Eudora, and Word, first thing in
the morning, and leave them open all day. Will the machine restart
itself after a specified period whether the user has saved open files or
not?

Any enlightenment will be gratefully appreciated.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.security_admin (More info?)

bonehead wrote:

> Greetings,
>
> I am getting set to roll out my first XP SP2 machines this weekend. I
> have a few questions about configuring Automatic Updates by local policy
> (PS I do not have a Domain Controller configured...yet...)
>
> I see where this can be configured on each individual machine in the
> Local Computer Policy, under Computer Configuration\Administrative
> Templates\Windows Components\Windows Update, using the Configure
> Automatic Updates policy.
>
> It seems to me that if I set this to "3", the users could simply defeat
> the install by clicking the "X" on the notification. It appears that the
> only way to ensure that the updates will be installed is to set this to
> "4".
>
> But according to the explanation for this setting, "If no schedule is
> specified, the default schedule for all installations will be every day
> at 3:00 AM. If any of the updates require a restart to complete the
> installation, Windows will restart the computer automatically. (If a
> user is logged on to the computer when Windows is ready to restart, the
> user will be notified and given the option to delay the restart.)"
>
> I realize I can change the default time for installations, but my first
> question is, what happens if I leave the default installation time at
> 3am, and the computer is *off* at 3am? Will the machine install the
> updates when the user first starts the computer at 8am, and then ask the
> user to immediately restart?

Yes.


> A separate question would be, what if the installation of new updates is
> completed, and requires a restart, but the computer is *unattended* at
> that moment. For instance, what if the user has left files open, and
> walked away for lunch or whatever?

After a while, the computer will reboot, and unsaved data will be lost,
unless you enable the policy setting listed below:

"No auto-restart for scheduled Automatic Updates installations"

<quote>
Specifies that to complete a scheduled installation, Automatic Updates
will wait for the computer to be restarted by any user who is logged
on, instead of causing the computer to restart automatically. If the
status is set to Enabled, Automatic Updates will not restart a computer
automatically during a scheduled installation if a user is logged in to
the computer. Instead, Automatic Updates will notify the user to
restart the computer. Be aware that the computer needs to be restarted
for the updates to take effect. If the status is set to Disabled or
Not Configured, Automatic Updates will notify the user that the
computer will automatically restart in 5 minutes to complete the
installation. Note: This policy applies only when Automatic Updates
is configured to perform scheduled installations of updates. If the
Configure Automatic Updates policy is disabled, this policy has no
effect.
</quote>

> My users typically start Meeting Maker, Eudora, and Word, first thing in
> the morning, and leave them open all day. Will the machine restart
> itself after a specified period whether the user has saved open files or
> not?

See above.


--
torgeir, Microsoft MVP Scripting and WMI, Porsgrunn Norway
Administration scripting examples and an ONLINE version of
the 1328 page Scripting Guide:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/scriptcenter/default.mspx

 

[bonehead]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.security_admin (More info?)

Great! Thanks very much!

Torgeir Bakken (MVP) wrote:
> bonehead wrote:
>
>> Greetings,
>>
>> I am getting set to roll out my first XP SP2 machines this weekend. I
>> have a few questions about configuring Automatic Updates by local
>> policy (PS I do not have a Domain Controller configured...yet...)
>>
>> I see where this can be configured on each individual machine in the
>> Local Computer Policy, under Computer Configuration\Administrative
>> Templates\Windows Components\Windows Update, using the Configure
>> Automatic Updates policy.
>>
>> It seems to me that if I set this to "3", the users could simply
>> defeat the install by clicking the "X" on the notification. It appears
>> that the only way to ensure that the updates will be installed is to
>> set this to "4".
>>
>> But according to the explanation for this setting, "If no schedule is
>> specified, the default schedule for all installations will be every
>> day at 3:00 AM. If any of the updates require a restart to complete
>> the installation, Windows will restart the computer automatically. (If
>> a user is logged on to the computer when Windows is ready to restart,
>> the user will be notified and given the option to delay the restart.)"
>>
>> I realize I can change the default time for installations, but my
>> first question is, what happens if I leave the default installation
>> time at 3am, and the computer is *off* at 3am? Will the machine
>> install the updates when the user first starts the computer at 8am,
>> and then ask the user to immediately restart?
>
>
> Yes.
>
>
>> A separate question would be, what if the installation of new updates
>> is completed, and requires a restart, but the computer is *unattended*
>> at that moment. For instance, what if the user has left files open,
>> and walked away for lunch or whatever?
>
>
> After a while, the computer will reboot, and unsaved data will be lost,
> unless you enable the policy setting listed below:
>
> "No auto-restart for scheduled Automatic Updates installations"
>
> <quote>
> Specifies that to complete a scheduled installation, Automatic Updates
> will wait for the computer to be restarted by any user who is logged
> on, instead of causing the computer to restart automatically. If the
> status is set to Enabled, Automatic Updates will not restart a computer
> automatically during a scheduled installation if a user is logged in to
> the computer. Instead, Automatic Updates will notify the user to
> restart the computer. Be aware that the computer needs to be restarted
> for the updates to take effect. If the status is set to Disabled or
> Not Configured, Automatic Updates will notify the user that the
> computer will automatically restart in 5 minutes to complete the
> installation. Note: This policy applies only when Automatic Updates
> is configured to perform scheduled installations of updates. If the
> Configure Automatic Updates policy is disabled, this policy has no
> effect.
> </quote>
>
>> My users typically start Meeting Maker, Eudora, and Word, first thing
>> in the morning, and leave them open all day. Will the machine restart
>> itself after a specified period whether the user has saved open files
>> or not?
>
>
> See above.
>
>