http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-31533028

tut tut

 

umm i just ordered a new lenovo carbon thinkpad

 

I just ordered two new PCs for work....(old cheap DIY-build jobbies due to retire after 8 years loyal service).

I had a choice of either HP Prodesk or a Lenovo Thinkcentre Edge. They both had the same spec (i5 etc. and win7 downgrade), but the Lenovo was cheaper.


I bought the HP....why? Last time I bought a Lenovo (laptop), it was cluttered with junkware.

The prodesk has NO junkware installed, bar HP's own update/registration facility. A refreshing change from the usual PCs cluttered with crapware out of the box.


Still had to do a gazillion updates though...but that's Mircosoft's fault...why can't they do a big "all-in-one" update that you can download and run in one go rather than it have to sequentially doanload and install individual updates?

 

They do every so often, it's called a service pack.

 

No. service packs only take the OS up to point the pack was released.

These systems have the lastest service packs already preinstalled.

They then took another several hours downloading, installing, restarting, downloading some more, installing. Await user confirmation to a llicence agreement, restart, more download, more install.....


Nothing new here. It's been like this since win XP. That's why I know it needs doing before putting a PC into use. So now when I take a full disk image it's all current Incase i have to restore from scratch - but really in this day age I shouldn't need to do this. Microsoft should'nt update new/clean install systems in dribs and drabs.

 

Ali you could point the finger at lazy manufacturers. They could slip stream all updates into their builds but they don't bother. That is not actually Microsoft's fault. The manufacturer is providing you with a base build of the OS from basically when it was last released which is just plain lazy. Microsoft is simply picking up the fact you have an OS installed on your computer that has never been updated from the point of RTM and so are obliged (unless you say no to them) to download and update all security issues found since the release of that OS.

 

I usually just set it to auto update and leave it overnight after a fresh install.

 

Possibly. But what if I want to do a restore back to factory. Obviously several years down the lines its going to need alot of of updating. If everything was available in one go, and can be downloaded and installed fully automatically without user intervention then it wouldn't be an issue.


And thats the problem...leaving it on overnight doesn't work. Because it requires at least several restarts to continue. Then when you think its done....you click "check for updates" (even though its on automatic) and guess what? A load more updates are required. Another part of the problem is the work internet is barely 2megabits on a good day....the result of all this is I had to cart them all back home where I have 120MBits to do all the updates. Not an issue if everything could be done unattended.


Back on topic though: At least there is no crapware to get in the way and slow it down and make it unstable.

 

I build my own machines and install windows from scratch, if i bought a laptop i'd format and reinstall my own windows copy anyway.

 

Try this
http://www.portableupdate.com

I've used it for a little while and it is great. i did use autopatcher in the past, but I had problems the last time I trieed it, and so I switched over to PU.

 

Out of interest why aren't you using a WSUS server (even if just run on an old desktop machine)? Download all the updates once and then pushed out when needed as well as no attendance needed as all managed by the client/server settings that you set. Certainly far easier than having to download those patches every time you buy a new machine or rebuild one especially if on a slow link.

 

Because I'm a mechanic, not an IT consultant?

Two computers. Small business (2 office employees) and a crappy ADSL. We don't even have a switchboard, just two lines and a pair of DECT phones. Nothing else...no server, nothing else other than a few PCs and a printer on a common network.

Anyhoo, this could easily be my home PC...indeed the Lenovo laptop I bought for personal use was just the same...update, update, restart update, restart, update. etc (win 8.1).

 

Cheers Markus, bit late now, but it looks like the tool for the job next time I have to endure this: We need a new diagnostics/gas analyser, which is windows 7 based, so will have to endure the same when we eventually get round to buying it.

 

i've seen you post enough on pcs to know setting up a wsus server would be a doddle for you. You only need an old machine or run it as a vm on an existing machine. However if you only have 2 machines that could use it forget it it's a waste of time but if you are plugging more machines in and updating them from scratch every now and then it could save you some effort/time.

 

Yeah, back in the day, I used to and kind of expected it as that's the nature Microsoft PCs were, I just think that auto updates have existed for what? 15years? and it really hasn't really progressed from its original concept.

These days I've totally lost interest in them so avoid any involvement in them as much as possible (I had to google WSUS to remember what it was ) I just want to plug them in and have them work out of the box, at worst one big update that doesn't require user involvement, one restart, done.....I've got very impatient and intolerant in my older age.

 

most of them are security updates,
Lock updates and do it manually once a month or not.