Improving Windows Auto update feature

[Atomic Mitten]

If anyone keeps having to download the Microsoft updates,due to re-formatting their Hard Drives,which takes a long time especially on a dial up 56K modem,here is a tip that might speed things up slightly,the next time you have to do it.

Open Internet Explorer,click on the Tools button at the top of the IE main window,select Windows Update,once on the update page,click on the box,in other options,(to the left)Personalize Windows Update.

Then put a tick in the box marked "Display the link to the Windows Update Catalogue.

Using the back button of the IE browser,return to the previous page.

This time click on Windows Update Catalogue,again on the left hand side of the page.

You will now be taken to a page where you can select the Updates yourself.

The advantage of this is that you can download,say the Service Pack 1 for windows,to a location of your own choosing.The best place to save it to,is to another folder,either on a back up partition,or burn it to CD R.

Then if you need to install it or other required update, you have them available without having to download them again online.

As the auto update feature in it's default setting,just downloads and automatically installs the selected patches to windows,without giving you the choice of where,or being able to re-install it,without being online,I thought this tip might be useful to some.