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By Brian Livingston To give our writers and staff a rest, we skip publication during the last two weeks of August. That means this is the last newsletter you'll see until Sept. 4, but if anything important comes up, we can always send out a short news update.

Where in the world is Gizmo Richards?

Our senior editor, Ian "Gizmo" Richards (left), is busily working on new software reviews that we'll publish in September after our break. Gizmo writes new columns twice a month in the paid section of the Windows Secrets & Support Alert Newsletter. His former Support Alert Newsletter, which merged with Windows Secrets on July 24, was e-mailed once a month.

This week, we have not one but two new software reviews in our paid content. In his PC Tune-Up column, Mark Edwards rates the best free "rescue CD" software, which can help get your PC working again after a virus infection or other disaster. In the Best Software column, Scott Spanbauer tests free and commercial e-mail programs that you can use to replace Microsoft Outlook without paying that program's high cost. How to get our paid content with no fixed fee

Gizmo and Scott alternate writing the Best Software column each week. We hope you'll like the reviews you get from both of them — and from our other contributors — in the months to come.

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By Scott Dunn Microsoft will soon install a new version of Windows Update on your computer, even if you've set your PC not to download and install any updates. With such a potential for confusion, it's a good idea for you to know what's going to be done to your machine by this important but often misunderstood tool.

When turning updates off really doesn't

Windows Secrets first disclosed on Sept. 13, 2007, that Microsoft had been silently downloading Windows Update (WU) executable components on users' computers — even when the users' auto-update settings required advance permission. At the time, Microsoft admitted in its Update Product Team blog that it has carried out this practice for many years, as I wrote in a follow-up column.

This time, Microsoft is being more up-front about its forthcoming refresh of Windows Update. For example, product manager Michelle Haven described in a blog post on July 3 some new features that the upgrade will add.

The new version will reportedly reduce the time WU takes to scan for and send out new updates. In addition, if you use the online version of WU, and you click an update for more information, the new version will offer you more links with additional details.

But the Redmond company hasn't changed the wording of the Control Panel settings that appear to prevent Windows Update from performing silent downloads — but don't.

In light of these potentially misleading controls, a few tricks on managing Windows Update are just what the doctor ordered.

To view your Windows Update options in Windows XP, press the Windows key plus R to open the Run box. (In Vista, just press the Windows key.) In both versions of Windows, type control wuaucpl.cpl and press Enter. In Vista, select Change settings on the left.

According to the aforementioned blog post, the Microsoft Update Product Team considers Windows Update to be turned on when any setting is selected except the last one:

• Turn off Automatic Updates (in XP)
• Never check for updates (in Vista)

Consequently, Windows Update itself may be updated even if you select an option such as:

• Notify me but don't automatically download or install them (in XP)
• Check for updates but let me choose whether to download and install them (in Vista)


Figure 1. Windows Update may automatically install some executable files, even if you set auto-update configuration to require permission.

If you prefer to decide for yourself when and whether to install updates, but you don't mind the Windows Update app upgrading itself, use either the second or third setting. For total control, select the last option. (You'll see regular warnings, which is the price of choosing this setting.)

Keep unwanted updates from bugging you

After you read warnings about a specific update — such as the ones Windows Secrets readers regularly see in Susan Bradley's Patch Watch column — you may decide that the fix is not for you. If you have one of the "notify me" options set (choice 2 or 3), you'll see an icon and possibly a pop-up menu in the taskbar tray endlessly pestering you to install the update.

To shut off notifications about a particular update in Windows XP, take these steps:

• Step 1. Click the Windows Update icon in the taskbar tray to open the Automatic Updates control panel.

• Step 2. Select Custom Install (Advanced) and click Next.

• Step 3. Uncheck the items you don't want to install. Make a note of their Knowledge Base numbers in case you change your mind later. Then click Install (to install remaining items) or Close (if no items are checked).

• Step 4. When the Hide Updates prompt appears, check Don't notify me about these updates again and click OK.

• Step 5. If you later change your mind and want to install the items, surf on over to Microsoft's Download Center, enter the update's KB number in the Search box, and click Go. Follow the on-screen instructions to download and install the update.

To shut off notifications about a particular update in Windows Vista, take these steps:

• Step 1. Click the Windows Update icon in the taskbar tray to open the Windows Update control panel.

• Step 2. Choose View available updates below the Install Updates button.

• Step 3. Find the update you don't want installed and uncheck its box.

• Step 4. Right-click the update name and choose Hide update.

• Step 5. Click the close box in the upper-right corner to close the window.

• Step 6. To see this and other hidden updates in the future, reopen the Windows Update control panel and click Restore hidden updates in the left pane.

Tips for installing recalcitrant updates

Sometimes an update you want to install never gets loaded despite repeated attempts. What to do?

First, identify any updates that didn't get installed properly by going to the Windows Update or Microsoft Update site. Choose Start, Windows Update (or Microsoft Update) or Start, All Programs, Windows Update (or Microsoft Update).

In XP, click Review your update history on the left; in Vista, choose View update history. XP shows failed updates with a red X; in Vista, the word "failed" appears in the Status column. (Note that some updates may have failed to install on their first attempt but succeeded subsequently.)

Here's a checklist of things to try when attempting to coax an update to load:

Consult a troubleshooter. Windows logs troubleshooting info specifically for updates. In Vista's update history control panel, click the Troubleshoot problems with installing updates link above the list of installed updates.

XP's troubleshooter may offer more-specific info about the update. Start by checking out your update history as explained above. Click the red X icon to open a window of information about the update. Select and copy the error code in this window.

Browse to Microsoft's Windows Update Troubleshooter site (you'll probably need to use Internet Explorer). Press Ctrl+F to open a search dialog, paste the error code into the Find box, and click Next. You may find a link relating to that specific error.

If no such link appears, search for the same error code on Microsoft's Help and Support site or use one of the support sites I reviewed in my July 10 column. Finally, try skimming through the list of symptoms on the Update Troubleshooter page to see whether any match those you're experiencing.

Clean up your act. If a specific update is listed as installed, but it's still offered to you repeatedly, scan your system for spyware and viruses. Windows Secrets contributing editor Scott Spanbauer rated on June 26 several free antivirus packages you can use to do this.

Take the Safe Mode route. If an update doesn't install properly in normal mode, try uninstalling it and then reinstalling it in Windows' Safe Mode.

• Step 1. To uninstall an update, press Win+R to open the Run box (in Vista, simply press the Windows key), type appwiz.cpl, and press Enter. In XP, check Show updates at the top of the box and scroll to Windows XP – Software Updates. In Vista, click View installed updates on the left.

Make a note of the problematic update's KB number, click Remove (in XP) or Uninstall (in Vista), and follow the prompts on the screen.

• Step 2. Browse to Microsoft's Download Center and enter the update's KB number in the Search box. Once you've found the update, download it to your desktop.

• Step 3. Log into Windows' Safe Mode by rebooting your system and pressing F8 until you see a menu of startup options. Use the arrow keys to select Safe Mode and press Enter.

Once you're in Safe Mode, double-click the update on the desktop to install it.

Windows Update isn't the most transparent or easy-to-use tool, but at least it's built into Windows and can be made as automatic or as manual as you choose. Of course, you can always jettison Microsoft's updater in favor of one of the refreshers I reviewed on Oct. 4, 2007.

If you're having problems with Windows Update that aren't described above, read MS Knowledge Base article 906602 for official troubleshooting tips.

And, until Microsoft or a third party comes up with something better, keep reading Windows Secrets to determine which patches you need and which you can hold off on.

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By Dennis O'Reilly Every significant Windows patch is accompanied by a string of conflicts with this or that product or function. A reader asks whether there's still room for an uncomplicated approach to everyday PC care and feeding.

• "I started with the LangaList and was still enjoying it as it morphed into Windows Secrets. It was a little more technical, but it still had a lot of information that I, as a retired stay-at-home nurse, could use in keeping up my desktop and my husband's laptop.
  
  "The publication seems to be more and more for business people and less for the home user. This last publication, instead of showing you how to go into IE or Windows and make adjustments, [suggested] little programs to fix everything. There is less technical know-how and more 'download this program' to fix it. I'm constantly trying to simplify. Keep all the unnecessary stuff off so things run faster and more smoothly.
  
  "Perhaps technology is finally just passing me by, but there must be other people at home who just want to be able to take care of their equipment, get introduced to a few new handy programs, and get the instructions necessary to fix annoying things that crop up, like that Microsoft patch that was incompatible with Zone Alarm. [See Susan Bradley's July 24 article in our paid content.]
  
  "I just wanted someone to know we aren't all IT people."
  
  

• "In your latest newsletter, you mention a plug-in for a Google Windows-related site search.
  
  "I don't know what this is, and I am sure lots of your other readers will be the same! What is this? Are you secretly getting us to install the Google Toolbar?"
  

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By Katy Chenoweth Most of us remember John Travolta's dynamite disco routine in Saturday Night Fever, and who could forget Michael Jackson's epic moonwalk? Elvis and his gyrating hips simultaneously scandalized and captivated his audiences, and the Brady Bunch's family-friendly fandangos charmed viewers worldwide. Comedian Judson Laipply revisits each of these nostalgic dance fads and more in his amazing YouTube classic, "The Evolution of Dance." Watch him trip the light fantastic in this incredible six-minute medley, which is sure to conjure up some hilarious flashbacks. Just make sure you're alone in the house when you get the inevitable urge to put on some Styx and dust off your old robot moves. Play the video

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INTRODUCTION By Brian Livingston Time for a summer break — see you on Sept. 4 Where in the world is Gizmo Richards?   TOP STORY By Scott Dunn You'll get a new Windows Update, like it or not When turning updates off really doesn't Keep unwanted updates from bugging you Tips for installing recalcitrant updates   KNOWN ISSUES By Dennis O'Reilly The true tech challenge: keeping it simple Knowing when not to futz with Windows' innards Where to find the Support Alert search plug-in   WACKY WEB WEEK By Katy Chenoweth Groove is in the history books

	BEST SOFTWARE By Scott Spanbauer Best alternatives to Microsoft Outlook, part II Can these apps out-Outlook Outlook? A light-weight, low-cost Outlook alternative Open-source option for managing personal info
	PC TUNE-UP By Mark Joseph Edwards Bootable rescue CDs can fix your damaged Windows Two anti-malware rescue CDs outshine the others The rescue CD with the best malware detection A rescue CD that's packed with useful tools Capable malware detector a notch below the best Updates are a challenge for this rescue CD The anti-malware-rescue-CD also-rans Protect your systems against Snapview exploits
	PATCH WATCH By Susan Bradley IE security holes lead Microsoft's patch parade Fixes for remote-code-execution vulnerabilities Microsoft Access zero-day hole still unpatched Microsoft Office image files pose a threat Avoid opening mystery Office files Other image files can also do harm to your PC Microsoft mail, IM may disclose private info A fix for systems that ignore IPsec policies ActiveX killbits get their own patch Yes, you may now install XP Service Pack 3 Malicious Software Removal patch a must-have

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A portion of your support helps children in developing countries Each month, we send a full year of sponsorship to a different child. Your contributions in August are helping us to sponsor Sindy (left), a 5-year-old girl who lives in Honduras. Aid to Sindy and her village is provided by Save the Children through its Lifeline program, which addresses the needs of the youngest members of a community. We also sponsor kids through Children International and other respected agencies. More info

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