How to update Windows without Windows Update

By Fred Langa You know that you have to keep your PC up-to-date, but what do you do when Windows Update is unavailable or broken? Here are some easy alternatives to use when you can’t use Windows Update — or if you simply choose to update your PC on your schedule, not Microsoft’s.

There’s more than one way to update the OS

A reader named Jimmy sent in this question from a friend’s PC. That’s a significant fact, as you’ll see soon enough:

• “Presently, I don’t have an Internet connection. What can I do to update my Windows system?”
  

This is actually a fairly common problem, Jimmy. There are any number of glitches that can stop the normal update process in its tracks, including simply being stuck offline. As long as you have temporary access to a borrowed Internet-connected PC, you have several options.

On the borrowed PC, go to the Microsoft Download Center. Manually select the updates or other files that apply to your own system and save those files to a floppy, flash drive, CD, or other removable medium. Bring the saved files back to your PC and run/install them there by clicking the saved files one by one.

By the way, one of your first downloads should be the Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer, a free diagnostic tool that you can download from Microsoft’s TechNet site. The program helps you determine which updates and patches your system needs.

If you can’t use a borrowed PC to download the files you need, you can use it to order service packs on CDs directly from Microsoft. They’re quite inexpensive.

Related posts:

1. Saving/Reusing Windows Update Files
2. Is your Windows Update working?
3. The Promise— And Problems— Of The New Windows Update
4. Safekeeping Your Patch/Update Files
5. Update to Windows update