Guide | How To Tutorial - How to download and update Windows using WSUS Offline Update

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Soulbound

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Jan 14, 2015
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The following guide is for using a specific tool to download Official Windows Updates (Office also available) and then deploy them on a system without internet connection. This tutorial is to complement this thread:
Windows 10 - Windows Updates Offline - WSUS Offiline Update

The solution used is called WSUS Offline Update, available at:
WSUS Offline Update - Update Microsoft Windows and Office without an Internet connection

This guide will focus on W10 Pro x64 inside a VM, but you can perform same steps for W7, W8.1 and Microsoft Office in any computer (the download process).

To download updates:

Once you downloaded the zip file from the official link above, please unzip
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Then open up the folder and double click on UpdateGenerator
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Inside the GUI (Graphical User Interface), select the options you require for downloading the updates.

Note: Always recommended to tick Verify downloaded updates.

In terms of output folder, I prefer to tick: USB Medium (copy updates to selected products into directory) and create a folder for the specific windows version (in this case W10 Updates (new folder).

If you do not do so, the updates will be placed under the Client folder in the main directory of wsusoffline folder.
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Press Start and it will start downloading the updates via command line, retrieving the updates directly from official windows servers.
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Once the download is completed, you will get a notification.
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To install the updates:

Open the folder you previously created.
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Note: due to symbols, I had to rename the folder to W10 Updates in order for UpdateInstaller.exe to be launched.

Run UpdateInstaller.exe and select the options you want: To note: recommended to turn on Automatic reboot and recall option (a warning prompt will appear, press yes) .
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For this test I will Install Microsoft Silverlight only since all other options are already installed and up to date (W10 system in this VM has settings to automatically download and install updates). Press start once you have selected the options you want.
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Once system rebooted and selected updates installed, please re-run the tool and you will see it now says Update Microsoft Silverlight, instead ofInstall.
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Time to update Silverlight: Press start after ticking Update Microsoft Silverlight and tick Automatic reboot and recall.
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Because it was downloaded and installed, it was already up to date, so you get a message in command prompt saying No missing update found. Nothing to do!

If there was an update, it would update accordingly.


One recommendation, this is a manual tool so you will need to keep up with update releases.
 

Soulbound

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Jan 14, 2015
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Nice, useful for people like me that do many clean installs.
It doesnt however download optional updates i.e drivers etc.
I created a scheduled task to run it every month, along with a script to tick specific areas. wasnt easy but was done.

I would recommend users to manually check every 2 weeks or so, depending of course of the system in question. W10, well that one is basically covered by updates settings within windows anyway, but for 7 and 8.1 and a clean w10 installs or when i fix systems, deploying the updates that way saves me way more time than downloading a batch of updates everytime i need to perform maintenance.
 
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XavierGaming

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Oct 18, 2015
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My Windows 10 recovery somehow gets updated automatically. It even has my driver softwares integrated. I do a lot if clean installs.
 
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Evjl's Rain

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Apr 18, 2016
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can I use wsus to install updates selectively? or it just installs everything
 
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nclr11111

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Feb 25, 2011
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It's designed to install all missing updates so unfortunately does not have an option to be selective.
@Evjl's Rain
You can chose what types of updates you want (C++ Runtimes, .net etc) also you can deselect certain updates by adding the KB***** to "exclude" list in WSUS.
Haven´t used it myself but it´s possible as far as i understand.

Edit. Found this:
"
I think you can choose to manually import the updates to WSUS.

1. Open WSUS console, navigate to upate space.

2. Right click "updates", select "import update", which will open an IE window.

3. In the Microsoft update catalog webiste.

4. Add the updates which you need to basket, then click "view basket".

5. Import it to WSUS, then approve it to clients."

Source:
Download Specific Updates Only
 

Evjl's Rain

Level 47
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Honorary Member
Top Poster
Content Creator
Malware Hunter
Apr 18, 2016
3,684
@Evjl's Rain
You can chose what types of updates you want (C++ Runtimes, .net etc) also you can deselect certain updates by adding the KB***** to "exclude" list in WSUS.
Haven´t used it myself but it´s possible as far as i understand.

Edit. Found this:
"
I think you can choose to manually import the updates to WSUS.

1. Open WSUS console, navigate to upate space.

2. Right click "updates", select "import update", which will open an IE window.

3. In the Microsoft update catalog webiste.

4. Add the updates which you need to basket, then click "view basket".

5. Import it to WSUS, then approve it to clients."

Source:
Download Specific Updates Only
thanks for the tip but it's too much work to make it done :)
 

Ken Bouchard

New Member
Jan 23, 2017
1
thanks for the tip but it's too much work to make it done :)
However for older systems, it does much better, because #1 you get most updates thus avoiding that windows update is a huge resource hog. #2 that it can be saved to a flash drive, cell phone, or even a external hdd. So you can save countless hours being able to deploy it to any computer. Since internet can be slow or non existant. If your a computer consultant, or it guy this is really a must have. Saving so much time. It saves your options, so I check every box of the what to get. I then let it do the updategenerator. You can run it on say a desktop with fast internet. Then copy the folder to your flash drive. It is that simple. You could even do windows scheduler and a script to do this automagically. Or at least simply schedule updategenerator. There is a command line option to have it start the update on execution. The whole idea is to not have to interact with windows which is a PITA, and you can restart windows when YOU feel like it. Not when Windows wants to which it so often does without your asking.
I also like the fact that you get to see what is happening, which Windows update never shows unless you manually check it.

So for new windows installs its wonderful, and then after it has installed all the updates, you just turn on Windows update, which will only see new updates and driver updates.
 
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jraju

New Member
Mar 11, 2018
1
Hi, Nice tutorial. Can i use this without internet connection ?Also please let me know, what woutempadmin account? If suppose, power cut or by any mistake computer is shutdown during the course of update, what should one do.
Woutemp admin , would it automatically delete after install of updates. experts.
 

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