By “up-to-date” I’m not talking about hardware, neither am I talking about pieces of software such as drivers, 3rd party program-updates, and  the like. – I’m talking about the free updates provided by Microsoft via their Windows Update service.

“Well that’s an easy one;”

- you reply,

“you can set the machine to receive automatic updates and basically forget all about Windows Update. The machine will notify you and/or automatically install updates when they become available. – Problem solved.”

It’s not quite that easy to ensure that your machine is fully-updated.

You’re right – to a limited extent, but there is more…

You see, when you do that, your machine only installs critical or important updates. The other updates, such as “optional” updates, are ignored in such a case.

“Optional” updates can sometimes be important too; such as a definition update for your antivirus software if you’ve followed my recommendation and installed Microsoft Security Essentials, or – in a few cases – if the operating system is having issues with a piece of popular hardware, for instance.

Let’s not beat around the bush any longer…

(Do you “beat around the bush”?.. No – forget that question. – ‘Moving on…)

Here’s how to ensure that your Windows 7 machine is totally up-to-date with all the Windows Updates. : -

First, look in the taskbar for the white-flag symbol. (Bottom-right of pic.) Click it.

Now click “Open Action Center” at the bottom of the notice that pops up. Action Center opens: -

Next, if you look in the bottom-left corner of that window, you’ll see the linked words “Windows Update”.

Click on those words: -

Don’t worry about whether or not it says “Windows is up to date” for the time being…

In the top-left corner of the Windows Update Window you’ll see the linked words “Check for updates”.

Click on those words: -

As you’ll notice; Windows checks for more updates. If it finds any it’ll notify you.

In my case I’m up-to-date except for 1 optional update: -

…So I click on the link where it says that 1 optional update is available.

At this point – a word of warning: If Windows Update offers you an update for a device-driver or drivers, I suggest that you either leave them uninstalled or check to see if there is anything newer available from the device-manufacturer’s website. The reason that I suggest this is that occasionally the device-drivers offered by Windows Update may not be that latest driver-update(s)  for the device(s) and/or may be incompatible with the device or devices, even though you may presume otherwise.

( My Ethernet device stopped working after I downloaded and installed a new driver for it that was offered to me by Windows Update. I had to open Device Manager, select the relevant device, click on the “driver” tab, and roll the driver back to the previous version to get the device working again. )

To bring my computer fully up-to-date I should install a virus-signature definition update for my Microsoft Security Essentials installation: -

…So I put a check in the box next to it and click OK: -

The above window informs me of my selection, and I click the “Install updates” button: -

Having created a Restore Point; Windows begins downloading and installing the selected updates: -

…And when it’ has finished it lets you know: -

Some updates require that you reboot your computer. – This one didn’t require me to do so, so in this case all is done.

I hope that you found this article useful. Please do let me know any feedback that you may have by commenting on the article. Don’t forget to link to it on social-media, such as Twitter and Facebook, if you liked it. Thanks for reading.