Set Microsoft Update switch

[midiboy]

Hi Guys,

does anyone know how to set the Microsoft Update switch automatically during an unattended setup ? (see screenshot please).

I have tried with the muweb dlls similar to the way it was done with Windows XP but this does not seem to be the right way in Vista because this dll is not found when I manually enable Microsoft Update.

There also does not seem to be any registry entry related to this so I am wondering what is changed when a user enables Microsoft update.

Any ideas ?

Thanks,

Alex

[sp00f]

Do a setup in VMware, set windows update how you want it.

Then stop windows update service, and go to "C:\Windows" and copy the "SoftwareDistribution" to your own desktop (Outside VMware)

Then mount your "install.wim" and paste the folder in there to the "Windows" folder.

You can delete all things from the "SoftwareDistribution\download" folder.

Unmount commit your "install.wim" and you are done.

[midiboy]

Hi spoof,

Sorry for the late reply (vacation).

you are kidding me, there has to be another way to do that. Where is the information stored. After all it is just a different url no ??

Bye,

Alex

[MAVERICKS CHOICE]

Hi spoof,

Sorry for the late reply (vacation).

you are kidding me, there has to be another way to do that. Where is the information stored. After all it is just a different url no ??

Bye,

Alex

How about showing a little more respect in your posting...I don't see any others offering advice do you??

[midiboy]

Hi Maverick,

I am sorry. In no way did I mean to offend spoof or anyone else. I just found it hard to believe that this is the only way. Maybe my choice of words were not that good, english is not my mothers tongue, you know ....

Anyway, spoof´s solution to the problem works.

Bye,

Alex

[MAVERICKS CHOICE]

No problem man, were all looking for ways to simplify our Vista UA installs, you can slim down the SoftwareDistribution folder in your mounted wim to the necessary files only.

All the best with it.

[fizban2]

I think this is what you are looking for

There are a number of registry keys located at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\AU that control the automatic update agent.

The first of these keys is the AUOptions key. This DWORD value can be assigned a value of either 2, 3, 4, or 5. A value of 2 indicates that the agent should notify the user prior to downloading updates. A value of 3 indicates that updates will be automatically downloaded and the user will be notified of installation. A value of 4 indicates that updates should be automatically downloaded and installed according to a schedule. For this option to work, the ScheduledInstallDay and ScheduledInstallTime keys must also be set. I will talk more about those keys later on. Finally, a value of 5 indicates that automatic updates are required, but can be configured by end users.

http://www.windowsnetworking.com/articles_...date-Part1.html

[midiboy]

Hi fizban,

thanks for that. However, I was not looking for that information, instead I was trying to find a way to set the default update mode to Microsoft Update instead of just WIndows Update which is the default for each XP or Vista installation.

With Windows XP one had to register some activeX components (see the "Download Everything Microsoft thread in the Unattended XP forum).

However, with Windows Vista, things are different. I did not find any value in the registry that controls if Microsoft or Windows Update are used, instead the information seems to be stored in the SoftwareDistribution directory. Copying that over (actually the AuthCabs, SelfUpdate and WuRedir directories are all one needs) to an unattended installation works.

Not a very "neat" solution but unless you or someone else comes up with another solution it seems to be the only way.

Bye,

Alex

[baliktad]

You should not be copying files from the SoftwareDistribution folder from one machine to another. That's a totally hacky solution and will break if you are using a new operating system, service pack, language, or architecture. Instead, use the following method:

1) Install the latest Windows Update Agent. For assistance downloading the most recent version, please refer to this Technet Article. Depending on your usage, you will probably want to automate the installation by adding the parameters "/quiet /norestart"

2) Opt-in to Microsoft Update with this simple script (source: MSDN Article):

Set ServiceManager = CreateObject("Microsoft.Update.ServiceManager")
ServiceManager.ClientApplicationID = "My App"

'add the Microsoft Update Service, GUID
Set NewUpdateService = ServiceManager.AddService2("7971f918-a847-4430-9279-4a52d1efe18d",7,"")

Just save that text as "muoptin.vbs" and then you can run cscript muoptin.vbs for an unattended setup.

[midiboy]

Hi baliktad!

WOW ....

I am very impressed! Thanks for finding this. Soooo great ! Excactly what I needed and much nicer than copying the SoftwareDistribution folder ! Thanks a lot for sharing this !

Bye,

Alex

[sp00f]

You should not be copying files from the SoftwareDistribution folder from one machine to another. That's a totally hacky solution and will break if you are using a new operating system, service pack, language, or architecture. Instead, use the following method:

NOT true , works like a charm for over many years.