Note that the July update rollup was re-released in September 2016. The most important fix is an optimization for the Windows Update agent that addresses those painfully long scan times. These are functional update rollups whose contents are not included in later cumulative updates. KB3179573: August 2016 update rollup for Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 KB3172605: July 2016 update rollup for Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 and
Go through that list and make a note of any updates you might need to download and install separately. Which updates are not included? The More Information section of the link above notes that this large package (488 MB for the 圆4 package and 323 MB for the x86 version) does not include a few dozen updates that change the behavior of Windows, require additional registry modifications, or aren't widely applicable. This is the whopper of a cumulative update, released in April 2016, that includes most of the updates released after the general availability of Service Pack 1 in 2011. KB3125574: Convenience rollup update for Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 But this package is a prerequisite for the big cumulative update that follows, and makes some crucial changes to the way Windows 7 processes updates, and it paves the way for. Yes, there's a newer update to the servicing stack, which you'll install later as part of a cumulative update. KB3020369: April 2015 Servicing Stack Update for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2
Here's the full collection of files you need to snag, listed in the order you'll install them: I recommend downloading to a local folder or a network share and then copying the files to a thumb drive or other removable media for use with the new machine, like so: It's best to do this in advance.īe sure to choose the correct version (x86 or 圆4) for your installation. Instead of using Windows Update to automatically scan for updates (that's where the days-long delays come in), you need to download some standalone update packages that you can install individually. Step 1: Download the updates you need, before you need them If you still support Windows 7, save these instructions. I've adapted that procedure for the types of individual installations you're likely to make for one-off PC builds.Īfter a week of testing, I put together this checklist to make the process easy.
If you're building an offline image for distribution using System Center or other deployment tools, you can follow the instructions in this article. Microsoft has released updates to the servicing stack that address the slow scanning issues, and a cumulative update from April 2016 lets you catch up on nearly five years' worth of updates with a single package.
Enjoy expert IT analyst briefings and access to the top IT professionals, all in an ad-free experience.įortunately, there's a fix. Enjoying this article?ĭownload this article and thousands of whitepapers and ebooks from our Premium library. The result is that a Windows Update scan on a fresh installation can chug away for literally days instead of taking just a few minutes, as it should. The trouble is with the five-year-old servicing stack-the part of Windows that scans for updates and then downloads and installs your selection-which isn't up to that task.
No, it's not a Microsoft conspiracy to get you to give up on Windows 7 and upgrade to Windows 10. If you're an IT pro or independent consultant still building and maintaining Windows 7 PCs, you have firsthand experience with the aggravation of building a new Windows 7 box from scratch.Īfter you use installation media to install Windows 7 with Service Pack 1, you have hundreds of updates to download and install, a process that can take hours. Under Microsoft's 10-year support lifecycle, Windows 7 still has a few years left as it eases toward the end of its extended support phase in January 2020.īut that advanced age comes with its own aches, pains, and slowdowns. That's a bit long in the tooth by modern computing standards, but there's life in the old OS yet. Windows 7 celebrates its eighth birthday in 2017.