How to download updates that include drivers and hotfixes from the Windows Update Catalog

This article discusses how to download updates from the Windows Update Catalog.

Original KB number:   323166

The Windows Update Catalog offers updates for all operating systems that we currently support. These updates include the following:

• Device drivers
• Hotfixes
• Updated system files
• New Windows features

We guide you through the steps to search the Windows Update Catalog to find the updates that you want. Then, you can download the updates to install them across your home or corporate network of Microsoft Windows-based computers.

We also discuss how IT Professionals can use Software Update Services, such as Windows Update and Automatic Updates.

To download updates from the Windows Update Catalog, follow these steps:

To access the Windows Update Catalog, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
Windows Update Catalog

To view a list of frequently asked questions about Windows Update Catalog, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
Microsoft Update Catalog Frequently Asked Questions

To search for updates from the Windows Update Catalog, follow these steps:

1. In the Search text box, type your search terms. For example, you might type Windows Vista Security.
2. Click Search, or press Enter.
3. Browse the list that is displayed to select the updates that you want to download.
4. Click Download to download the updates.
5. To search for additional updates to download, repeat steps 2a through 2d.

To download updates from the Windows Update Catalog, follow these steps:

1. Click the Download button under Search box.

2. Click the updates link on the pop-up page and Save to the default path, or right-click the link and select Save target as to the specified path. You can either type the full path of the folder, or you can click Browse to locate the folder.

3. Close the Download and the Windows Update Catalog Window.

4. Find the location that you specified in step 3b.

   Note

   If you have downloaded device drivers for installation, go to "Installing Drivers."

5. Double-click each update, and then follow the instructions to install the update. If the updates are intended for another computer, copy the updates to that computer, and then double-click the updates to install them.

If all the items that you added to the download list are installed successfully, you are finished.

If you want to learn about additional update services, please see the "Software Update Services for IT Professionals" section.

1. Open a command prompt from the Start menu.

2. To extract the driver files, type the following command at the command prompt, and then press Enter:

   expand <CAB FILE NAME> -F:* <DESTINATION>  
   

3. To stage the driver for plug and play installation or for the Add Printer Wizard, use PnPutil Software Update Services for IT Professionals.

For general information about Software Update Services, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
Overview of Windows as a service

IT Professionals can use the Windows Update service to configure a server on their corporate network to provide updates to corporate servers and clients. This functionality can be useful in environments where some clients and servers do not have access to the Internet. This functionality can also be useful where the environment is highly managed, and the corporate administrator must test the updates before they are deployed.

For information about using Windows Update, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
Windows Update: FAQ

IT Professionals can use the Automatic Updates service to keep computers up to date with the latest critical updates from a corporate server that is running Software Update Services.

Automatic Updates works with the following computers:

• Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional
• Windows 2000 Server
• Windows 2000 Advanced Server (Service Pack 2 or later versions)
• Windows XP Professional
• Windows XP Home Edition computer

For more information about how to use Automatic Updates in Windows XP, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
306525 How to configure and use Automatic Updates in Windows XP

You may experience one or more of the following issues when you use Windows Update or Microsoft Update:

• You may receive the following error message:

  Software update incomplete, this Windows Update software did not update successfully.

• You may receive the following error message:

  Administrators Only (-2146828218) To install items from Windows Update, you must be logged on as an administrator or a member of the Administrators group. If your computer is connected to a network, network policy settings may also prevent you from completing this procedure.

  For more information about this issue, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 316524 You receive an "Administrators only" error message when you try to visit the Windows Update Web site or the Microsoft Update Web site

• You may be unable to view the Windows Update site or the Microsoft Update site if you connect to the Web site through an authenticating Web proxy that uses integrated (NTLM) proxy authentication.

You can visit the Microsoft Web sites in the following sections for more information:
Windows Update troubleshooting

The hotfix installer that is included with Windows XP and with Windows 2000 post-Service Pack 3 (SP3) updates includes functionality to support multiple hotfix installations. For earlier versions of Windows 2000, the command-line tool that is named "QChain.exe" is available for download.

For more information about how to install multiple updates or multiple hotfixes without restarting the computer between each installation, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
296861 How to install multiple Windows updates or hotfixes with only one reboot

For the latest Microsoft security resources such as security tools, security bulletins, virus alerts, and general security guidance, see Security documentation.

For more information about the Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer tool (MBSA), see What is Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer and its uses?.

For more information about how to download files from the Microsoft Download Center, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
119591 How to obtain Microsoft support files from online services

For Internet Explorer downloads, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
Internet Explorer Downloads

For Windows Media Player downloads, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
Windows Media Player

For Office updates, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
Install Office updates

If you need assistance from Microsoft support, we recommend you collect the information by following the steps mentioned in Gather information by using TSS for deployment-related issues.