How to schedule automatic updates in Windows Server 2003, in Windows XP, and in Windows 2000

If you are logged on as an administrator, the Automatic Updates feature in Windows notifies you when critical updates are available for your computer. There is a new Automatic Updates feature that you can use to specify the schedule that Windows follows to install updates on your computer. This article describes how to install this new Automatic Updates feature in Microsoft Windows XP and in Microsoft Windows 2000 and how to use it to schedule automatic updates.

Note This new Automatic Updates feature is included with Microsoft Windows Server 2003.

For additional information about how to configure other Automatic Updates settings 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

For additional information about how to configure other Automatic Updates settings in Windows 2000, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

327850 How to configure and use Automatic Updates in Windows 2000

Updating the Automatic Updates feature (Windows XP and Windows 2000 only)

Note If you use Automatic Updates, the feature may have been automatically updated on your computer. To make sure that the new feature is installed, use the procedure that is described in the
Schedule Automatic Updates section of this article to confirm that the Automatically download the updates, and install them on the schedule that I specify option is available on your computer.

To use the new Automatic Updates feature, install any one of the following updates:

• Windows XP Service Pack 1 (SP1).For additional information about how to obtain SP1, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
  
  
  322389 How to obtain the latest Windows XP service pack
  
  
• Windows 2000 Service Pack 3 (SP3).
  For additional information about how to obtain SP3, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
  
  
  260910 How to obtain the latest Windows 2000 service pack
  
  

Note You must restart your computer after you install this update. Automatic Updates does not download any updates until you have configured it to do so. If Automatic Updates is not configured in 24 hours after you install it, either the network administrator or the user who is logged on locally as an administrator is prompted to configure it.

Scheduling automatic updates

Note To modify Automatic Updates settings, 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 prevent you from completing this procedure.

In Windows Server 2003 and in Windows XP

To configure a schedule for Automatic Updates:

1. Click Start, click Control Panel, and then double-click
   System.
2. On the Automatic Updates tab, click
   Automatically download the updates, and install them on the schedule that I specify.
3. Click to select the day and time that you want to download and install updates.

When critical updates are detected, Automatic Updates automatically downloads these updates in the background while you are connected to the Internet. After the download is complete, Automatic Updates waits until the scheduled day and time to install the updates. On the scheduled day and time, all local users receive the following message that has a five minute countdown timer: If you are logged on as an administrator, when you receive this message, you can either click
Yes to install the updates or click No to have Automatic Updates install the updates at the next scheduled day and time. If you do not take any action in five minutes, Windows automatically installs the updates.

Important You may have to restart your computer to complete the update installation.

In Windows 2000

1. Click Start, click Control Panel, and then double-click Automatic Updates.
2. Click Automatically download the updates, and install them on the schedule that I specify.
3. Click to select the day and time that you want to download and install updates.

When critical updates are detected, Automatic Updates automatically downloads these updates in the background while you are connected to the Internet. After the download is complete, Automatic Updates waits until the scheduled day and time to install the updates. On the scheduled day and time, all local users receive the following message that has a five minute countdown timer: If you are logged on as an administrator, when you receive this message, you can either click
Yes to install the updates or click No to have Automatic Updates install the updates at the next scheduled day and time. If you do not take any action in five minutes, Windows automatically installs the updates.

Important You may have to restart your computer to complete the update installation.