- Introduction
- Upgrading to Windows Vista from a Previous Version of Windows
- Upgrading from One Edition of Windows Vista to Another
- Performing Post-Installation Updates and Product Activation
- Summary
- Key Terms
- Apply Your Knowledge
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Performing Post-Installation Updates and Product Activation
Chapter 2 introduced the concept of product activation, and it explained how Microsoft uses activation to combat software piracy. Even though you activated your computer running Windows XP, you are required to activate your product again after upgrading to Vista. You should note that product activation (which is required) is not the same as registration (which is optional). Windows operates at reduced functionality after the grace period unless you activate the product. Registering your copy of Windows Vista allows you to receive updates and other offers from Microsoft and provides ready information to Microsoft tech support personnel should you ever need their services.
If you entered your product key during installation or upgrading, Vista is automatically activated three days later. You can activate Vista sooner if you desire. Follow Step by Step 3.4 to complete product activation.
Step by Step: 3.4 Performing Product Activation
- Click Start, right-click Computer, and choose Properties. The Windows activation section of the dialog box that appears informs you of the number of days left before you must activate Windows. Click Activate Windows now.
- If you receive a User Account Control message box, click Continue.
- On the Windows Activation dialog box shown in Figure 3.11, select Activate Windows Online Now.
Figure 3.11 You can activate Windows now or be reminded later from the Windows Activation dialog box.
- If you have not previously typed your product key for activation, type the product key when requested and then click Next.
- You are informed of the process of activating Windows. When finished, you receive an Activation Was Successful message, as shown in Figure 3.12. Click Close.
Figure 3.12 Windows informs you when you have successfully activated it.
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If you are not connected to the Internet, you can telephone a customer support representative at Microsoft. Select the option to generate an installation ID that you can give to the support representative, who will provide you with a confirmation ID that you type into the activation wizard to complete the procedure.
Installing Updates and Hotfixes
Updates, hotfixes, and patches are designed to repair specific problems that are uncovered from time to time after the release of a new operating system or major update such as a service pack. Their purpose is to correct security-related or performance-related problems and maintain the operating system in an up-to-date condition at all times. Microsoft operates the Windows Update website that analyzes your computer and determines which updates are required to keep your computer up-to-date and downloads and installs these updates automatically. These updates take place in the background while you are working on other projects and inform you if a restart is needed. If this is so, you can schedule the restart so that it does not interfere with completion of your work.
When you install or upgrade to Windows Vista and select the option to download updates at the time of installation, your operating system is up-to-date with all patches and hotfixes at that time. Microsoft releases additional updates on a periodic basis (generally monthly on the second Tuesday of each month). Automatic Updates is turned on by default at installation time so that you will receive these updates as they are made available. However, this feature provides several settings that enable you to manage how you receive and install these updates.
Managing Automatic Updates
The Automatic Updates feature in Windows Vista enables computers to automatically connect to the Microsoft Windows Update website and download the latest updates, hotfixes, and patches. You can specify how and when your computers are updated, and updates can be downloaded and installed in the background while you are working.
To configure options for automatically receiving updates, follow the procedure outlined in Step by Step 3.5.
Step by Step: 3.5 Configuring Automatic Updates
- Click Start, Control Panel, Security, Windows Update.
- On the left pane of the Windows Update applet, select Change Settings.
- As shown in Figure 3.13, the Choose How Windows Can Install Updates page provides the following four options for configuring automatic updates:
- Install Updates Automatically (Recommended)—Automatically downloads and installs updates at the day and time specified in the drop-down list boxes provided. You should ensure that your computer is on and connected to the Internet at the time you specify. This is the default setting.
- Download Updates but Let Me Choose Whether to Install Them—Downloads updates when they are available and informs you by means of an icon in the notification area. You can select which updates should be installed by clicking this icon and choosing Install.
- Check for Updates but Let Me Choose Whether to Download and Install Them—Provides an icon in the notification area to inform you that updates are available from the Windows Update website. You can download these updates by clicking this icon and choosing Start Download. After the updates are installed, you can select Install to install them.
- Never Check for Updates (Not Recommended)—You are not informed of any available updates and need to access the Windows Update website regularly to check for updates. You can do this by means of the link provided.
Figure 3.13 The Choose How Windows Can Install Updates dialog box provides four options for configuring automatic updates.
- Make your selection. If you keep the default setting, select a convenient option for the day and time. Then click OK.
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Administrators can configure Automatic Updates for all computers in an Active Directory domain or organizational unit (OU) by means of Group Policy, which offers the same options as outlined here. In this way, you can ensure that all computers automatically receive the required updates. In addition, you can specify that the client computers download their updates from a server running Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) on your network. By doing so, you can reduce the Internet bandwidth required for downloading updates, and you can test updates in a lab environment to ensure that they do not cause problems with services or applications on the client computers.