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Windows 7: Windows Update - Extract an Update
Windows Update - Extract an Update How to Extract a Windows Update
Published 07 Apr 2011
|  Published by | | |
Featured Tutorial | | | How to Extract a Windows Update
 Information This tutorial will show you how to extract a Windows Update file to release the contents, using both the manual and automatic methods. You might consider doing this if you are a technical expert trying to find a replacement for a corrupt file. Extracting the contents of the update already identified to be the one containing the correct version of the file in question is often the most efficient way of sourcing this replacement.  Note This process is intended for advanced users only.  Warning It is imperative that you do not use any 3rd Party tool to extract Windows Update .cab files, such as 7-Zip or Win-Zip, as these tools incompletely extract such archives. However, due to different formatting in service packs, these tools often will extract service pack .cab files completely, but to be sure, you are better off using one of the below methods anyway.
 Method One 
Automatic method using KB_Extractor
Warning Please do not mirror or directly link to KB_Extractor. You may only link to this tutorial. To negotiate the use of this tool, please contact me. Note If you are using this tool on a machine not running Windows Vista, you may need to install the .net Framework 2.0. Download details: Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 Service Pack 2
However, this is already included in Windows Vista, and so if you are running Windows Vista, downloading this package is not required.
Download KB_Extractor version 1.2 (dated: 26/06/2011) to your Desktop. 
This tool has two modes.
To extract an update:
Simply drag the update you wish to extract onto the pre-saved executable, and wait for the extraction to complete. Note Please be aware that large updates such as service packs can take around ten minutes to extract.  Tip This tool should successfully extract most types of Windows Update related packages, including packages with the following file extension: .msu, .cab, .exe. Most types of packages, including standard Windows Update packages, service packs, pre-extracted .cab files, Microsoft Security Essentials installers, and Internet Explorer installers, including the extraction of packages containing sub packages, such as language packs will be extracted perfectly. However, if you find any bugs, or any updates which are incompletely extracted, please do contact me giving full details. Once the extraction has completed, the folder containing the extracted contents will open.
To drag an update onto the executable, first select the update:
Then drag the update:
over the executable, and release:
During the extraction, there are three distinct phases:
Phase 1. This phase will normally only appear for large service packs:
Phase 2:
Phase 3:
Tip Simply click on any of these images for an enlarged view. Note If a package contains several sub-packages, phases 2 and 3 will loop around once for each package.
To Clean up your Temporary files:
Warning All extracted updates are extracted to sub-directories in the %TEMP% folder (commonly located in your %UserProfile%\AppData\Local\Temp folder, which would for me, as an example, be C:\Users\Richard\AppData\Local\Temp) However, particularly if you extract a lot of service packs, this folder can become very bloated in size.
To empty this, simply double click on the executable:
type in "y", and press ENTER or RETURN on your keyboard. Again, you can click on any screenshot to enlarge it.
KB_Extractor will close when it has finished emptying your temporary folder.
Note - KB_Extractor will only empty the temporary folder of sub-directories in the format of those created by this tool.
- This process can take up to ten minutes if this tool has extracted several service packs.
Method Two
Manual Method using expand.exe
Warning This method is considerably harder, and far more time consuming. However, it only uses tools included in a standard Windows installation. Also, different styles of packages may require additional extraction, but using the same techniques. Unfortunately, I cannot document every single different package style here. NOTE: You can open a command prompt by typing cmd in the Start Menu Search box and pressing Enter.
The general formula for an update is:
expand -f:*{update name}.msu {destination folder}
expand -f:*{update name}.cab {destination folder}
and for a Service Pack:
{service pack name} /x:{destination folder}
expand -f:* {service pack name} {destination folder}
Therefore, to unpack Windows6.1-KB980302-x86.msu which is already in C:\Temp you must type these two commands:
expand -f:* C:\TEMP\Windows6.1-KB980302-x86.msu C:\TEMP
expand -f:* C:\TEMP\Windows6.1-KB980302-x86.cab C:\TEMP
and for a Service Pack, such as this Vista SP2, already in C:\TEMP:
C:\Temp\Windows6.0-KB948465-X86.exe /x:C:\Temp
expand -f:* C:\Temp\Windows6.0-KB948465-X86.cab C:\Temp
Previous Versions:
Warning Please be aware that these versions are out of date, may contain bugs, and are no longer supported.
Version 1.0 (dated: 21/02/2011):
Version 1.1 (dated: 04/June/2011):
That's it,
Richard
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04 Jun 2011
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#1 | |
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Version 1.1 is now signed off, dated 4th June 2011. Changelog: Code: 1.0:
Initial Release
1.1:
FIXED: Incomplete extraction of .cab files with only a single file in them.
FIXED: Incomplete extraction of renamed .msu files.
FIXED: Faulty logic leading to files named with specific names passing into the wrong extraction category.
ADDED: Custom error message for attempting to extract 64bit .exes on a 32bit computer. Version 2.0 is planned, and will extract update packages in rarer formats and styles.
Last edited by niemiro; 04 Jun 2011 at 08:19 AM..
| My System Specs |
| System Manufacturer/Model Number Dell XPS 420
OS Vista Home Premium x86 SP2
CPU Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 2.50GHz
Motherboard Stock Dell 0TP406
Memory 4 gb (DDR2 800) 400MHz
Graphics Card ATI Radeon HD 3870 (512 MBytes)
Monitor(s) Displays 1 x Dell 2007FP and 1 x (old) Sonic flat screen
Screen Resolution 1600 x 1200 and 1280 x 1204
Keyboard Dell Bluetooth
Mouse Advent Optical ADE-WG01 (colour change light up)
Case Dell XPS 420
Cooling Stock Fan
Hard Drives 1 x 640Gb (SATA 300) Western Digital: WDC WD6400AAKS-75A7B0 1 x 1Tb (SATA 600) Western Digital: Caviar Black, SATA 6GB/S, 64Mb cache, 8ms Western Digital: WDC WD1002FAEX-00Z3A0 ATA Device
Internet Speed Varies from 10kb/s to 170kb/s. So unreliable it is not funny
Other Info ASUS USB 3.0 5Gbps/SATA 6Gbps - PCI-Express Combo Controller Card (U3S6)
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09 Jun 2011
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#2 | |
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I'm trying to use this on Windows 7, x64, but I keep getting the error that I can't extract a 64bit exe on a 32bit computer. ??? | | My System Specs | | OS Windows 7 Pro x64 SP1
CPU AMD Phenom II x6 1090T Black Edition 3.2GHz
Motherboard ASUS M4A88TD-V EVO/USB3
Memory Patriot G ‘Sector 5’ Edition 8GB (2 x 4GB) 1600MHz
Sound Card (onboard) Realtek® ALC 892 8-Channel High Definition Audio
Monitor(s) Displays ViewSonic VX2253 22", Dell circa-2002 CRT
Screen Resolution 1920x1080, 1024x768
Keyboard Verbatim 97472 Mini Wireless Slim
Mouse bundled Verbatim 97472 Wireless
PSU CORSAIR TX Series 950W ATX12V 80 Plus Bronze
Case Cooler Master HAF X NVidia Edition; 5 Green LED Fans!
Cooling CORSAIR A70 120mm Dual-Fan
Hard Drives Transcend SSD720 2.5" SATAIII 64GB SSD; Western Digital Caviar Green WD20EARS 2TB 64MB 3.5" HDD
LG WH10LS30 10X Blu-ray Burner with LightScribe
Other Info Ultraportable/Desktop Replacement Laptop:
circa Oct 2006,
Dell XPS M1210,
Windows 7 Professional 32-bit,
Intel Core 2 Duo T7200 2.0GHz,
3.25 (4) GB of RAM,
NVidia GeForce Go 7400,
500GB Seagate Momentus 7200RPM HDD -- IT'S ALIVE AGAIN!
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11 Jun 2011
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#3 | |
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Quote: Originally Posted by Miranova23  I'm trying to use this on Windows 7, x64, but I keep getting the error that I can't extract a 64bit exe on a 32bit computer. ??? Hello!
I am sorry that you are having this problem. This is partially caused by a bug in version 1.1. In the erranous scenario, this error message masks a different underlying error message. This has been fixed in version 1.2, set to be released next weekend, or so.
However, there is still the other, masked error message (which comes through properly in 1.2)
Which updates are you trying to extract?
Thanks a lot!
Richard | | My System Specs | | System Manufacturer/Model Number Dell XPS 420
OS Vista Home Premium x86 SP2
CPU Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 2.50GHz
Motherboard Stock Dell 0TP406
Memory 4 gb (DDR2 800) 400MHz
Graphics Card ATI Radeon HD 3870 (512 MBytes)
Monitor(s) Displays 1 x Dell 2007FP and 1 x (old) Sonic flat screen
Screen Resolution 1600 x 1200 and 1280 x 1204
Keyboard Dell Bluetooth
Mouse Advent Optical ADE-WG01 (colour change light up)
Case Dell XPS 420
Cooling Stock Fan
Hard Drives 1 x 640Gb (SATA 300) Western Digital: WDC WD6400AAKS-75A7B0 1 x 1Tb (SATA 600) Western Digital: Caviar Black, SATA 6GB/S, 64Mb cache, 8ms Western Digital: WDC WD1002FAEX-00Z3A0 ATA Device
Internet Speed Varies from 10kb/s to 170kb/s. So unreliable it is not funny
Other Info ASUS USB 3.0 5Gbps/SATA 6Gbps - PCI-Express Combo Controller Card (U3S6)
|
26 Jun 2011
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#4 | |
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Version 1.2 is now signed off, dated 26/06/2011. Changelog: Code: 1.0:
Initial Release
1.1:
FIXED: Incomplete extraction of .cab files with only a single file in them.
FIXED: Incomplete extraction of renamed .msu files.
FIXED: Faulty logic leading to files named with specific names passing into the wrong extraction category.
ADDED: Custom error message for attempting to extract 64bit .exes on a 32bit computer.
1.2:
FIXED: Faulty logic which caused the custom error message for attempting to extract 64bit .exes on a 32bit computer to appear more often than it should, masking other errors.
FIXED: Empty "Extracted" folders.
ADDED: Support for packages using rarer extraction arguments. I didn't actually originally intend to release this version, but it provides a few new bug fixes and features, so in the end I did.
Last edited by niemiro; 27 Jun 2011 at 02:13 AM..
| | My System Specs | | System Manufacturer/Model Number Dell XPS 420
OS Vista Home Premium x86 SP2
CPU Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 2.50GHz
Motherboard Stock Dell 0TP406
Memory 4 gb (DDR2 800) 400MHz
Graphics Card ATI Radeon HD 3870 (512 MBytes)
Monitor(s) Displays 1 x Dell 2007FP and 1 x (old) Sonic flat screen
Screen Resolution 1600 x 1200 and 1280 x 1204
Keyboard Dell Bluetooth
Mouse Advent Optical ADE-WG01 (colour change light up)
Case Dell XPS 420
Cooling Stock Fan
Hard Drives 1 x 640Gb (SATA 300) Western Digital: WDC WD6400AAKS-75A7B0 1 x 1Tb (SATA 600) Western Digital: Caviar Black, SATA 6GB/S, 64Mb cache, 8ms Western Digital: WDC WD1002FAEX-00Z3A0 ATA Device
Internet Speed Varies from 10kb/s to 170kb/s. So unreliable it is not funny
Other Info ASUS USB 3.0 5Gbps/SATA 6Gbps - PCI-Express Combo Controller Card (U3S6)
|
05 Jul 2011
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#5 | |
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Quote: Originally Posted by Miranova23 I'm trying to use this on Windows 7, x64, but I keep getting the error that I can't extract a 64bit exe on a 32bit computer. ??? This has now been fully fixed in version 1.2  | | My System Specs | | System Manufacturer/Model Number Dell XPS 420
OS Vista Home Premium x86 SP2
CPU Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 2.50GHz
Motherboard Stock Dell 0TP406
Memory 4 gb (DDR2 800) 400MHz
Graphics Card ATI Radeon HD 3870 (512 MBytes)
Monitor(s) Displays 1 x Dell 2007FP and 1 x (old) Sonic flat screen
Screen Resolution 1600 x 1200 and 1280 x 1204
Keyboard Dell Bluetooth
Mouse Advent Optical ADE-WG01 (colour change light up)
Case Dell XPS 420
Cooling Stock Fan
Hard Drives 1 x 640Gb (SATA 300) Western Digital: WDC WD6400AAKS-75A7B0 1 x 1Tb (SATA 600) Western Digital: Caviar Black, SATA 6GB/S, 64Mb cache, 8ms Western Digital: WDC WD1002FAEX-00Z3A0 ATA Device
Internet Speed Varies from 10kb/s to 170kb/s. So unreliable it is not funny
Other Info ASUS USB 3.0 5Gbps/SATA 6Gbps - PCI-Express Combo Controller Card (U3S6)
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16 Oct 2011
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#6 | |
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How Can I install the extracted *.msu files ?
Once the files been extracted in Temp folder, how i can install them ?
Thanks in advance | | My System Specs | | |
16 Oct 2011
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#7 | |
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Hello Ssakib, and welcome to Seven Forums.
For what it sounds like you want to do, it may be easier to use the tutorial below to download the MSU file for the Windows Update instead. This way you will just need to run the MSU to install it. Windows Update - Download Standalone MSU Installer File
Hope this helps,
Shawn | | My System Specs | | Computer type PC/Desktop
System Manufacturer/Model Number Self built custom
OS 64-bit Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 & Windows 8 Enterprise
CPU Intel i7-3930K 3.2 Ghz (O/C 4 Ghz)
Motherboard ASRock X79 Extreme11
Memory 32 GB (8GBx4) G.SKILL DDR3 Quad PC3-19200 2400MHz
Graphics Card Sapphire HD5870 Eyefinity 6 2GB
Sound Card SB Recon 3Di Integrated Chip
Monitor(s) Displays 3x 27" Asus VE278Q
Screen Resolution 1920x1080
Keyboard Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5500 Revolution
Mouse Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5500 Revolution
PSU OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
Case Thermaltake Level 10 GT Snow Edition
Cooling Corsair Hydro H100
Hard Drives 256GB OCZ Vector
160GB OCZ RevoDrive X2
2 x 1TB Samsung HDD HD154UI SATA
Internet Speed 50 Mb/s Download and 2 Mb/s Upload
Other Info Microsoft LifeCam Cinema
Lite-On iHBS212 12x BD Writer
Samsung CLX-3175FW Printer
Netgear WNDR3800 Router
Motorola SBG6580 Cable Modem
2x APC Back-UPS XS 1500
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16 Oct 2011
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#8 | |
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Hi Shawn, thanks for your reply.
But thats not I am looking for. I have downloaded the hotfixes, (for Exchange 2010 CAS role) and extracted according to the steps mentioned above..but now I am unsure how to install them.
Any idea would be greatly appreciated.
Many Thanks | | My System Specs | | |
16 Oct 2011
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#9 | |
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Hi..No need for further information..I have figured it out ! Thanks for all your help... | | My System Specs | | Windows Update - Extract an Update problems? All times are GMT -5. The time now is 10:44 AM. |  |
