Solved What To Do With Windows 7 That Has Never Been Updated?

[Feedback]

Hi, looking for some help would really appreciate it.


My fiancee owns a laptop with Windows 7 on it which has never been updated. She was trying to play a video game on her computer, but it wouldn't launch so we looked into updating her driver, but an error message came up. Then we decided to look into her Windows Update folder and that's when I found out it never has been updated. It currently has 130 important updates listed when you Check For Updates. I'm wondering what would be the best step to take forward to start updating her Windows 7, if there are any updates that should be done first, or any other things we should know.


Thank you.

 

[Paul Black]

Hi Feedback, welcome to Seven Forums,

Are you saying that the laptop is as if Windows 7 has just been re-installed?

I assume that it already has SP1 installed!

To check this, click Start > right-click Computer > click Properties. The SP1 should show under Windows Edition.

I hope this helps!

 

[Feedback]

Hello, thank you for the response.

It doesn't have SP1 installed. It is a years old laptop that has never been updated before.

 

[Paul Black]

Hi Feedback,

What version of Windows 7 do you have a Product Key for?

There are various options available.

I would suggest that you backup everything that you want to keep, i.e. Documents, Pictures, Videos etc.
I would then download the latest Windows 7 ISO [with SP1 already included] and re-install Windows 7. Starting with the SP1 already installed will be a lot easier than having to install SP1 first and then going from there!

If this is the way you want to proceed then please let me know and I will post the instructions of how to do it.

I hope this helps!

 

[Feedback]

Oh it actually does have Service Pack 1. It is Windows 7 Ultimate Service Pack 1.

 

[Paul Black]

Hi Feedback,

You must have some updates installed because there are certain updates installed on installation!

Take a look at this tutorial by Brink: Windows Update - View Update History Details

You can also list the updates using a Command Prompt with Administrator permissions.

[1] Open a Command Prompt with Administrator permissions
[2] Type systeminfo.exe and press Enter [NOTE: This may take a moment while your system collates the information].
[3] Under the Hotfix(s) section you will see a list of Hotfixes/Updates that have been applied.

Check if you have any of the following updates installed:

KB3020369
KB3125574
KB3172605
KB3179573

Also, what is the last [Highest] KB number installed?

I hope this helps!

 

[Snick]

You can use M$ convenience rollup to eliminate some 200+ updates, hours of time, and numerous reboots. Make sure you install the prerequisites or the convenience rollup will fail. Some websites call it SP2. Here's simplified instructions from How to Geek.

How to Update Windows 7 All at Once with Microsoft's Convenience Rollup
Nic

 

[SIW2]

I would use dism++ to d/l and install the updates. It is very efficient as it uses the differ engine.

Click Updates in the left hand column. Then click the "scan" button. It downloads the latest WSUS database, then scans your registry. Wait for it to list available updates, then click the "install" button. It will suggest you skip a few, so just ok the popup when it does that.

Dism++ | New Windows Utility

Direct Download

 

[Snick]

SIW2

 

[Feedback]

So should we use the Roll Up or SIW2? Are both good options?

 

[SIW2]

The rollup is old. Many updates since then missing, and it includes superseded.
Dism++ is much better.

 

[Feedback]

Thank you.

Should we use both x86 and x64 or is x64 only needed for the x64 system? Also why is it better than Windows Update?

 

[SIW2]

Haven't you done it yet? You could have finished by now.

I already explained it offers to skip some updates - It will tell you why.

Should we use both x86 and x64

It doesn't matter. If you try and run the x86 on a x64 system, it will automatically switch to using the x64 executable.

I am not a babysitter. Just run the thing and see. It isn't difficult.

 

[Feedback]

Thanks. No, haven't done it yet as it is my fiancee's computer so will need to do it tomorrow and was just making sure it was the best option for the situation as her WiFi is pretty dodgy so if we commit to an option no matter what it'll probably take a while.

 

[SIW2]

Yes, it will need to download the updates. On the plus side, it only downloads the parts that are needed. That is much smaller than downloading the entire .msu files.

 

[Snick]

Sweet! GUI simple. Beats M$ all around, no ADK, etc. to install. Thanks SIW2! It's on my go to list for sure!
Nic

 

[SIW2]

Ther is another way. You could d/l this executable:
UpdatePatch-18.6.15.exe

run it and will d/l updatepack7R2-18.6.15.exe onto your machine ( that is about 680MB).

Then you can just copy updatepack7R2-18.6.15.exe from your machine ( or transfer it onto usb stick ) onto her machine. She won't need internet access. Then you just run the updatepack on her machine. It works for both bit versions. It isn't quick and asks to reboot a couple of times. It does an excellent job.

There is also a mirror for direct d/l of the pack without using the downloader
mirror

 

[SIW2]

Yup. dism++ is excellent, runs beaurtifully in winpe as well.

Sweet! GUI simple. Beats M$ all around, no ADK, etc. to install. Thanks SIW2! It's on my go to list for sure!
Nic

 

[Feedback]

Okay,


So we tried the Dism++, but it brought up an error. So then we did the Service Pack 2 and it ran very fast (less than an hour) and configured. Then we tried to update her GeForce driver, but they failed so now we are using Dism++ again to update and it worked this time. Is there anything else we might need to do to update her GeForce driver afterwards?

 

[SIW2]

Then we tried to update her GeForce driver, but they failed

What does that mean ? Did it fail to download? Did it download ok, then refuse to install? Any error messages? Are you sure you have the correct driver and bit version?