WSUS Offline Update

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Contents

This guide has a complimentary video tutorial for Windows 7 and Windows XP (you must use the older version 9.2.1 of WSUS Offline Update for Windows XP).

Download Links

WSUS Offline Update may be downloaded here:

http://download.wsusoffline.net/

The rest of the guide uses Windows 7 as an example. The procedure for patching Windows Vista and Windows 8.1 are identical.

The guide is focused on Windows 7 as there is no Windows 7 Service Pack 2 and it can hence take an extremely long time to patch Windows 7 fully using Windows Update.  Theres about 200 updates to install for a Windows 7 SP1 Office 2010 SP1 configuration. The WSUS Offline Update has a means of "Automatic Reboot and Recall" where it makes a temporary administrator account, restarts the computer and begins installing the next batch of updates until its done. After its done the administrator account it makes will be deleted.

Windows 8.0 is not supported in this set of Windows Reinstallation Guides due to the many difficulties and problems caused by Microsoft in forcing Windows 8 Service Pack 1 (renamed Windows 8.1) through the Microsoft Store. For Windows 8.0 systems, its recommended to download Windows 8.1 directly and perform a clean installation. See Download Windows 8.1 OEM and Retail .iso and A Clean Install of Windows 8.1.

Downloading all Windows Updates Offline

The first thing you will need to do is extract WSUSoffline and open the extracted folder. Do this on a working computer connected to the internet.

wsus1

wsus2

In this folder launch update generator:

wsus3

Select the version(s) of Windows you want to update. As I am managing multiple Windows 7 32 Bit and Windows 64 Bit installs, I have selected Windows 7 x86 and Windows x64. I have also selected Windows 8.1 x86 and Windows 8.1 x64 for the few installs of these that I have. The more Windows versions you select, the more you need to download. The Offline Updater when ran on a Windows install will only apply updates valid to it and the version of Office installed. I have little intention to install Windows 8.0 or Windows Vista again so I haven't selected these.

I have also selected all the additional options to include the Service Packs, C++ Runtime libraries and . Net Frameworks, Microsoft Security Essentials and Windows Defender definitions. I have also selected Windows Essentials 2012.

wsusa

Next select the Office tab and select your version of Office. I am using Office 2010 and 2013 English as an example as I've no intention to install non-English versions of Office or Office 2007:

wsusb

All the updates and the update installer will automatically be downloaded to the client folder.

  • You can optionally select USB medium to copy the updates to USB media. Note the updates will be in the path of choosing and the client folder if this option is selected, personally I recommend just having them in the client folder and having the entire WSUS Offline Update folder in the external hard drive.
  • You also have the option to Create ISO Images… A separate ISO image will be created to update each version of Windows and Office selected. The .iso images are particularly useful for those using Virtual Machines which use .iso images as virtual drives. You can also use them to burn DVDs if you like but I prefer USB media as its faster to download to and install from.

When you are ready select Start:

wsusc

You will see a Command Prompt Window launch

WSUS Command Prompt

WSUS will download all the selected updates from Windows Update and this may take a long time depending on your connection speed and of course the number of options you have selected. When its finished the command Window should close.

The updates will be downloaded to the client folder:

Client...

You will have an assortment of subfolders depending on the options you selected.

client...2

If you opted for the .iso file(s) these will be created in the .iso folder.

wsusiso

If you opted for the USB media, all the updates will be in the folder of your choosing as well as the client folder.

Updating your Windows Installation Offline

You simply need to copy your client folder over from your external hard drive to the C: Drive of the system you wish to update (If you selected USB media you can can copy the folder you specified to save the updates in opposed to the client folder – it doesn't matter which one, their contents will be the same). Its recommended to copy the folder directly on the C: Drive so there are no permission errors when the automatic reboot and recall option is selected.

If on the other hand you are using multiple .iso files in a VM its recommended to load the Windows .iso in the VM before the Office .iso. There is no need to copy from the .iso to the VMs C: Drive.

Client...

Select Continue to provide administrator permissions to copy the folder.

copy the iso to c 1

Open the copied client folder on the C: drive open it up and run the UpdateInstaller.

clienta

clientb

Accept the UAC.

wsusuiuac

Then select Update Root Certificates, Install Internet Explorer 11, Update C++ Runtime Libraries, Install Microsoft Silverlight, Install .Net Framework 4.x and 4.0, Update Remote Desktop Client and Verify Installation Packages.

wsusx

Select Install Microsoft Security Essentials (unless you plan using some other security software) and accept the warning.

wsusb

You may also want to select automatic reboot and recall. This makes a temporary administrator user account without a password and restarts the computer after every set of updates which need a restart. It then launches the update installer automatically and continues installing all the updates. It continues doing this until all the specified updates are installed. The computer usually has to be restarted multiple times, You can essentially walk away for a couple of hours and your computer will be fully updated.

If you don't select this you will have to restart the computer manually and relaunch the updater which can be time-consuming.

WSUSy

You should not have a user password setup for this, select yes at the warning about the User Account Control:

wsus6

You will also have the option for Windows Essentials 2012:

wsusz

I recommend unchecking Windows Live Messenger as its obsolete, superseded by Skype.

When ready select Start.

wsusxx

The command Window will open and Windows will begin to update:

wsus8

Even with the automatic recall I had to run the Update Installer again. I ran it 3 times. Note some updates are black listed such as the Browser choice update which offers no benefit and is pretty annoying.

When WSUS is done the command prompt Window will look similar to mine and if you run it again you will get an identical results in the command prompt (i.e. no updates are installed).

wsusend

Once done you can right click the client folder and delete it.

WSUSDelete

Select yes and yes again.

WSUSDelete2 WSUSDelete3

The folder should now be deleted.

 

WSUSDelete4

Its now time to install the system drivers see Dell Driver Installation Order.

Checking Windows Update

Windows Vista/7

Go to All programs, Windows Update.

wsuswinupdate

win update 2

Turn on automatic updating if its disabled.

winupdate1

Select the important updates.

winupdate1a

Uncheck any updates you don't want and if you really don't want them right click them and select hide update.

I will do this with the Browser choice Update which is thankfully now removed from Windows Update.

2importantupdateshide

Select Optional Updates and then select OK.

2optionalx

Select Install Updates and the Updates will now download.

3updatey

If you have the Microsoft malicious removal update enabled accept the license terms.

3updatez

The updates will download.

4updateq

Once the updates have installed, select restart now.

46uupdates2

Note the difference between 10 important updates and 1 of these rejected to the 150 updates required for the most up to date Windows 7 installation media from Digital River (with the Service Pack 1 with Media Refresh .iso).

150updates

After restarting check for any other updates. I had 7 optional updates so I just installed them.

Windows 8.1/10

Right click the Start menu and select control panel:

x

Select system and security:

y Under the Windows Update category, select Check for Updates :

z

Windows will check for any updates and present them to you if necessary:

z2

Once its found the updates you can click on the important updates:

z3

You may uncheck any updates you don't want to install (optional). If you really don't want to install them right click them and select hide update. I usually do this with the Browser Choice Update but this is thankfully now removed.

Select install when ready:

z4

In some other cases some important updates won't be checked and you can check these. For example the Microsoft .Net Framework Update.

1a

You may also be presented with some optional updates such as Silverlight:

1b

You can select the optional updates you desire and then select install.

1c

Windows will install the important and optional updates you select. In some cases you may need to accept an additional license agreement:

1d

Once the updates are installed you'll be prompted to Restart:

res

You should then check for updates again.

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39 thoughts on “WSUS Offline Update

  1. I did not know where to ask this question, so I am writing here, Philip.

    I followed your instructions to freshly reinstall windows 8 on my dell, and then use WSUS offline update for WU.

    I tried it 3 times, but it failed to update / install the updates. every time, I started with a fresh windows setup by reinstalling the windows too – to start from a fresh setup.

    I first tried to install the wsus offline updates without updating/installing any drivers; then I tried it by installing drivers for devices that were showing yellow mark in device manager.

    what am I doing wrong?

    how can i send/give you the log of my latest attempt (wsusupdate log)?

    hope you can help.
    thank you.

    biren

    1. Microsoft have made an awful deployment of Windows 8.0/8.1 by failing to provide a .iso for Windows 8.1 or Windows 8.1 as a direct download which is one of the main reasons why my guides recommend Windows 7. Superior performance would be brought about by a direct install of Windows 8.1 but its hard to get a hold of a .iso particularly for the OEM license.

      I've not tested WSUS Offline Update for a Windows 8.0 install as theres really no point, its a dead OS and there is no need to update Windows 8.0 fully and its actually a complete and utter waste of time…

      All you need to do is install 1 Update for Windows 8.0, KB2871389 and then get Windows 8.1 from the Store, follow the steps here:
      http://dellwindowsreinstallationguide.com/download-microsoft-windows-and-office/download-microsoft-windows/upgrading-to-windows-8-1-from-windows-8-0-via-the-microsoft-store/
      Ignore all the optional steps however you may need to install the chipset and network drivers in order to connect to the internet to download the update from the Store. As mentioned it would be better for a direct download but Microsoft of course ignored all the feedback from their users and Windows installation experts… After installation of Windows 8.1 from the Store immediately install KB2919442 and then KB2919355 as there may be problems getting these from Windows Update.

  2. Hi, I did this process and in the ISO folder there are 2 iso images so what do I do with 2 ?
    One is wsosoffline-ofc-enu and the other is wsosoffline-w61 and the hashes as well for each?
    Please help and thanks in advance

    1. My YouTube channel got a copyright claim by Microsoft and was closed. I recommend saving the updates to the folder when downloading them. I then copy the folder to the C: Drive and run the updater. You can copy the .isos across and extract them with 7zip and run the updater from the extracted folder.

      1. dear philip, could you elaborate? how do i copy the 'updates' to 'the folder', and which folder are you referring to?

        thanks for your support. biren.

      2. I've updated this guide for clarity, use the "USB media" opposed to the ".isos" and copy the USB folder directly to your C: Drive.

  3. Yea I knew that but my question is, do I do that with both images and which one first? or does it matter?
    Thanks,

  4. dear philip.
    thanks a lot.
    like u said, microsoft is making my life miserable – making upgrade to 8.1 so difficult.

    i really appreciate your support. without people like u, people would be stranded with dead systems.

    i have a windows 8 SL 64 bit OS dvd, sent to me by dell support. it is only an OS dvd.

    using that, i have again (this is the 6th time in 15 days) freshly installed the Win8 OS.
    there are no other programs – i even checked 'programme n features' on your suggestion, and it says no programs are installed.

    the device manager shows following 4 devices with yellow mark: 3D video controller; Network controller; PCI Simple communications controller, and; USB2.0-CRW (that must be for SD card reader).
    rest all devices seem to have microsoft/windows provided drivers.

    i am now going to follow your guide you mentioned to me above in reply to my first query.
    i still havent installed any drivers (i m writing this from my smartphone).

    so, here i need your guidance.
    1. do i need to install chipset drivers? is it essential, or is ok if i can get my net working by network driver alone?

    2. can i install any one of these 2 first, or chipset HAS to be installed first?

    i want to get the net started so that i can read this on my laptop, and work there directly.

    thank you, once again.

    biren

    1. I have installed only the network driver, and I am on the internet, Philip.

      though I have put a request on the win8 forum of dell community, I would be glad if you could tell me what drivers do I need to install for my 3421 after I update to win8.1 (64 bit), from the dell ftp site.

      thank you.

  5. hello philip

    I did all the steps above, and in the usb medium i put a new folder in drive D: as target and started the downloading. But during the downloading of updates my internet connection got disconnected and some of the updated were failed to download. however the downloaded updates were copied to the folder. when i start the updateinstaller application in the folder and click on start, it starts with cmd and installs some updates and says some updates are not found. which is obvious.

    now my question is : how do i download the missing updates and include it in the new folder.
    so that i can use it to update my other computers as wel.
    Do i have to start the downloading process all over again to make it complete?

    P.S i have saved the log file for both download and update process.

    1. I haven't attempted this kind of test, I think it'll check to see whats downloaded and download the missing updates but it might download everything again.

      I advise making a new thread on the WSUS Offline Update Forums.

  6. Philip,
    This is a great guide. Thanks for sharing it. Your experience has been very helpful.
    In addition to your outline of the WSUS Offline Updater, I've read about Windows "AutoPatcher," Windows "Portable Update," and Windows "Updates Downloader (WUD)." Have you tried any of those utilities? Is WSUS your favorite?

    Do the updates that are applied through WSUS Offline Update appear in the "Windows Update > View Updates History" window (log), as if you had used Windows Update itself?

    I think the "Portable Update" utility uses the Windows API to perform the updates and copies them to the Windows\SoftwareDistribution folder, and I think they appear in the Windows Update History window — which, could be beneficial.

    1. Hi Steve
      I've not done testing of the other utilities but I was pretty impressed with WSUS and never felt the need to test the others. Guide wise there may not be so much point looking into testing the other utilities as Windows 10 may be drastically different with regards to installation media:
      http://blogs.windows.com/bloggingwindows/2015/03/16/how-windows-10-achieves-its-compact-footprint/
      i.e. it may allow for up to date installation media when performing an install or refresh

      Back to WSUS Offline Update… Regarding Windows Update history from my testing it only lists the updates applied that were installed in that user account.

      The WSUS Offline Update has a means of creating a temporary administrator account so it will automatically restart the computer and recall thus saving time. Updates installed in that temporary user account do not appear to show in Windows Update history. I've not done in depth testing to check this, I just done one automated update in a VM test.

      All the updates do however show in Programs and Features → Installed Updates.

      I don't exactly want to look at the other utilities at the moment however I am going to look into using the WSUS Offline Update with NTlite (the successor to the popular Nlite). These two used in conjunction may allow for a fully slipstreamed "Dell Windows 7 Reinstallation DVD" which is more useful that looking at other utilites that perform the same function as the WSUS Offline Update. This guide is a bit ambitious and will require some testing. I am also writing a PhD thesis at the moment so it may take a while for me to get it made.

  7. Philip,

    I did the proces, and now i opened my .iso folder, but there arent any files in it. What could I have done wrong? Thanks in advance

    1. To get a .iso you need to select the checkbox Create iso per selected product and image. I have not selected this as I told it to create a folder on a USB medium opposed to making a .iso.

  8. Hello Philip,

    Another question:
    Let's say I downloaded the updates of Windows 7 en created an ISO and copied the updates to my USB. But I want to delete the updates which Microsoft releaed the last month, so all the updates since 3-5-2015. Is this somehow possible? Do I need to set this setting on my WSUS server? Can I just select the last few files in the folder "w61" of my USB and delete them? Because I heard that some new updates replace older ones… So I won't have the older ones anymore I guess if I do it this way… And also how do I do this with the .cab files in my ISO?
    I hope you understand what I mean.

    Thanks in advance!

    Wouter

    1. I think the WSUS Offline Update automatically checks for obsolete updates and deletes them when you relaunch the update generator. I think it also automatically deletes the .isos in the .iso folder and updates them if you opt to create the .iso. You may want to check on the WSUS Offline Update forums however.

      1. Yes this is true indeed, and this is the problem I got indeed… I ask on the forums. Thanks Philip, I appriciate it how you are helping your fellow people. Keep it up!

  9. I thought the Windows Offline Updater will download ALL windows update and basically do its job for you. However, why did you still have to manually check the windows update and still had so many updates to download and install.

    1. It should I find that Windows update has been offering some of the updates that have been already installed however. On the whole it does significantly save time when upgrading an unpatched Windows 7 SP1 install.

  10. How to update the WSUS Offline version and mantain all the updates just downloaded?
    For example i have the 9.5 with ISO images created: how can i update/rebuild the ISO images using the 9.7 version but without download all the updates again?

    1. Cut across all the subfolders in the client folder of the old WSUS Offline Update to the client folder in the new WSUS Offline Update.

  11. Hi Philip,

    Thanks a lot for the docs. I dont quite understand, do we need to do the second part? I mean cing this "Checking Windows Update"
    Windows Vista/7
    Go to All programs, Windows Update.

    If we have to do this, why we need WSUS offline Update at the first place? I guess what we wanted is to avoid using Windows update….. Could you please help me if I understand it completely wrong?

    thanks!
    Ally

    1. There are always some additional updates the WSUS Offline Update doesn't find. For this reason I open up Windows Update afterwards. Moreover I prefer to use it before connection to the internet on a clean install so it is more patched.

  12. When I tried to install the generated updates the Command window gave the following messages:
    "Medium does not support Microsoft Windows (w61 x64 enu)
    Medium does not support Microsoft Office( ofc glb)"

    The installation was terminated.

    What should I do? My OS is Windows 7 (64) and I have Office 2007 installed.

    Proinnsias

    1. It looks like something has got corrupted. You may need to try downloading the updates again. Select both 32 Bit and 64 Bit Windows 7.

      1. Hi

        Thanks for prompt response and apologies for the delay in getting back. I tried again, selecting both 32 Bit (x86) and 64 bit Windows 7 for the download, but installation failed again. The following is a screenshot of the error message. Incidentally, the only options available under Installation were Install Management Framework 5.0 and Update remote desktop client and the only options under Control were Shut down on completion and Show log files. I left all of these unchecked when I pressed the start button. I don't know if this has any significance.

        Your further help would be greatly appreciated as I am desperate to download these updates.

        Proinnsias

      2. It worked for me yesterday in testing with a Windows 7 64 Bit install…

        Are you using a Factory Image or a Clean Install?

        If a Factory Install who is your OEM? If a Factory Install has the Factory Image been loaded recently or have you been running Windows 7 for a while?

        If A Clean Install what installation .iso did you use?

      3. I realised I was making an error in the download and tried it again and it seems to have worked, although it took ages. This was partly because I recently had my hard disk wiped so there was a new install of Windows 7 which meant that over 200 updates were required. It took 14 hours to install SP1, Office and a couple of other programs and only about 6 updates. One update took over two hours to install. I was about to abandon ship when suddenly the installs speeded up, although it still took over three hours to install 187 further updates. A number of the attempted updates failed. However, perhaps the main benefit of the exercise is that automatic update seems to have been restored, and there have been a number of further updates which have been installed. The most important thing is that svchost is no longer taking up most of my CPU resources trying to install updates.

        Thanks for your help and instant responses to my queries. I have made a donation on your website.

        With best wishes

        Proinnsias

  13. This is was great help for me. I was able to download and install everything except with a couple of updates due to the fact that the MS server was not responding. It does take some time and requires a lot of patient, however, if this was not done, one would not be able to get the necessary updates for Win7 to run smoother, in my case, on my dell XPS M1730. Like I said, most of the drivers and updates were installed, but, every time I tried to install the Nvidia GeForce 8800M GTX, the laptop will not show video, it would boot but with a black screen. After booting in safe mode and disabling the drivers in device manager, the laptop would boot again into windows, am I doing something wrong, is there another way to install the correct driver for my laptop?

  14. Hi Philipyip,
    The WSUS Ofline syncronize all Windows Updates (Service Packs, Feature Packs, Security Updates, Updates, etc?) Or some Updates will be missed?
    Thank You
    Dani

    1. I've not really used it for Windows 10 as a new build/installation .iso is out every few months. This guide is more of a legacy guide focusing on Windows 7.

  15. Hi Philipyip,
    I'm running latest version 12.0 WSUS Offline Updater. So I downloaded Windows Server 2019 updates and have successfully installed them via the .\client\UpdateInstaller.exe on an offline 2019 server. Ran it three times and rebooted till it said "…Nothing to do! on the last run.
    My question is, should l go into the Windows Update screen and run Check for updates while offline (no internet)?
    Also when I click on Update History, it's empty.
    Please confirm.
    Thanks
    Ken

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