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Is it possible to get windows updates from a previous install?

Comdrpopnfresh

Comdrpopnfresh

Golden Member
Installed visual studio 2008 and the c++ redistribute killed my ever updating ati drivers. I reinstalled, but don't have enough bandwidth to download all the updates again- can I get them from the previous install?
 
Microsoft keeps a copy of Windows Installer files in %SYSTEMROOT%\Installer, but they aren't really meant for human consumption, and I have no idea if you safely use them to re-install patches.

Windows 7 RTM doesn't really have that many security patches yet. Are you really that bandwidth constrained?
 
If you want backups of the updates, all of them can be downloaded and individually installed. I believe you can look up each update in the MS downloads.
 
MStele said:
If you want backups of the updates, all of them can be downloaded and individually installed. I believe you can look up each update in the MS downloads.
Click to expand...

Right- kinda of like decomposed update packs, right? But what I would like to do, is to find those packaged updates from the first windows 7 install I gave up on and backed up, so that I don't have to re-download them any way, shape, or form, to update my current install. But that is definitely good forward-thinking advice; thank you.

theevilsharpie said:
Windows 7 RTM doesn't really have that many security patches yet. Are you really that bandwidth constrained?
Click to expand...

pretty much. I'm at school, and am only allotted 4gb a week. I felt it more pressing to install the latest versions of the programs I had in the first install, so any kinks may be avoided from new software versions. Agreed, win7 has very few patches- ie8 aside (which I don't use much, can live without)- my main problem is between driver updates (I saved copies on a common partition, but they were out of date before I even finished the reinstall), finishing attaining and installing the software I had on vista before either win7 install, and the ginormous stack of office 2007 updates. Plus I stream music and television shows, am thick in the midst of lots of researching, and had to sync all my 'xmarks' bookmarks (worse than the closet that never gets cleaned).

also, it turns out my im client has been drunk-dialing aol's servers a few orders of magnitude more than I thought. (see here: http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2023005)

unless someone can give me a 5-min tutorial on where to find, how to install and enact, and then how to successfully use pyrit on ati hardware to make some net-tubes choked full of bandwidth literally appear from thin air, I guess I'll have to download the requisite updates in a lab while keeping busy (aka, awake) and having an excuse to be there, then hoof it back to the desktop- install, flush drive; and repeat.
 
theevilsharpie said:
Microsoft keeps a copy of Windows Installer files in %SYSTEMROOT%\Installer, but they aren't really meant for human consumption, and I have no idea if you safely use them to re-install patches.
Click to expand...
Anybody have any more details on this \Installer folder? I really never paid attention to it. It's difficult to search about because the search terms tend to result in information about "Windows Installer".
 
Phynaz said:
No shit...I'll burn through 4GB before dinner today.

What school is this?
Click to expand...

penn state. The wireless is bandwidth-counter free, but a bunch of idiots in my dorm placed their (not allowed) wireless networks on channels that override the university wireless. Add that to a dorm made half a century ago, and a structure acting like a Faraday cage (a strong magnet'll stick to portions of walls, the floor tiles, and the ceiling); and it's not a pretty picture. I've been trying to find a way to repeat the wireless by placing a router in a buddy's room that does pick up the university wireless.

any general ways around bandwidth counters or restrictions I need to get up to speed on?
 
I was doing some lallygagging/lazy surfing/datamining on my school's lesser known subsites; turns out they have an update server redundant to microsoft's within the bandwidth counter's umbrella. Why they don't publicize this server is beyond me. I can't count on all my digits the number of bandwidth violations this would have saved me from had I known this as a freshman.
 
Comdrpopnfresh said:
I was doing some lallygagging/lazy surfing/datamining on my school's lesser known subsites; turns out they have an update server redundant to microsoft's within the bandwidth counter's umbrella. Why they don't publicize this server is beyond me. I can't count on all my digits the number of bandwidth violations this would have saved me from had I known this as a freshman.
Click to expand...

its likely a WSUS server and requires active administration. They set up target groups on a WSUS server, say a group for servers, a group for desktops in this lab, or that building, a group for faculty office machines, whatever. then you have to approve patches to the various groups depending on what you want each group to get as far as updates are concerned.

they *could* offer a generic user group to allow dorm students to connect to, but then theyd have to provide tech support (and clients can have random problems for no apparent reason) and probably accept some level of liability.

in addition theyd have to help people configure it, which requires a GPO in a domain (which means adding you guys to their domain, good luck with that) or walking people through the GPO Editor (which would be a horrible idea) or manually creating registry keys (a worse idea)

thats why they dont publicize the server. theyre better off taking the bandwidth hit than dealing with god knows how many more tech support tickets.

edit : i should add that if you try to add yourself to this update server, its tremendously easy for an admin to notice ungrouped or new machines connecting to the service.
 
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