Have an Asus u45jc laptop. Recently bought a 256 gb ssd drive and had it installed. I installed the utilities and reinstalled windows. I clicked on windows updates and it shows about 150 updates recommended and 9 updates optional. Is installing these updates a must? The reason why I’m hesistant is because I’m worried installing all these updates will make my computer slower.
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[li]Which version of Windows?[/li][li]How much RAM do you have?[/li][/ol]
Installing the updates may add new features, improve upon existing features, and/or reduce vulnerabilities from known issues.
Upgrade with the updates.
windows 7 and 4gb ram.
Does that matter since i have 256ssd now?
Yes. A 256SSD refers to your hard drive (storage capacity). RAM is the memory the computer uses to function. Two different animals.
If you can increase your RAM to at least 8GB. You should see a difference in computer “speed” meaning it will work much better. Buy your RAM from http://www.crucial.com/
If you look at the details under Windows Update, you’ll see that they’re classified by importance.
The updates classified as “essential” or “high priority” typically won’t make your computer slower, but they will make it safer. Windows is made up of hundreds of modules which are used as needed. Each update changes some existing module for a new version. Once updated, the “old” version of the module is essentially gone from your system (it’s still stored somewhere, but never used). In general the new modules are not larger, slower or more numerous than the originals, so they won’t slow down the system.
Same thing with the “important” updates. Those represent minor bug fixes or less security-critical updates, but they shouldn’t slow anything down if you install them.
The “optional” updates are typically:
- New versions of large system components like Internet Explorer, etc. That can represent a slow-down but you usually get increased functionality.
- New device drivers for your system (new display drivers, etc.). If your system is working correctly, in general they’re not worth installing.
Note that all installed updates keep backup copies of the old modules in case you need to uninstall the updates. This will take up a small amount of space on your SSD disk, but this does not slow down the system.
They are mostly security fixes and bug fixes. If they affect your computer’s speed at all, they will probably make it faster, and they will make malware infections (which are what actually would slow you down, or worse) considerably less likely. You should install all the “essential” and “important” updates as soon as possible, and probably all or most of the “optional” ones too (the only one I avoid is the “Bing Desktop”), and you should keep Windows Update enabled so that you get any further updates as soon as they are released.
Always install any important updates. If you don’t, you could be vulnerable to malware attacks. Look up “Blaster Virus” to see how bad that can be.
He’ll need a 64 bit version of Win7.
i’ve found that it can help to do them in batches. maybe even over more than one day.
doing all at once may take a long time. multiple simultaneous updates may confuse the computer. you may not know if it’s running or hung up.
select some. let it run and finish. select more.
My Dell Inspiron laptop with Windows XP pro is what I use for work. At one time I had auto updates turned on. Right after the last update (from a few years ago) my ability to communicate with the systems that I program quit working. The com ports were still set up the way they were, I just no longer had the ability to communicate with the fire alarm systems using the factory proprietary software. I rolled bak that update and shut the auto updates down.
This is my only Windows machine and it is a Uni-tasker. No more updates for me.
I assume you added the SSD to your Lappy?
You mentioned you had your machine updated to a Solid State Device, SSD, so your techy type may well have re-installed ‘7’ on that.
If you’re using your SSD as your ‘C’ drive, in other words your default location for Programs and Data, please be aware that the jury is still out regarding it’s permanance. I highly reccommend keeping them seperate, O/S on SSD , Data on HDD, and backed up.
Stone tablets, whilst taking up a fair amount of space, are considered proof against the corruption of ages not man.
Different Hard Disk Drive, HDD, manufacturors have reliable mean time between failure, MTBF, records.
So… keep your O/S seperate, on an SSD if you wish. MS patches generally follow this pattern: Patch Tuesday - Wikipedia
sorry mods I still can’t reduce that link to a ‘here’, me bad!
Update Tuesday is generally followed by Hubris Wednesday and blame the trainee/intern Thursday.
Sorry to be a pedant but backup.
Know how your restore system works.
Put it into play and be as certain that it can restore your Data.
Otherwise leave Windows 7 to merrily update itself, whilst realizing that, given XP’s 12/13? current life we will never see as well a supported Microsoft Operating System as the majority of the World uses now.
Long answer, short question.
Sorry Pauli1
Peted
As to whether
That could have been the SP2 updated which included an automatic firewall which would have needed to be configured for your application. Or it could just be the proprietary software relying on some functionality or protocol that wasn’t officially supported or was locked down to prevent abuse (not uncommon with small, custom applications). Either way, there should’ve been update to make it compatible with the changes to XP.
Still, if this machine were used for anything other than a single task or was always online, I’d say it’s a breach waiting to happen. But even a loaded gun or live explosive can be used safely if you’re careful and know what you’re doing.
That is the case. If this was my all purpose machine, it would be a different story, but it is only used for work applications, word and excel documents and company email. The factory is not real great at releasing updates to the proprietary software when Microsoft shifts. We were never able to use machines with Vista. WIndows 8 is hit and miss.
There is a legacy system that requires windows 98. There are not very many of those systems left, but I keep an old Thinkpad around just for them.
Updates fix problems and vulnerabilities. One common source of security issues was that when fixes were published for vulnerabilities, often they were not installed. At least one famous virus (can’t recall off hand) years ago attacked a vulnerability that had been fixed months before, but more than half of computers were never patched. Thus Microsoft started the Windows update system, where ALL available patches for windows were available at any time.
Standard part of an Windows install I do is to apply all (all) updates.
Some may add extra features, may increase the load on your PC - but not that much. Many things rely on up-to-date systems.
yeah, I’ve had auto-update turn on the firewall (not needed INSIDE a corporate network. Outside is a different story.) DO you know how annoying it is to waste time to diagnose a DNS or communications issue only to go “Doh! Firewall’s on!”