Hi All,

Please be aware that beginning next month, we will start an upgrade to the Windows Update and Microsoft Update services. As a part of the service upgrade, an update to the Windows Update and Automatic Updates client code will be required. We will start this infrastructure update in late August, and it will take a couple of months to complete the rollout. Updates to the services and Windows code are required from time to time to maintain and improve service quality, reliability, and operations. The last update occurred in November of 2008.

This update will not change your current Windows Update or Automatic Updates settings. It will improve the user interface for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 computers running Windows Update, adding a more visible and detailed description of updates as well as improvements in how users are notified about service packs. This update will not change the look and feel of Automatic Updates.


The Windows Update or Automatic Updates client software must be updated, or you may not be able to successfully check for updates or perform other configured actions. If Windows Update or Automatic Updates is enabled to automatically check for updates, download updates, or install updates on your computer then the infrastructure update will be downloaded and installed automatically. Your computer will not be updated if you have disabled Windows Update (or Automatic Updates) and do not check for updates.

Just a reminder, we are starting the Windows Update and Microsoft Update service upgrades today. The service upgrade will include updates to the online update services and the Windows Update (or Automatic Updates on XP) client code installed on your computer. As explained in our previous post, the upgrade will take several months to complete, and you don’t need to do anything on your own to complete the service upgrade. The client code will be updated automatically when needed, if your computer is configured to automatically check for updates, download updates, or install updates. If you have disabled updating and do not check for updates then the client code will not be updated automatically.