Sams Teach Yourself Microsoft Windows XP in 24 Hours

By Greg Perry

• Table of Contents
  • Copyright
  • About the Author
  • Acknowledgments
  • Tell Us What You Think!
  • Introduction
  • Part I: Wake Up with Windows XP
  • Hour 1. Taking a Bird's-Eye Look at Windows XP
  • Hour 2. Getting Started with Windows XP
  • Hour 3. Managing the Windows XP Interface
  • Part II: Morning Windows Desktop Exploration
  • Hour 4. Working with the My Computer Window
  • Hour 5. Navigating Files with Windows Explorer
  • Hour 6. Calling for Help
  • Hour 7. Improving Your Windows Desktop Experience
  • Part III: Early Afternoon Windows Exploration
  • Hour 8. Installing Programs with Windows XP
  • Hour 9. Finding Files, Folders, and Friends
  • Hour 10. Using the Desktop Accessories
  • Part IV: Late Afternoon Internet Integration
  • Hour 11. Surfing the Web with Internet Explorer
  • Hour 12. Tying Windows into the Web
  • Hour 13. Networking with Windows XP
  • Hour 14. Managing E-mail and Newsgroups with Outlook Express
  • Part V: An Evening with Advanced Windows
  • Hour 15. Exploring Your Hardware Interface
  • Hour 16. Understanding Printing and Fonts
  • Hour 17. Using Windows on the Road
  • Hour 18. Giving Windows XP a Tune-Up
    • How the Updates Work
    • Updating Windows Yourself
    • Transferring Settings from One Computer to Another
    • What's in Your System
    • Summary
    • Q&A
    • Workshop
  • Hour 19. Managing Your Hard Drives
  • Hour 20. Tinkering with the Advanced System Tools
  • Part VI: Having Fun at Nighttime
  • Hour 21. Using Media Player
  • Hour 22. Picturing Windows XP Graphics
  • Hour 23. Making Movies with Windows XP
  • Hour 24. Advanced Windows XP Tips
  • Part VII: Appendixes
  • Appendix A. Differences Between the Windows Home and Professional Edition
  • Appendix B. Glossary
  • Appendix C. Answers to Quizzes

Updating Windows Yourself

If you don't want Windows to do any updating or file-retrieval automatically in preparation for an update, you can request that Windows XP not update itself until you take the action that directs Windows to locate updates that might be needed.

If you select the third option of the Automatic Updates dialog box, as you could have done at the end of the previous To Do task list, Windows waits until you select the Start menu's Windows Update option. Until then, Windows will not update your computer or download updates until you request them.

If you want to trigger your own Windows Update and forego the automatic update process as you'll want to do if you use a slower, dial-up modem, select Windows Update from the Start menu. Figure 18.2 shows the Windows Update screen that will appear.

Figure 18.2 Select your own time for updating Windows.

When you click the Scan for Updates option, Windows Update scans your system and compares what it finds to the updates available online. The available updates then appear and you can determine which, if any, you want to apply.

Windows Update attempts to locate these three types of updates:

• Critical Updates: These updates are important for bug fixes or security holes that Microsoft deems critical.
• Windows XP: These updates are new options and utilities that might be available for Windows XP but are not deemed critical or urgent.
• Driver Updates: Updates to specific hardware drivers (internal programs that enable your specific computer devices to work with Windows XP) to fix bugs or make your hardware work better with Windows XP.

Often, Windows must restart your computer to complete the update process. You should close all program windows before submitting to the system restart.

Share This