windows update help

[oscoyle]

I am installing a new motherboard and am going to format my harddrive. I have all the current updates for windows xp home and would like to save them so I don't have to spend hours of downloading on my dial-up connection. Could someone tell me how to identify the update files so I can burn them to a cd and install them on the reformatted harddrive.I can not get through to the windows site to order the sp1 cd. -thanks

 

[mechBgon]

If there's a way to recover all the patches from your present rig, I'd like to know how as well.

My second-best suggestion is to go to Windows Update, click View Installation History, write down allllll those patch numbers (Q323565 or so on), then click Display the link to the Windows Update Catalog under See Also, hit the Save Settings button, and now you'll have a link to the Windows Update Catalog on the left. You can search out the various patches you've got, download them, and save them. Install SP1 first, and then you can run all the other hotfixes one after the other without a reboot inbetween (says Microsoft).


edit: ahhh, I remember now, they don't let you download SP1 separately Ok, gimme a B for effort anyway

 

[redbeard1]

You used to be able to download the individual update files through the microsoft corporate download site, but microsoft has messed around with that so much, it is almost impossible to get at those files without running the update. Maybe someone out there knows where microsoft is hiding that stuff these days.