Windows Update checks for new updates randomly every 22 hours. The reason behind the random check is that if all the systems in the world start checking for updates at the exact same time, this would put extreme load on Microsoft servers. That’s why Microsoft came up with the idea of checking for updates randomly every day. You can also run Windows Update manually to check for new updates at any time. Here are three ways to check for new Windows updates.
Force Windows Update check using Run command dialog
I found out that the easiest way to force Windows update check is to use a command in the Run dialog. There are other commands from CMD and PowerShell as well, but let’s start with the easiest way to do it. Open the Run dialog (Windows key + R) or open Windows Search and run the following command: This will trigger the Windows Update graphical user interface which will start checking for new updates. This method works on all versions of Windows including Windows 10 and Windows 11. There is another command that will trigger the same effect but only works in Windows 10 and Windows 11:
Run Windows Update from PowerShell (Command-line)
There is no official Windows PowerShell module for Windows Update. PSWindowsUpdate is a third-party module that can be used to configure Windows updates in Windows. This module is not installed in Windows by default but you can download it from PowerShell gallery, install and run the module to check for new updates. There are three steps to running Windows Update through PowerShell. Run the following commands step by step: This will install the Windows Update module in PowerShell. This command will check for updates. This command will install the available updates (which were listed in step 2) The above mentioned command will only install Windows updates. If you want to update other Microsoft products as well, you’ll need to enable the Microsoft Update Service as well. It’s pretty easy to enable it using PowerShell: If you want to automatically restart your computer after installing all the updates, you can run the following command:
Deploy updates on remote computers
The PowerShell module can also be used to deploy Windows updates on remote computers. There are two commands involved in this process: 1- Create a list of computers and pass the list as a variable string: 2- Now run the following command to start checking for Windows updates on remote computers:
Install specific updates only
If you already know the Article kb no. of the specific update you want to install, you can run the following command: Replace the KB number with the one you want to install.
Prevent specific updates from installing
You can prevent specific updates from installing on your computer using the following PowerShell command:
Run Windows Update from Command Prompt (Command-line)
Windows Update can also be run through legacy CMD to get the latest updates. The only limitation running Windows Update through the command prompt is that it won’t show any progress. Only results are shown when the process is complete. Let’s see how to run it: RestartDevice – Restart Windows after updates are installed ScanInstallWait – Check for updates, download available updates and install them
Press the Windows key + R to open Run dialog.Type cmd and then press Ctrl + Shift + Enter to open the command prompt in administrative mode.Run the following command to check for new updates:wuauclt /detectnow Run the following command to install new updateswuauclt /updatenow
Since the command prompt does not show any progress, a better approach would be to check and install updates at the same time. Here’s the command for this: The above-mentioned command will work in all versions of Windows, including Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2. But if you are using Windows 10 or Windows Server 2016, you can use UsoClient command which has more options than wuauclt. You can run UsoClient with the following switches: StartScan – Start checking for updates StartDownload – Start downloading updates StartInstall – Start installing downloaded updates
Check for Windows updates using Windows Settings
To check for new updates and configure your Windows Update settings, follow the steps below:
How to force Windows Update to download already downloaded updates
If you want to force Windows Update to re-download all the updates again, you can do this using the steps below. There will be times when the updates become corrupted or for other reasons, you just don’t want to install the downloaded updates. In that situation, you can easily delete the already downloaded updates which will for Windows Update to run again and check for and download the updates again. The only caveat in this situation is that the update must not have been installed on your computer. If the update is already installed, Windows will detect it as installed and will not download it again. In that case, you will need to uninstall the update first and then force Windows Update to run again. Step 1: Open File Explorer and go to This PC. Step 2: Open C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\DownloadThis folder contains all the update files that Windows Operating System is currently downloading or recently downloaded and installed. Step 3: Delete all the files from the above mentioned folder. Step 4: Run Windows Update again using the above mentioned methods. This will force Windows Update to check for the same updates and download them again. The download and install process for new updates is completely automated. You don’t need to do anything during the download and installation process.
Manage Windows updates using Wuinstall command line tool
Using WuInstall, IT Administrators can automate Windows updates. Wuinstall can be used to enforce Windows Updates inquiries, downloads, and installations at times when they deem them appropriate, enabling them to make the entire update process more controlled and user friendly. WuInstall is a strong and flexible system management tool that can be used in a WSUS based or standalone environment. To download the latest updates using Wuinstall, you will need to download and install Wuinstall first. Follow the steps below: Go to http://www.wuinstall.com/ and install the latest free version of Wuinstall on your computer. Open Command Prompt in administrative mode To search for the latest updates, run the following command: This will not only look for new updates but will also list them in the command window. To download the updates, run the following command: This will download all the available updates from Microsoft servers. To install the updates, run the following command: There are a few more switches that you can use with the install command /quiet – will install updates without showing anything. /disableprompt – Disable any input from Windows /autoaccepteula – Auto-accept any agreement during update installation /rebootcycle – Install updates on the next computer reboot.
How to fix corrupted Windows Update
Sometimes Windows Update files get corrupted and the user is not able to download the files again or install the corrupted update files. In that case, we need to run a dism command to fix corrupted Windows Update. Here are the steps: Open the Command Prompt (Run –> cmd) and run the following command: After successfully running this command, try force downloading the updates again and the Windows Update should start working again. Other things you can do with Windows Update: Disable or bypass pending updates on Windows 10 (and Windows 11) How to prevent a specific update from installing while allowing all others How to view and save a list of installed updates in Windows 10 (and Windows 11) View updates sizes in Windows 10 (and Windows 11) Download any Windows 10 cumulative update How to disable automatic restart after installing the updates How to add update packages to Windows 10 ISO image How to disable automatic updates How to limit Windows Update bandwidth usage How to install updates offline using CAB and MSU files Hopefully this will be useful in situations where you want to automate certain Windows functions. What other purposes do you want to use command line options to run Windows Update? Also see:
How To Disable Automatic Updates In Windows 11How To Run Windows Update In Windows 11How to Install Windows Updates from MSU and CAB filesHow To Install Microsoft Updates Using “WSUS Offline”How To Download Any Windows 10 Cumulative Update
