Is it possible?

Question: 1. Is it possible to make a copy (backup) of already downloaded &
installed Windows Update files in my computer?
2. And then use those backup files to re-install the updates on the same
machine (which was formatted & windows freshly reinstalled)?

spec: Vista Ultimate SP2. 32-bit. HP. Intel Core 2 2.4GHz

background: I wanted to format my HP and clean install vista. I'm using
shared DSL line w/ other people, so my network is quite slow. I thought if I
could make a copy of all the Windows Update files I've already installed and
use it to update the fresh vista, I'd save a lot of time instead downloading
it all over again.
Do you think it's possible?
Or any other approach?
Thank you very much in advance.

p.s. very much enjoy reading posts & replies here. find quite humor in many
of 'em.

Yes it is possible by using AutoPatcher which can be downloaded from here:

http://www.autopatcher.com/downloads/

Run the autopatcher it and it will download all the updates for you. You
can then copy everything on a CD and keep them safe.

When you re-install your OS next time, you need to run the patch file and it
will do the job for you. You don't need to go online for the patches you
have on this CD.

hth


"khl2a" <khl2a@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:2451691D-E75C-4174-8C28-12409749924A@microsoft.com...
> Question: 1. Is it possible to make a copy (backup) of already downloaded
> &
> installed Windows Update files in my computer?
> 2. And then use those backup files to re-install the updates on the same
> machine (which was formatted & windows freshly reinstalled)?
>
> spec: Vista Ultimate SP2. 32-bit. HP. Intel Core 2 2.4GHz
>
> background: I wanted to format my HP and clean install vista. I'm using
> shared DSL line w/ other people, so my network is quite slow. I thought if
> I
> could make a copy of all the Windows Update files I've already installed
> and
> use it to update the fresh vista, I'd save a lot of time instead
> downloading
> it all over again.
> Do you think it's possible?
> Or any other approach?
> Thank you very much in advance.
>
> p.s. very much enjoy reading posts & replies here. find quite humor in
> many
> of 'em.
>

Thank you for the great tip. I'm definitely going to use it in the future.

However, the question still remains; can I use the files I already have
instead downloading again since I know what I have works?

khl2a wrote:
> Question: 1. Is it possible to make a copy (backup) of already
> downloaded & installed Windows Update files in my computer?
> 2. And then use those backup files to re-install the updates on the
> same machine (which was formatted & windows freshly reinstalled)?
>
> spec: Vista Ultimate SP2. 32-bit. HP. Intel Core 2 2.4GHz
>
> background: I wanted to format my HP and clean install vista. I'm
> using shared DSL line w/ other people, so my network is quite slow.
> I thought if I could make a copy of all the Windows Update files
> I've already installed and use it to update the fresh vista, I'd
> save a lot of time instead downloading it all over again.
> Do you think it's possible?
> Or any other approach?
> Thank you very much in advance.
>
> p.s. very much enjoy reading posts & replies here. find quite humor
> in many of 'em.

You didn't actually download the updates in the way you seem to think you
did. When you download the updates individually for future or portable
installations - they are in a different format than when you used automatic
updates to download/install them.

A shared DSL line shouldn't be horribly slow unless you have a dozen people
(heavy users really) sharing it and/or the DSL is not very fast to begin
with. A 3Mbit download/1Mbit upload speed (low-end) DSL should handle 2-5
normal computers/computer users pretty easily.

You could use several methods to get the downloads and keep them around -
but better yet - you shouldn't probably have to do a clean installation of
the OS very often. ;-) Use an imaging tool, perform standard maintenance
and keep good system backups.

--
Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
--
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html