Windows Vista forum: Poll: When it comes to software updates, I do the following:

Typically, a service pack initially has more bugs and more severe bugs than the application that it is servicing. It is prudent to wait a few weeks or months for the bugs to be worked out of the bug repairing service packs. I try to "keep my ear to the ground" through this and other forums and other publications to determine when it is safe to install the service packs.

Look I'm no expert but why in the world would microsoft have all these updates if it wasn't to help your computer run better? Why would they have all these fixes if it wasn't to fix a problem? Didn't at one time or another MS XP have it's own problems when it came out? Didn't it have it's own downloads and patches and fixes at one time or another?? It seems to me people don't give anything a chance and just give up. If you have a problem with a download you can always chat with whoever you bought your computer through and it doesn't cost you anything. Some of you guys out there are really smart but just don't think!!

What I find remarkable is that somehow most consider patches as something Microsoft invented. It ain't true. When I worked on CDC Mainframes the system I used evolved fron KRONOS 2.1 PSR 404 to NOS 2.1 PSR 554+. I worked on an IBM mainframe that went from OS/MVT level 14 to level 18. Later, when I worked on an IBM VM system and we had a problem with the FORTRAN Debugger, we discovered what we didn't have that latest fixes. After upgrading IBM was able to give us a fix for the Debugger. No software goes out the dorr bug free!

Automatic updates would not download server updates, unless you have a server. I know that since I have both a Vista and an Enterprise Server 2003 System. The wrong pathes do not get downloaded, Same for XP, when I had it. Same for Adobe, Apple and Symantec patches. I can't speak for all software publishers, but for those I enumerated the patches are matched to installed software.

By reading posts and talking to people, I have observed most are ignorant about computers before Wintel or Mac.

I let windows do my updates automatically and only install with my permisiion. The reason for this is I want all the security and necessary updates, but when it comes to service packs I always wait until it is tried and tested. By letting windows do this I have never had any issues accept for only one on my Vista machine. That update caused an error that seems no one has come up with a rock hard solution for. I was able to fix mine, but my fix did not help all people who had that issue. Every thing else has been clean and has not effected the performance of my computers. I have installed service pack three on my XP machines, but I have not yet installed service pack 1 on my vista machine. It is still uder scrutany.

No! That's why Microsoft stole 'system restore' from the folks who wrote 'go back' some years ago. It works (usually) if things go wrong.

I have a quad 4 machine that I decided to update Vista with their (MS) SP 1. It would not update. Went through the routine and went to 100% on all three phases, then reverted the update. I was in contact with MS SP 1 experts for around 4 weeks, with no corrective outcome. They had me trying a bunch of things to no avail. One of the items they told me to try, messed my machine up good. I informed them of the problem, but before they got back to me, I had resolved the problem. They switch me to a higher level Vista SP 1 expert. I tried what he requested and it still would not install. So, I decided to do it my way and used the factory recovery program on my system (not before backing up all my data). This took me back to when the PC departed the factory, with no updates installed after that date. Then I used the MS update on the system, and made sure there were no other updates remaining. I then downloaded SP 1 to my desktop and installed. Worked like a charm and SP 1 was installed. After the install of SP 1 there were other updates, one of which gave me a problem of a BSOD when I shut down, but does not affect the operation and performance. So, I just live with it for now. Of course I had to reinstall all of my programs, but after messing with it for over 3 weeks, that was a blessing. Most of the time I wait till I believe they have most of the kinks worked out, I guess my timing wasn't correct.