Save Windows Updates Locally for Faster Reinstalls

You can download XP updates as program files, save them on your hard drive, reload them when you need to, and even share them between computers.

First, download Windows XP Service Pack 2. Keeping a reinstallable version of SP2 handy will save you more download time than all the other XP updates put together. Download SP2, or order the update on CD (note that the first of these two links begins the download automatically).

You'll find other Windows XP updates at Microsoft Windows Update. The site requires Internet Explorer 5 or later; so forget about using Firefox, Opera, or any other alternative browser. If the page generates an error message telling you that you must have an administrator account--even if you are logged on as an administrator--look at the top of the browser window for a message asking permission to install an ActiveX control. You need to grant permission to download the control before you can proceed.

When you get to the catalog page, click Find updates for Microsoft Windows operating systems. Choose Windows XP SP2, and then click Search, Critical Updates and Service Packs.

This will display a list of updates. Click the Add button under the relevant ones to place them in your download basket (see Figure 1Figure 1: Download Windows updates as files that can be reused via Microsoft's Windows Update Catalog.). When you're done, click Go to Download Basket, enter or select a download location, and click Download Now.

To begin patching, double-click the SP2 file, named WindowsXP-KB835935-SP2-ENU.exe, and step through the installation wizard.

A small confession: Galvez wrote back with a solution to his own problem that uses a free program called Hibernate. Download and unzip the file, but don't install it.

This program requires a Scheduled Task. In Windows XP you must be logged in to a password-protected account (for more on this, read "Schedule Tasks in XP" from my January 2003 column).

Click Start, Programs (All Programs in XP), Accessories, System Tools, Scheduled Tasks. Double-click Add Scheduled Task to launch the Scheduled Task Wizard.

When you're asked to 'Click the program you want Windows to run', click Browse, navigate to the Hibernate program file, and select it. Then finish the wizard.

I've created a batch file that copies a folder's contents to a temporary folder, skipping over any problem files. It then opens that folder so you can move the successfully copied files to their destination. Download the file, select Start, Run, type sendto, and press <Enter> to open your SendTo folder. Move the batch file there.

To use it, right-click the folder you wish to copy and select Send To, pcwcopy.