Saving Microsoft Windows XP Hotfixes

[kiamaian]

Hi fellow members!

As a frequent reinstaller of Windows Xp, I am interested in learning how to save the Microsoft System Updates and Hotfixes that take some considerable time to download. (The reinstalls are necessary as some of my experiments go horribly wrong.)

I have plenty of hard-drive space and a seperate partition for storage so it would be nice if I could reinstall these fixes from my hard-drive instead of using my slow and unreliable dialup connection.

Whilst I am enthuiastic in learning about setting up computers, I am only a novice and would therefore appreciate any advice being in a simple step by step format.

Hoping someone can find the time to help. Best Regards:cheers:

[DigitalDD]

you can always go to http://search.microsoft.com/

and do searches for XP patches and download to disk or a network share.

[mondogenerator]

Im not sure you can download them all as a catalogue anymore.

I know that in the knowledgebase and technet areas on the M$ site you can view and and download the updates seperatly in the Security\hotfix and security bulletin section, but its quite a task.

Before SP1 came out, you could download the whole lot from one page (2k had an equivilent) but I haven't been able to find where that is now. I think they have removed it, in an attempt to make people use windows update, an utter pain in the arse for systems admin.

You could always sign upto MSDN;)

Im not sure it will work but you could configure windows update to download all the updates, and then go find the self extracting executables in the temp directory (not sure where exactly it would put them) and then save those off (before it installs them) although the only way of telling which ones they are is by cross referencing them with the tech net site as the file names are the same as there bulletin names (or they were when I last looked in June or there abouts).

Anyone else got a better ideas?

[asklepios]

the thing i always do is check for the updates that my sweetie needs from update site and then download the updates (Via the serial numbers ofocurse) from M$'s catalogue site

http://v4.windowsupdate.microsoft.com/catalog/en/default.asp

download the upadates to the directory you like and save them for future installs...
you have a mate in me who has experiments going horribly wrong...:p

[kiamaian]

Thank you ASKLEPIOS and other members for your quick responses.

I used the link provided by ASKLEPIOS and at that site I was easily able to select and save all the updates I wanted. These are now safely held on a seperate partition on my hard-drive for future use. (With my record I should back them up on a CD as well)

Thanks for your help. :cheers: