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Best Approach To Take In Regards To Updates Integration, Suggestions?


Enigma83

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I'm relatively new to using softwares like WinToolkit for integrating updates into ISOs. I've used it a few times already and it has worked fine. I'm also exclusively using WHDownloader to download updates. But I have noticed that some people take different approaches to integration. Some will try to integrate every update every released for a particular version of Windows (Vista, 7, 8/8.1, etc.), even if they dont really need them all. And in the case of me using WTK to integrate updates into 7 awhile back, that amounted to hundreds of updates. Even after that, checking Windows Update would show updates that I had already integrated. Not many, but a few.

 

Some others take the approach of only integrating enough updates to satisfy Windows Update, and nothing more. In my case I see that as the safest and least confusing and time consuming way. But I'm not sure. I've also heard tell of people using repos and such to get updates, which are basically just vast update collections.

 

I'm new to this site, and install Windows often. The thing I hate most is having to reinstall updates every time I do a clean install. I grew to hate that with a passion back in the Vista days, so many problem and updates that would start to install and then fail, etc. And then a friend told me about WTK and how it potentially can reduce the number of updates needed post-install, so I checked it out. I feel that integrating every update ever released for an particular Windows version is a waste of time and disk space. But it is certainly the most exhaustive and comprehensive approach for those who like to stay updated to the fullest. And it does have its' merits, in a way.

 

With that said, I would like to solicit opinions on the best approach to take in the future. I will form a more informed opinion at a later date, but for now I'd like to stay safe and just integrate the minumum required to satisfy Windows Update, and maybe all available hotfixes and other updates that are applicable to me. 

 

As an example, for the better part of yesterday and today I spent time integrating 60 updates obtained from WHDownloader, into an Win8.1 Update 3 MSDN ISO. And then upon deploying my modded ISO in a VM, all seemed well. Installing Windows was a success, running an sfc /scannow in CMD revealed no corrupt files. But after checking Windows Update I noticed that it was still offering updates that I had integrated. 8 to be exact, a few were huge. Like the stuff in the WU.Satisfy category of WHDownloader. Most of those were still being offered. And KB2919355, which I hadnt integrated, and knew it wasnt necessary to do so, since that was released months ago back in the Update 1 days, whereas my ISO is Update 3. I couldnt help but notice the dialog after integrating a few updates, noticing that this KB was already in the image and installed into it by Microsoft, and yet Windows Update in the VM still offered it. It averaged around 800MB. Why does this happen? There were also a few other large ones on offer I had already integrated, but not as big.

 

And so now this has left me confused. When I first tried WTK I figured it would be an integrate and forget it process, that Windows Update would never offer something I had integrated, and was therefore already a part of the OS. And now I realize it's not so simple, that I need to choose a long-term strategy. A strategy that wont waste space unnecessarily with updates that arent really needed, just for the sake of having it all. Something that will help keep my systems reasonably secure and updated. Something that will not be likely to cause problems in the future. I'm of the opinion that people who integrate everything are probably going to run into issues in the future, since maybe an integration was done incorrectly, conflicting files that linger, etc. And the possibility of future updates failing to install as a result of taking that approach. You would have to be very informed and careful when doing so, especially in regards to what you integrate, in what order, etc.

 

And I'm aware that some updates have dependencies on other updates, which entails doing homework to figure out what to integrate and in what order. It's kind of similar to the phenomenon called dependency hell in the Linux world, lol. There is simply too much room for mistakes to be made. I had originally taken the approach of trying to integrate everything, but now realize that approach will result in lots of research, time taken integrating and reintegrating (in the event of failures). etc.

 

I would also like to know what is best for obtaining updates that I plan to integrate. Should I use repos, WHDowloader, WSUS, any other software in particular?

 

I'd really appreciate it if you guys could help a new member out.

 

Thanks in advance!

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