How to update the Windows XP operating system. Service pack for Windows XP system Windows xp automatic update is not active

A Windows Service Pack is a large collection of patches and security enhancements for an operating system. In the case of Windows, there are 3 versions: sp1, sp2 and sp3. It is strongly recommended to use the latest one - it is the most stable and secure, it supports many even modern applications. If you still have sp2 or sp1 installed, you can download all necessary updates for Windows XP to get the sp3 version.

How to check the current version

First, users need to find out which version of the Windows XP operating system is currently installed. This can be done using the computer properties panel:

If sp2 or sp1 is installed, follow the instructions below.

Windows XP Update

The easiest way is automatic updates. The computer will automatically download all the necessary packages and install them in the background without interfering with your work. If auto-update was active, Windows XP would have already installed sp3. Since this did not happen, you need to enable this function (at least for a while):

Now you just have to wait until all the necessary packages are downloaded from the Microsoft server and installed on your PC. In case you encounter any problems and nothing works, try the alternative described below.

Download the update package from the Microsoft website

You can also download all necessary files from Microsoft servers and install them manually. Despite the fact that support for Windows XP has already ended, all the necessary packages are available on the official website in the public domain:

After these steps, the sp3 package will be downloaded to your personal computer.

Timely software update guarantees not only support for the correct display of modern types of content, but is also a guarantee of computer security by eliminating vulnerabilities in the system. However, not every user keeps track of updates and installs them manually on time. Therefore, it is advisable to enable auto-update. Let's see how to do it on Windows 7.

To enable auto-updates in Windows 7, developers have provided a number of ways. Let's dwell on each of them in detail.

Method 1: Control Panel

The most well-known option to complete the task in Windows 7 is to perform a series of manipulations in the Update Control Center by going there through the Control Panel.

Now all operating system updates will occur automatically on the computer, and the user does not need to worry about the OS being up to date.

Method 2: Run window

You can also go to the installation of auto-update through the window "Run".

As you can see, using the window "Run" can significantly reduce the time it takes to complete a task. But this option assumes that the user must remember the command, and in the case of going through the Control Panel, the actions are still more intuitive.

Method 3: Service Manager

You can also enable auto-update through the service control window.

After these steps, auto-start updates will be activated.

Method 4: Action Center

You can also enable auto-update through the Support Center.

As you can see, there are a number of options to run automatic updates on Windows 7. In fact, they are all equivalent. So the user can simply choose the option that is more convenient for him personally. But, if you want to not only enable auto-update, but also make some other settings related to the specified process, then it is best to do all the manipulations through the Windows Update window.

It's no secret that the Windows XP operating system has many different vulnerabilities. Therefore, Microsoft employees try to periodically release special "patches". As soon as another loophole is discovered by hackers, the next update for Windows is released, designed to eliminate the discovered “holes”. And thanks to the service built into Windows, security updates are automatically downloaded to your computer. This allows you to quickly increase the level of protection of the entire system.

However, despite such a high utility of automatic updates, most users prefer to disable this service immediately after installing a new OS. This is due to the fact that in cases of using an unlicensed version of Windows, new updates can block the use of the system. Whatever you fear for such things, you should simply turn off automatic updates. To do this is quite simple, and does not take much time even for an inexperienced user.

Disabling automatic updates

In order to disable automatic updates in Windows, first you need to get to the "Control Panel". You can do it like this:

Disable update notification

After disabling automatic updates on the desktop, you will still receive a notification that Windows needs to be updated. You can disable it in system services.

After completing all these steps, automatic updating will be completely disabled with a fresh start of Windows XP.

Operating system updates allow you to keep up-to-date security tools, software, fix errors made by developers in previous versions of files. As you know, Microsoft has stopped official support, and therefore, the release of Windows XP updates from 04/08/2014. Since then, all users of this OS are left to their own devices. Lack of support means that your computer, without receiving security packages, becomes vulnerable to malware.

Not many people know that some government agencies, banks, etc. are still using a special version of Windows XP - Windows Embedded. The developers have declared support for this OS until 2019 and updates for it are available. You probably already guessed that you can use packages designed for this system in Windows XP. To do this, you need to make a small registry tweak.

Warning: By performing the steps described in the "Modifying the Registry" section, you are in violation of the Microsoft license agreement. If Windows is modified in this way on a computer that officially belongs to the organization, then problems may arise during the next check. For home machines, there is no such threat.

Registry modification

Before setting up the registry, the first step is to create a system restore point so that in case of an error you can roll back. How to use restore points, read the article on our website.
Next, create a new file, for which we click on the desktop PKM, go to point "Create" and choose "Text Document".
Open a document and add the following code to it:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

"Installed"=dword:00000001
Let's go to the menu "File" and choose "Save as".

We choose a place to save, in our case it is the desktop, change the parameter at the bottom of the window to "All files" and give the document a name. The name can be anything, but the extension must be ".reg", For example, mod.reg, and press "Save".

A new file with the appropriate name and registry icon will appear on the desktop.
We launch this file by double clicking and confirm that we really want to change the parameters.
We restart the computer.

The result of our actions will be that our operating system will be identified by the Update Center as Windows Embedded, and the corresponding updates will be sent to our computer. Technically, this does not pose any threat - the systems are identical, with minor differences that are not key.

Manual check

To manually update Windows XP, you need to open "Control Panel" and choose a category "Security Center".
Next follow the link "Check for the latest updates from Windows Update" in the block "Resources".
Internet Explorer will launch and display the Windows Update page. Here you can choose a quick check, that is, get only the most necessary updates, or download the full package by clicking on the button "Selective". Let's choose the fast option.
We are waiting for the completion of the package search process.
The search is over and we see a list of important updates in front of us. As expected, they are for the Windows Embedded Standard 2009 (WES09) operating system. As mentioned above, these packages are suitable for XP as well. Install them by clicking on the button "Install updates".
Next, the download and installation of packages will begin. We wait…
Upon completion of the process, we will see a window with a message that not all packages have been installed. This is normal - some updates may only be installed at system boot time. We press the button "Reboot Now".

The manual update has been completed and the computer is now as secure as possible.

Automatic update

In order not to go to the Windows Update site every time, you need to enable automatic updating of the operating system.

Conclusion

Regularly updating the operating system allows us to avoid many security-related problems. Check the Windows Update site often, or better yet, let the OS install updates on its own.