How to Patch Offline Computers with the WSUS Offline Update Tool

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Windows Update Services is a centralized update service that Microsoft deploys to ensure all Windows computers have the latest software updates. WSUS Offline Update allows IT administrators to perform major changes on their networks with minimal downtime, as long as they have a high-speed internet connection and are connected through an intranet or extranet. With this tool, you can quickly patch your Windows computer while offline without affecting its availability in the network.

The “wsus offline update for windows 7” is a tool that allows users to patch their computers without an internet connection. The WSUS Offline Update Tool works with Windows 7, 8 and 10.

How to Patch Offline Computers with the WSUS Offline Update Tool

Managing Windows Updates is a job that almost every IT professional has done at some point in their career. Patch management is never enjoyable, particularly for Windows systems that are not connected to the internet. If you have offline Windows machines, it’s time to use the WSUS Offline Update application to automate the process as much as possible.

The WSUS Offline Update tool, also known as WSUSOffline, is a useful (and free) software that downloads updates on an Internet-connected machine, bundles them together, and offers a mechanism to install them through offline media.

To become an offline-patching master, follow this article to learn how to patch an offline PC using the WSUS Offline Update tool.

Prerequisites

If you want to follow along with this tutorial, make sure you have the following items:

  • A machine running Windows 7 SP1+ or Windows Server 2008 R2+, particularly one that is severely patched. The Windows Server 2012 R2 virtual machine will be used in the demonstrations in this tutorial.
  • To download updates, you’ll need a second Windows PC with Internet connectivity.

Installing and Configuring WSUS Offline Update

You must first get your tool before you can become an offline-patching master.

1. Go to the Download page for WSUS Offline Update in your preferred web browser.

2. To download to your PC, click the Version link below. The most recent version as of this writing is 12.03.2020.

Download page for WSUS Offline Update Download page for WSUS Offline Update

The “Most current version” and the “ESR version” of WSUS Offline Update are two different versions. All contemporary Microsoft products are covered under the “Most recent version.” You must use the “ESR version” if you have an older operating system, such as Windows 7 SP1 or Windows Server 2008 R2. However, you should be aware that WSUS Offline Update would not help you avoid an extended security update (ESU) agreement.

3. Once the ZIP file has been downloaded, locate and start the UpdaterGenerator.exe application. This EXE is the program that allows you to personalize offline updates.

WSUS Offline Updater - UpdaterGenerator.exeUpdaterGenerator.exe – WSUS Offline Updater

You’ll be on the Windows tab when the program starts, as seen below, with a lot of choices in front of you! But don’t be concerned. You’ll discover how to complete each process required to download updates and patch that offline Windows machine in the next section.

Offline Update Generator for WSUSOffline Update Generator for WSUS

Creating an Update Package for Offline Use

Let’s examine what you can accomplish with the WSUS Offline Update tool now that it’s open. Assume you have an offline Windows Server 2012 R2 computer that requires all of the Visual C++ Runtime libraries, a version of the.NET Framework, and the most recent security patches to demonstrate the program.

If you don’t have Windows Server 2012 R2, don’t worry. With minor exceptions, the methods in this section apply to all Windows OS and Microsoft Office versions.

Your first task is Creating an Update Package for Offline Use. This offline update package can be created as an ISO image or stored on a USB drive. In this tutorial, you’re going to create the offline update package as an ISO file.

ISOs are simpler to deal with, and Windows Server 2012 and later can mount them natively. That is why the emphasis of this post is on how to utilize them.

When the tool is open, do the following:

1. If you are not upgrading Windows 10, deselect all Windows 10 updates. If you don’t, WSUS Offline Update will download much more than you need, significantly lengthening the update download and ISO generation time.

Step 1 - Uncheck Windows 10 updatesStep 1: Uncheck the box for Windows 10 updates.

2. Select the Legacy Windows tab, since this guide will be patching a Windows Server 2012 R2 computer. Select the OS you’re patching and the architecture on this tab. Choose x64 Global in this scenario (multilingual updates).

Finally, choose which extra updates you want to receive, such as the C++ Runtime Library and.NET Frameworks, and choose “security-only updates” rather than “quality rollups.” Quality rollups are upgrades that are packed together. Security-only updates are often less in size and install quicker.

Click the WSUS button if you have an internal WSUS server with authorized updates and would prefer not download fixes from the Internet.

Step 2 - Select the appropriate options Step 2: Decide on the best possibilities.

When you’re happy with your choices, click Start to begin the construction process. When you do, WSUSOffline will start a command prompt window and begin downloading the appropriate updates and creating the ISO file. Keep this window open at all times. It just takes a few minutes to accomplish this stage.

This procedure might take HOURS if you picked a lot of choices and multiple operating systems. You’ve been warned.

Step 3 - Build Step 3: Construct

You’ll see the following prompt when the updates have completed downloading and WSUS Offline Update has built the ISO image:

Step 3 - CompleteStep 3 – Finish

3. Select Yes to see the complete operation’s log file. If not, choose No.

That concludes our discussion. You’ve built your first offline update ISO image for Windows Server 2012 R2, which includes the updates you choose.

4. Open the folder where you installed WSUSOffline and look for two folders named iso and client. The updates that the tool recently downloaded are stored in these folders. All of the updates are saved directly in the Client folder, whilst the ISO folder includes the compressed ISO of all of the updates.

There is an ISO file named wsusoffline-w63-x64.iso in the iso folder.

The structure of the WSUS Offline Updater directory The structure of the WSUS Offline Updater directory

You may also copy the contents of the client folder straight to the USB key if you’d prefer utilize a USB key to transfer the update package to the offline machine.

Using a Package for Offline Updates

You now have an ISO file on your local computer that contains all of the essential updates. It’s time to download the contents of that ISO file to your offline PC!

An unpatched Windows Server 2012 R2 computer is waiting in the instructional lab environment, as you can see below.

Offline Windows 2012 R2 Server that has never been updatedOffline Windows 2012 R2 Server that has never been updated

After executing WSUS Offline Update, the status of the last installed updates will not change. This is due to the fact that these fields are derived from registry entries that are only changed when WSUS or Microsoft Update is used. When installing individual updates, they do not update, like WSUS Offline Updater does.

To use the ISO file to install the offline updates:

1. Use a virtualized DVD drive in VMware or Hyper-V or a USB key to copy the ISO to the offline machine.

2. Log in with an administrator user account to the console of the offline machine.

3. Next, locate the ISO, right-click it, and choose Mount from the menu.

The Offline Update ISO is mounted.The Offline Update ISO is mounted.

4. Now, open the UpdateInstaller.exe program and go to the DVD drive that Windows generated for the ISO file.

Offline Update Installer is currently being used.Offline Update Installer is currently being used.

5. Select any more updates you’d want to install in the installer dialog box, as well as your needed preferences. Select Update C++ Runtime Libraries, Update Root Certificates, and Install Management Framework 5.1 for this tutorial.

When you’re ready, click Start to begin the installation.

If any of these updates are already installed, WSUSOffline will simply pass over them.

Offline Update Installer is currently being used. Offline Update Installer is currently being used.

Updating an offline PC that is out of date may need numerous reboots. Select Automatic reboot and recall to avoid manually resetting the tool and repeating the operation. This option will deactivate User Account Control (UAC) for a limited time, establish a temporary user account, reboot after installation, and continue patching until the job is finished.

WSUSOffline will establish a command prompt and offer status messages throughout the update process after you click Start. This window must not be closed!

WSUS Offline Update working it's magicWorking wonders with WSUS Offline Update

6. Restart your computer when the updates have been installed. If you did not choose the option to restart your computer automatically, WSUS Offline Update will ask you to do so to finish the procedure.

It's time to reboot in order to finish the installation.It’s time to reboot in order to finish the installation.

7. If you didn’t choose the Automatic reboot and recall option before initiating the update, restart the PC and repeat steps 4-6 until WSUS Offline Update finds no more updates are required.

You now have an offline Windows machine that has been patched and is up to date!

Conclusion

Every system administrator should have WSUS Offline Update in their toolkit. By automating the majority of the procedure, this program saves a significant amount of time when patching offline systems.

If you haven’t used WSUS Offline Update before, how did you do it and how does it compare to this tool?

The “wsus offline installer” is a tool that can be used to patch offline computers with the WSUS Offline Update Tool. The tool allows users to update their computer without an internet connection.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I manually update WSUS Offline?

A: To manually update WSUS Offline, follow these steps.
1) Create or open a System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) console on your computer. You can use this if you want to manage packages and updates for more than one machine at the same time.
2) In the SCCM Console, select Software Updates -> WSUS Offline Update. This will start updating WSUS offline and bring it up-to-date with all available software changes from Microsofts official catalog of updates.

How do I deploy a patch using WSUS?

A: You can find more information on this topic here https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/3313251

How do I install Windows updates offline?

A: The update manager in Windows keeps track of which updates have been downloaded, installed, and fully updated. Updates can be uninstalled by typing uninstall into the search bar in the start menu while running a clean install of Windows 10.

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