From: "Glenn Meadows" 

Frank,

Do you have a Windows 2000 server in your office?  If so, seriously
consider adding SUS (Free) to do your patching.  I've done that here at the
office,and it has really solved the manpower issue.

SUS checks however frequently you set it up to do, to get and download all
available patches for Win2k, WinXP, and WinServer 2003.  You log into it,
and check off the patches you want to be rolled out to the local machines,
AFTER you've tested them yourself (download those direct and test).

You run gpedit.msc on each machine (or set the policy on the server if you
do it that way), and add the Windows Update security policy, and designate
the local server as the Windows update location for each machines Auto
Update to go to, and how you want the patches applied, and what time.  (If
you do it on each machine, you can stagger the updates to moderate the load
on the update server feeding the updates out.

Then, it's basically, check the SUS for available updates, decide when you
want those offered, and click approve.  Rollouts taken care of.

I no longer run around the building applying patches and restarting computers.



--

Glenn M.
"Frank Haber"  wrote in message
news:420e8938$1{at}w3.nls.net...
> >triple check your methods because it's easy to make a mistake.
>
> I used your list, with it's 75 or so items for two computers yesterday.  I
> had
> to make a printout and check off with two colors of pencil.  Sheesh.  Who
> can
> watch a machine dry paint like that.
>
> Somebody should batch these beasts.  Not only is it really, really
> expensive
> for a small shop to run Windows now, not only is it insanely expensive to
> run
> the full Office, but it takes real manpower to update five machines, when
> you
> simply cannot afford to have an autoupdate interrupt workflow at certain
> times, or you're just not broadband-connected for days at a time.
>

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