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Kansas State University

IT Help Desk
Kansas State University
214 Hale Library
Manhattan, KS 66506
785-532-7722
helpdesk@k-state.edu
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  4. Downloading and Installing Microsoft Windows Updates

Downloading and Installing Microsoft Windows Updates

Follow these steps to update your Windows operating system:

  1. Update Windows
  2. Install Service Pack 2 - if you do not already have it installed.

Updating Windows

  1. Open Internet Explorer. (Other web browsers will not work for these updates.)
  2. On the Tools menu, click Windows Update. (or go to http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com)
  3. If you are running Windows XP with Service Pack 2, Internet Explorer will prompt you to install Active X Control before Windows Update can continue. Right-click the prompt and select Install ActiveX Control and then refresh your page to continue. If you are running Windows 2000, continue to step 4.

    Screen shot of active X prompt

  4. Click the Express button to get high-priority updates.

    Screen shot of Windows Update page

  5. When you see the following security warning for the Windows Genuine Advantage Validation Tool, click Install.

    Screen shot of security warning

    Note: The Windows Genuine Advantage Tool verifies that your copy of Windows is authentic (i.e., that you paid for it.)

  6. Click Continue throughout the Windows Genuine Advantage installation and validation process.
  7. On the Validation Complete screen, click Continue to get the scan results for your computer.

    Screen shot of continue button on validation complete window

  8. On the Express results page, click Install Updates.

    Screen shot of install updates button

  9. When prompted, Restart your computer to complete the installation of updates.
  10. Return to http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com and repeat all steps until Windows Update finds No high priority updates for your computer are available.

    Note: Downloading and installing Windows updates is a cumulative process. Some updates are not available until previous ones have been installed. It's not unusual to have to download updates and restart your computer multiple times.

  11. After restarting, open a new browser window to continue the Network access process.

Install Service Pack 2

These instructions are written assuming you are running Windows Professional XP, with Service Pack 2 already installed.
If you do not have Service Pack 2 installed:

  1. Go to http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/sp2/default.mspx.
  2. In the lower right-hand corner, click Download SP2 from Microsoft Update.

    Screen shot of where to click to install SP2

    Note: Microsoft no longer provides updates for Windows 98, 98SE, ME, and NT. Therefore, K-State does not support these operating systems on the network. You must run at least Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 2, or MAC OS X to connect to the K-State network.