Windows Updates?

newmann · Oct 6, 2022

pparks1 said:
Um, this is not normal, not from WINDOWS UPDATES at least.

Perhaps if you are using a Dell Utility to run your updates you might be prompted to download and install a BIOS update. But if you click on Start, type WIndows Update and run that utility, you are not going to bet a BIOS update.

I went to start menu, typed settings and went to settings app.

I clicked on the Windows Update at the absolute bottom on the left side where it has system, bluetooth etc.

Then I got to Windows Update.

So this isn't windows update?

So this is dell? I don't think this is dell updates.

wimorrison · Oct 6, 2022

pparks1 said:
Um, this is not normal, not from WINDOWS UPDATES at least.

Perhaps if you are using a Dell Utility to run your updates you might be prompted to download and install a BIOS update. But if you click on Start, type WIndows Update and run that utility, you are not going to bet a BIOS update.

Dell issue bios updates through Microsoft, totally normal.

pparks1 · Oct 6, 2022

As with any software that is released, there are potential bugs. Sometimes it's from a program functionality standpoint, sometimes it's a security update because there was an exploit in some of the code that could be used to compromise your system.

Microsoft publishes knowledge base articles that explain the fixes and what they intend to fix. You are certainly more than welcome to go look up any of these articles and read all about them. The problem with this approach is that you typically aren't going to be savvy enough to really understand exactly what the updates do, and you are less likely to know whether that fix is something that touches a component that you will knowingly or unknowingly use. Perhaps you think to yourself, "Well, I never do that", but maybe when you launch File Explorer Windows makes a call that does that, but you aren't aware of it. Are you really going to read all of these articles and try to ascetain if you use something or not and exactly how it's going to impact you? Or are you going to be like most users who say, "well, it was published for a reason and might as well be safe rather than sorry".

If you ever were to call Microsoft for a problem on your computer, do you know what they are going to tell you after "have you tried rebooting it"? That's right, they are going to ask you to run Windows updates and get all the updates installed. Of course, why would a person on the phone try to fix something that may already be fixed in a patch?

Every once in a while, Microsoft will push out a patch that causes a small group of people a problem. When it happens to enough people, they pull the update so it won't impact others. And they typically release another patch to correct the first issue in a very short amount of time.

You will always find naysayers who have run into an issue in the past that has caused them to modify whatever they do. But the general fact here remains that the overwhelming vast majority of Windows users run Windows updates on a regular basis and their computers run just fine. What would you rather have happen to you and what do you think is more likely.

You install the updates and it fixes a bunch of problems you weren't even aware of and it prevents you from ever seeing any of these numerous problem
You hit that one random thing that impacts something like 1% of the population and this causes you a problem

I'd bet my hard earned money that #1 is the one you will see 99.999% of the time.

I've built many computers, and I've fixed many computers, and I have almost 40 years experience with working with computers and I have never once said, "boy, it's too bad you installed all of these security and performance enhancements from the vendor" These have pretty much never been the root cause of a problem.

pparks1 · Oct 6, 2022

wimorrison said:
Dell issue bios updates through Microsoft, totally normal.

Hmmmm, okay maybe that's new. I'll admit I haven't set up laptops and desktops at work for a few years in my role, I never remember seeing a dell get a firmware update via Windows update. I wonder if in the dell image that tie it to get driver and BIOS updates and because I would always format and lay down my own images, that functionality was not enabled.

pparks1 · Oct 6, 2022

newmann said:
I went to start menu, typed settings and went to settings app.

I clicked on the Windows Update at the absolute bottom on the left side where it has system, bluetooth etc.

Then I got to Windows Update.

So this isn't windows update?

So this is dell? I don't think this is dell updates.

That is Windows update. You are in the right place.

I have personally not experienced Dell pushing out a BIOS update via the Windows update process, but other posters have said they do and I have found some discussion on this practice over the past couple of years on Reddit....so it's possible that is normal.

WAI · Oct 6, 2022

pparks1 said:
I have personally not experienced Dell pushing out a BIOS update via the Windows update process

Not on desktop but on my HP laptop I got BIOS/Firmware update which updated to where I was enable to install the uefi version as after update I created with Rufus. Though I have not messed with oem/company brand computers for some time so idk about them releasing updates like that

mackie · Oct 6, 2022

newmann said:
The update below shows Pending restart

2022-09 Cumulative Update for Windows 11 Version 22H2 for x64-based Systems (KB5017321)

Is this a big mistake downloading this? Can i still undo it? There is a thread where people said a cumulative update to version 22h2 is not good for dell laptops and i just got the dell laptop. What am is uppose to do now? It is now installing all the other programs in the list. I did X out the last one though.

2022-09 Cumulative Update for Windows 11 Version 22H2 for x64-based Systems (KB5017389) is available

Recently when I upgraded my desktop to 22H2, CU KB5017389 brought me up to the current Build 22621.608. I had been at 525.

What Build are you at now?

TraderGary · Oct 6, 2022

I just did a Windows Update and the BIOS on my DELL XPS 9510 was updated from 1.12.0 to 1.13.0!

This is the first time I've ever gotten a BIOS update from doing a Windows Update! :boom:

Bree · Oct 6, 2022

newmann said:
When I go to settings, windows updates these are what it shows....

Download and install all

Dell, Inc - Firmware - 0.1.6.0

That top one in your list of updates is likely to be a Dell BIOS update for your PC. Dell in common with other major brands like HP provide these, and other required drivers, to Microsoft who in turn deliver them through windows Update. Unless it's an urgent update, these Dell updates are usuall offered as optional updates.

I have literally lost count of the number of times I have let Windows Update intsall a BIOS update on my Dell laptop in the year that I have had it - so went and counted them. There have been seven.

WAI · Oct 6, 2022

Bree said:
That top one in your list of updates is likely to be a Dell BIOS update for your PC. Dell in common with other major brands like HP provide these, and other required drivers, to Microsoft who in turn deliver them through windows Update. Unless it's an urgent update, these Dell updates are usuall offered as optional updates.

I have literally lost count of the number of times I have let Windows Update intsall a BIOS update on my Dell laptop in the year that I have had it - so went and counted them. There have been seven.

View attachment 41641

I got that on my HP x360 15. I find the listing to be kinda false and it'll go away after a clean up with the storage clean

Bree · Oct 6, 2022

newmann said:
But there is a thread that said to avoid a certain cumulative update for windows 11 version 22h2. So that one i already completed is okay?

What about the last one on the bottom? I X that one.

So this below is okay? But I can't undo it?

2022-09 Cumulative Update for Windows 11 Version 22H2 for x64-based Systems (KB5017321)

No. The advice you've seen is to avoid manually installing the 22H2 Feature Update on a 21H2 machine, it is safer to wait until it is offered to you in Windows Update. There are safeguard holds to prevent it being offered to machines with known hardware/driver issues. Such machines won't be offered 22H2 until the issue has been fixed.

You already have 22H2, so that is not an issue for you. In fact these cumulative updates are how MS applies fixes for known issues, so it should be safe to proceed and let it install.

Bree · Oct 6, 2022

TraderGary said:
This is the first time I've ever gotten a BIOS update from doing a Windows Update!

Mine was the same update I could have got direct from Dell, and installs the same way. On a restart the bios will be flashed before anything else boots up. As I said, I've had seven of them through Windows Update in the space of a year - all safely and successfully installed.

TraderGary · Oct 6, 2022

Bree said:
Mine was the same update I could have got direct from Dell, and installs the same way. On a restart the bios will be flashed before anything else boots up. As I said, I've had seven of them through Windows Update in the space of a year - all safely and successfully installed.

Obviously, until now I've always gotten my BIOS updates directly from Dell. My habit is to run my Dell Update app at the same time I run Microsoft Update. It just happened that this was the first time a BIOS update was caught first by Windows Update! :eyeroll:

Dru2 · Oct 6, 2022

TraderGary said:
Obviously, until now I've always gotten my BIOS updates directly from Dell. My habit is to run my Dell Update app at the same time I run Microsoft Update. It just happened that this was the first time a BIOS update was caught first by Windows Update!

Thus far, I've not seen this come to custom system builds - I've still yet to get a BIOS update through Windows Update. I strictly use Gigabyte Motherboards in my custom builds.

WAI · Oct 6, 2022

Dru2 said:
Thus far, I've not seen this come to custom system builds - I've still yet to get a BIOS update through Windows Update. I strictly use Gigabyte Motherboards in my custom builds.

As I mentioned I don't think motherboards but without a custom bios from a OEM only then can Microsoft list the MB updates

Bree · Oct 6, 2022

Dru2 said:
I've still yet to get a BIOS update through Windows Update. I strictly use Gigabyte Motherboards in my custom builds.

Seems to be just the big OEMs doing it. They supply their updates to MS, and once MS has tested/approved them will offer and deliver them (usually as optional updates) through Windows Update.

newmann · Oct 10, 2022

newmann said:
2022-09 Cumulative Update for Windows 11 Version 22H2 for x64-based Systems (KB5017389) is available

I see this update still in my windows updates. So this is a optional update as oppose to required update? Can someone explain to me why this wasn't in the required updates along with the other updates? Such that it was different from the other ones?

Bree · Oct 11, 2022

newmann said:
So this is a optional update as oppose to required update? Can someone explain to me why this wasn't in the required updates along with the other updates?

These optional CUs in the 3rd/4th week of the month are optional Preview updates. They only contain non-security fixes, and are a preview of the fixes that will be included in the next Patch Tuesday CU. That is released on the 2nd Tuesday of the month, which is today.

newmann · Oct 12, 2022

Bree said:
These optional CUs in the 3rd/4th week of the month are optional Preview updates. They only contain non-security fixes, and are a preview of the fixes that will be included in the next Patch Tuesday CU. That is released on the 2nd Tuesday of the month, which is today.

Okay. So do you recommend I install it now or just wait?

Bree · Oct 12, 2022

newmann said:
Okay. So do you recommend I install it now or just wait?

If you've now had the Patch Tuesday CU, then it has been superseded and will no longer be offered in Windows Update. If you haven't had the PT CU yet, then Windows Update should install it shortly. The PT CU contains all the fixes from the preview CU, plus the latest security fixes.