In Windows 10, as in any other modification, the receipt of important updates is activated by default, and after installing the system, the user does not need to specifically activate or configure these parameters. But the situations are different. Suppose a user accidentally or intentionally disables Windows 10 updates . How do I enable their search and installation so that updates are installed automatically or on a schedule? To perform such actions, you can offer several basic methods practically equivalent to each other that will be useful to any user. And for their use, you do not need to have any special skills in working with system settings.
How to enable automatic updating of Windows 10: basic methods
So, in the classic version, as it was on systems of a lower rank, the “Update Center” in Windows 10 is missing. It is not clear why, but the developers decided to remove it from the “Control Panel” by moving it to the options menu and completely changing the appearance with the associated settings (although you can return to the classic view).
Please note that there are no buttons or hyperlinks to enable or disable the service. In other words, the "Update Center" itself is in active mode, but its disconnection is regulated by sections of services, group policies, registry and command line.
Thus, it is easy to figure out that you can enable the Windows 10 update by activating the appropriate options in these sections. Sometimes, when failures occur, when nothing helps, you can use special techniques, which will be discussed separately.
Choosing an update method
If the user notices that the updates have not been installed for a long time, this does not mean that the corresponding service is disabled. You can verify this quite simply by setting a manual search for available updates. To do this, through the options menu, go to the update and security section, and then use the corresponding button in the "Update Center".
But, as it turns out, it’s not enough to enable the Windows 10 update in this way. There are some more interesting settings here. So, for example, you can specify the period of service activity when the system will be allowed to install updates. It is just as easy to plan the time of the installation completion, and at the same time activate the display item on the screen of the notification about the appearance of available updates.
In the additional parameters, you can specify whether to receive updates for other Microsoft software products, as well as activate the receipt of updates from several places. This works like a torrent download, when distribution from other computers is done to a user terminal, so to speak, with underloaded content.
Accordingly, you can use the warning options for rebooting, which will avoid spontaneous restart after downloading the necessary installation update files.
How to enable Windows 10 Update in the services section?
Now let's look at a situation where updates are not really downloaded and installed under any pretext due to the fact that the update service is in a deactivated state.
How to enable the "Update" Windows 10 in this case? First of all, you need to check its parameters in the corresponding section of services, access to which can be obtained by entering the services.msc command in the Run console.
Here you need to find the service of the “Update Center” itself and proceed to editing its parameters with a double click or through the PCM menu. If it stops, the start button is pressed first, and then in the start type it is set to “Automatic” (it is better not to use a similar parameter with a delayed start).
Using Group Policy
Now let's see how to enable the Windows 10 update service in the Group Policy Editor. The section is called up via the Run menu using the gpedit.msc command.
In the configuration using administrative templates and Windows components, again, you need to find the “Update Center” and edit the automatic update settings. To do this, the “Enabled” line is simply activated, after which the options should be saved by clicking OK.
Activating updates through the registry
You can also enable Windows 10 update in the registry. At the same time, changing the keys in this editor will cancel the installation of options in local policies, since the registry itself has a higher priority in this regard (if you look at the policies section after making the changes here, it will be impossible to change the same parameters).
So, the editor is called by the regedit command, after which the HKLM branch is navigated through the SOFTWARE and Microsoft folders to the WindowsUpdate section. The value of the AUOption parameter on the right should be set to zero instead of unity. If this key is missing, you must first create it (DWORD 32 bits), and then assign the corresponding name and value. When activating updates, it is in the registry that a system reboot is required (unlike services and policies).
Command line usage
Actually, you can just as easily turn on the Windows 10 update using the universal tool in the form of a console command, which is called by cmd.
Here you need to enter three commands in sequence:
- net start wuauserv;
- net start bits;
- net start dosvc.
Their execution activates the automatic receipt of updates again. By the way, similar commands to stop the service with a restart can sometimes fix a lot of problems with the "Update Center" itself if the updates do not load or are not installed automatically.
Questions about installing fresh drivers
But that is not all. As practice shows, you can enable the Windows 10 update, which will automatically install the latest driver versions for all, without exception, devices available in the system. To do this, however, it will use its own database of the system, rather than accessing the resources of manufacturers, as is done in automated utilities like Driver Booster.
How to enable automatic driver updates in Windows 10? Simple too. It is enough to enter the system properties through RMB on the computer icon in the "Explorer", select the property bar, use additional parameters, and on the equipment tab, click the device installation options button.
In a new window, you should give permission for automatic installation and note the installation lines for the most suitable drivers and the automated receipt of information and applications from the equipment manufacturer.
Full reboot of the "Update Center"
But quite a lot of problems can arise with the “Update Center” itself, and it can be impossible to eliminate failures by simply restarting the corresponding service using the above methods. In this case, you can use the special utility from Microsoft, which is available for free download directly on the official website.
After starting, the program scans the system for errors associated with the functioning of the specified service, and performs troubleshooting in automatic mode.
You can go the other way, using a full restart of the "Update Center" in manual mode. Open the standard Notepad, enter the text shown in the image above and save the file with the extension BAT, then double-click to activate the file. If this does not work, run this executable as administrator.
additional information
Separately, you should pay attention to the fact that many users use official or third-party utilities that block these system processes (for example, Show or hide updates, Win Updates Disabler, etc.) to disable the automation of searching and installing updates. Unlocking can be done directly in these installed applications. However, the best option is to completely remove them, after which the system settings will be restored.
If absolutely none of the above helps, try resetting the system to its original state by selecting the restore item from the System section, which can be accessed through the Options menu. However, in most cases, such actions are almost never required.