Discussion of W2003 Post-Install Updates

In the Windows 2003 Post-Install Updates recipe, we documented some some manual update/patching procedures. Here we discuss the thinking behind them.

As in other recipes, we create a VMware snapshot before proceeding. A standard step which enables easy roll-back if we make any mistakes.

Here we are installing the latest Service Pack (SP). The latest SP is pretty much always going to be your first update step on any new installed copy of Windows. Things to note:

You only need to install the latest SP; it includes all prior SPs.
Service packs are well tested and very rarely break things. Yes, there were problems with some service packs more than 10 years ago. In our opinion, they are universally safe today – especially for a new server, which this is.
Download takes ten minutes, which can be saved if you keep a downloaded copy on a CD or network share.
Installation usually takes 30-60 minutes.

You almost always have post-SP updates. Don’t skip this step!
We closed the ‘Manage Your Server’ page and told it not to automatically open again. This is a preference thing; you don’t have to. Either way, it is always accessible via the Start menu.
Here we are showing a manual update process. It’s certainly possible to setup auto-updates, connecting to either Microsoft or your own WSUS server (WSUS is preferred). That’s a process we’ll document later.
We chose the Custom update process every time, because it gives us maximum visibility and control. We can click any update link to learn more about what it does. However, the Express option is available, and if you’re installing all updates, is a bit faster.
Choosing the “I want to help improve Internet Explorer” option during the IE install (at 04:55) will enroll the logged on user in Microsoft’s Customer Experience Improvement Program (CEIP) for IE. This sends usage data, especially crashes and usability problems, back to Microsoft. They use the data to improve future versions of their software.

In a corporate setting, your safest answer to this is no, for fear of sharing private information with MS. While MS say they scrub out all personally identifiable information, this is still likely something your company has policies against.

We make Google our home page at 06:57 for a really simple reason: often we administer our servers via RDP from remote locations. Occasionally in that process, we need to open the web browser, and the default MSN home page often has video embedded. This slows the RDP connection terribly. We avoid the problem by setting the home page to Google, which loads very quickly and thus does not slow the RDP connection down.
At 07:56 we took a moment to remove the IE menu and favorites bars from the display, merely as a personal preference. We’re operating the system via a small screen resolution, so every bit of screen display is precious.

In the ten minutes allotted to this video we didn’t quite finish updating. In fact one more round of updates was needed; however since we’ve demonstrated that process 3 times already, we think you get it!

Do you agree/disagree with these procedures? Have more to add? Want to share your wisdom? Add your comments below!

Cookbook