Windows 7 Updates

Windows 7 Updates: a reader asks…

I keep fighting the MS requests to update to Windows 10 so I keep canceling those update requests.  But these updates also popped up. Are there any that you would recommend I not accept?  I am on Windows 7 pro.

Microsoft splits up their Windows Updates into two categories: Important and Optional. At this point in the Windows 7 life-cycle, Microsoft is no longer doing major bug-fixes and adding new features, but only providing basic security patches and updates. If Windows Update shows you an update in the Important section, then by all means you should install it (unless it’s listed as a Windows 10 upgrade!). But if it’s in the Optional section, then you don’t have to install it. Optional updates are released to solve specific and wide-spread problems with Windows 7, but not everybody needs the update. It appears as either Important or Optional depending on your specific system configuration – what Windows components you have installed and what optional features of Windows you have activated.

If you want to dig further, most of the optional updates has a listed KB (short for Knowledge Base) number. You can click on the “more information” link on the right of your Windows Update window, or do a google search, such as “Windows Update KB3123862” and see what it’s all about. The google search might reveal more about the update than Microsoft is willing to tell, such as hidden junk that loads with the stated update, or whether a lot of people are having problems with that particular update. You don’t even have to do more than peruse the headlines of the google search, often there’s enough hints as to whether there’s a problem or not right in the google search results summary page.

But it won’t hurt anything if you just no longer install Optional updates. Sometimes you might see ones that are hardware related (to your computer brand and specific hardware inside the computer), but I generally advise that you see hardware-related updates directly from your computer manufacturer.