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How to Change Update Settings for a Single Host

    With Update Management you can change the update settings of Windows hosts.

    Before you begin:
    Remember: A former Central Premier subscription, or a current Central Base plus Insight module subscription is required to use this feature.
    1. In Central, from either the Computers page or Updates page, click the shield icon or Properties > Updates next to the computer you want to change.

      Result: The Change settings page is displayed.

    2. Change how Windows installs updates. Some settings may be managed by the system administrator. See Windows documentation for details. All settings are the same as in Windows.
      Option Description
      Important updates Select how important updates are downloaded and installed. See Microsoft's website for information on how updates are categorized.
      Who can install updates Choose who can install updates. Not valid for Windows XP, Windows 2000, and Windows 2003 hosts.
      Software to update Choose to install either Windows updates only or Microsoft product updates along with Windows updates (for example, Microsoft Office updates).
      The updates that only a system administrator can change are grayed out.
    3. To display delivery options, click Change next to How the settings above are delivered to hosts.
      These settings are not applied to hosts, but rather tell Central how to deliver the Updates-related settings.
      Option Description
      Attempt to connect to computers for Central will attempt to change how Windows installs updates for this period of time.
      Wake up computers Send a Wake On LAN command before attempting to deliver changes to update settings. Hosts must meet all Wake On LAN requirements. See How to Wake a Computer in Sleep Mode or Powered Off Using Wake On LAN.
    4. Click Apply Settings.

    How to restrict certain updates to be installed automatically?

    You may want to block certain Windows updates to be installed automatically on a host.
    1. In Central, from either the Computers page or Updates page, click the shield icon or Properties > Updates next to the computer you want to change.

      Result: The Change settings page is displayed.

    2. For Important updates, select Download updates but let me choose whether to install them from the drop-down list.
    3. Click Apply Settings.
    Results: This way, Windows updates are downloaded to the host, but you can choose which ones to install. See How to Choose Which Updates to Apply.
    Article last updated: 27 September, 2022