Should i install updates on windows

Reserved storage will be turned on for new devices with Windows 11 preinstalled, or devices on which a clean install of Windows 11 was performed. In Windows 10, you decide when and how to get the latest updates to keep your device running smoothly and securely. If other questions come up when you update Windows 10, here are some other areas that might interest you:.

Get started with Windows When you only want info about updating Windows 10, you'll find answers to many of your questions here:. When the Windows 10 May Update is ready for your device, it will be available to download and install from the Windows Update page in Settings.

Choose a time that works best for you to download the update. After that, your device will be running Windows 10, version 21H1. To get help updating to the latest version of Windows 10, go to the Microsoft software download page and download the Update Assistant. Under Get up and running , select Windows Update. Then choose one of the following options:. Select Advanced options.

Then, in the Pause updates section, select the drop-down menu and specify a date for updates to resume. Reserved storage is not automatically turned on by Windows in any update scenarios. It is only turned on for new devices with the Windows 10 May Update version or later preinstalled, or devices on which a clean install was performed. The best way to keep Windows 8.

Instead, Windows Update automatically installs important updates as they become available. If you want to check for updates manually, select Check now. Note: If your PC is connected to a network where updates are managed by Group Policy, you might not be able to change settings related to Windows Update. To check for updates manually, select Check now.

Make sure that your PC is connected to the internet. See the Fix Windows Update errors guided walkthrough to try to fix the problem. Learn more. See How to download a Windows update manually. Under Programs and Features , select View installed updates. Note: If your PC is connected to a network where updates are managed by Group Policy, you might be unable to change settings related to Windows Update.

For version or earlier, click Advanced options and set your deferral periods for monthly quality updates. Note that you must be signed in as an administrator to see the options shown here, and these options are not available if you are running a Windows 10 Insider preview build. For version or later, those options are available only by adjusting Group Policy settings. I recommend setting a reminder in your calendar program for the second Tuesday of each month, the day on which Microsoft releases security updates for Windows.

When you receive that reminder, you can choose to manually install the updates, or snooze the reminder and perform the task a few days later. Automatic updates won't download and install until the deferral period you specify has passed. I also recommend that you open the Store app and click the three dots in the upper right corner, then click Downloads and updates to install any available app updates. Windows 10 will update those apps automatically, but you can speed up the process by checking manually.

By default, Microsoft collects a substantial amount of diagnostics information as you use Windows That information is, according to Microsoft's privacy policies, used exclusively for personalizing your experience with Windows and "to help [Microsoft] provide a secure and reliable experience. For a full discussion of the privacy issues, see Microsoft defends and explains its Windows 10 privacy settings.

You can't turn off the telemetry feature completely, but you can choose to send only a limited amount of data on your Windows 10 usage. Here, too, you must be running as an administrator, and this option is set to Full and can't be changed if you're running an Insider preview release.

You can also make two other changes here. Turn off the Tailored experiences option and then, under Feedback frequency , change the setting to Never to tell Microsoft you prefer to not be asked for feedback as you use Windows The Microsoft account or Azure AD credentials that you use to sign in to Windows allow you to connect to apps using the same credentials.

If you have additional accounts especially Office and Gmail accounts , now is a good time to add them to Windows so that they're available for use within apps as well. If you need to use two-factor authentication for those accounts, you can do it once here and avoid hassles later.

Connecting your Office account, for example, allows you to add that account to Microsoft Outlook and configure OneDrive for Business without having to enter a password or supply a 2FA prompt. Note that your options here include specific choices for Office , Google, Yahoo, and iCloud accounts.

One of the signature features in Windows 10 is the Action Center, a pane that appears on the right side of the display when you swipe in from the right on a touchscreen or click the notifications icon at the far right of the taskbar. Hide any buttons you don't use, and make sure the four buttons you use most often are available in the top row so that you can get to them when the full set of buttons is collapsed to a single row.

It depends. If you recently bought a new PC , that computer should be able to run Windows To see if your current Windows 10 PC is eligible for the free upgrade to Windows 11, go to Microsoft's website for a list of requirements. The easiest way to find out is to download the PC Health Check app to check if your machine is compatible. Alternatively, you can use another open-source app called WhyNotWin11 to see if your device is compatible. Plus, here's how to check some hardware compatibility with Windows 11 without either tool.

If you're already a Windows 10 user and have a compatible computer, Windows 11 will appear as a free upgrade for your machine once it becomes available for you. Microsoft's new OS is gradually rolling out between now and mid Once Windows 11 becomes available for you, you'll download it the same way you would any new version of Windows. If available, you'll see Feature update to Windows Instead, it plans to simply update Windows 10 for all of time.

Every six months, the new "feature updates" are released, filled with new capabilities, tweaks, and fixes meant to improve your overall experience. Sign up for our Newsletter! Mobile Newsletter banner close.

Mobile Newsletter chat close. Mobile Newsletter chat dots. Mobile Newsletter chat avatar. Mobile Newsletter chat subscribe. Computer Security. Those endless reminders to install updates can be annoying but they're necessary.

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