4sysops: Configure updates and reboot options for Windows 10 using group policies

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Excellent article from Wolfgang Sommergut: Microsoft has repeatedly introduced new concepts to determine when to download and install updates and when
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AlexEiffel, deuce120, abbodi86, Alex5723, ch100

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Shame on MS for making configuration of how and when updates are applied to computers so inconsistent. It is bad enough they have the UI controls so convoluted for consumer grade stuff but by doing the same thing under the hood churning the reghacks and GPOs to control this in a power user/business/enterprise environment they have abandoned, in my experience, one of the advantages Windows brought to the scene. Heck I even got a gift certificate from Windows Secrets back in the early 2000’s for writing up the control of the update service and sending in as a “solution” as something anyone could do.

The last 16 years before retirement I managed scientific endpoints on the network of a 3-letter government agency. Mostly computers attached to lab equipment gathering data and/or running extended computations. The numbers ranged up to 2500 endpoints total. Instrument vendors used primarily the Windows OS. For all but the last couple years patching and configuring what got deployed and when things got rebooted was simple, consistent and very reliable. My program was very successful for it. Computers got patched and the mission went forward. Then Windows 10 and the stupid roll-up patches. No longer is Windows the consistent platform under the hood it had been. Attaching a computer to a lab instrument for control and data acquisition requires a very stable computer beside it on the lab bench. MS has taken itself out of this market segment and I am glad that I do not have to deal with that any more, but consider the impact on the all important laboratories now as they deal with public health emergencies.

Ahhhh Retirement!

 

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anonymous wrote:

Attaching a computer to a lab instrument for control and data acquisition requires a very stable computer beside it on the lab bench.

…either that, or you will have to purchase new lab instruments, something which doesn’t happen much in the real world. Companies don’t want to have to purchase new equipment, printers, etc., just because Microsoft decided to update Windows. Besides, you may be running some must-have, mission-critical application which doesn’t have an update available. Are you going to do a major restructuring of your entire operation just to keep up with Windows updates?

In these cases, the IT folks start asking themselves if they could perhaps switch over to Linux. If the pain of keeping up with the latest Windows version is really bad, some companies will switch to Linux.

Of course, they could run an older Windows version in a VM – a pretty easy solution, if it works.

Group "L" (Linux Mint)
with Windows 10 running in a remote session on my file server

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I prefer doing settings via Group Policy. Not only do settings seem to “stick” better than when you set them straight-up in Windows, but also, if you are setting up a user’s computer, setting changes will be less accessible to the user, and there are some settings you don’t want the user to change.

Group "L" (Linux Mint)
with Windows 10 running in a remote session on my file server

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The “dual scan” is the preferred method thing scares the **** out of me. I like to hold back patches in WSUS until things are clearer. Really hope that isn’t the case

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