21-35OBJECTIVE 1.4 PERFORM POST-INSTALLATION UPDATES AND PRODUCT ACTIV...
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Objective 1.4
Perform Post-Installation Updates and Product Activation
Objective 1.4
Perform Post-Installation Updates and Product ActivationAll operating systems require patches to be applied on a regular basis to fix problems,
provide compatibility with new hardware, and resolve newly discovered security vul-
nerabilities. Microsoft distributes these updates in the form of critical updates and
service packs. Microsoft releases critical updates with relative frequency to resolve
security vulnerabilities. Service packs, which are released less frequently, include all
critical updates released prior to the service pack, as well as other operating system
improvements. These updates can be retrieved from the Windows Update Web site at
https://traloihay.net.
If the only Windows XP system you are responsible for managing is your own personal
computer, you will probably choose to configure Automatic Updates to automatically
download and install updates when they become available. This method provides an
easy and bandwidth-efficient method of keeping a single computer up-to-date. If you
are responsible for managing a network of computers, you need to identify methods
that scale to larger numbers of computers and give you tighter control over how
patches are deployed.
The simplest way to distribute a service pack to your network is to download the net-
work package from Microsoft. The network package contains the complete set of files
required to install a service pack on any Windows XP computer. You can then copy
this file to a shared folder on your network and launch the service pack installation
without visiting Windows Update from each computer.
A more efficient (but complex) method of deploying both critical updates and service
packs to computers on your network is to use SUS. When you deploy SUS, you can
configure Automatic Updates to download updates from a server on your local net-
work. This gives you control over which critical updates and service packs are
deployed, which allows you to test each update thoroughly to detect compatibility
problems with your custom applications. You can download SUS from http://
https://traloihay.net.
Service packs can also be slipstreamed into a complete Windows XP Professional dis-
tribution point. Updating the Windows XP setup files with a service pack eliminates the
need to install a service pack on a newly deployed system because the slipstreaming
process integrates service pack updates into the Windows XP Professional setup files.
Future systems built from the slipstreamed distribution point will contain all updates
included in the service pack and reflect the updated build number, but will not require
the additional step of manually installing a service pack.
Objective 1.4 Questions