Background information
Microsoft PC Manager: checking out the beta version of an alternative to CCleaner
by Martin Jud
Microsoft update issue: users advised to keep PC running
2/2/2022
Translation: Eva Francis
Many Windows PCs aren’t up to date. Microsoft’s «Windows IT Pro Blog» reveals why this is the case and what companies can do about it. Users are advised to leave PCs running overnight.
PC updates shouldn’t ideally prevent you from working. Therefore, they’re usually installed when people aren’t using their devices, but devices are still switched on. According to Microsoft, this is exactly one of the biggest problems when it comes to missing updates i.e. outdated Windows devices. As an investigation by the company shows, affected devices aren’t online long enough.
The long update time results in many PCs getting too little time for the process and being stuck with an outdated operating system. When employees finish work, they close notebooks and don’t open them again until the next morning.
What the update duration depends on
How quickly an update can be downloaded and installed depends on the following factors:
- Size of the update
- Internet connection speed
- Accessibility of the update server
- Strength of local hardware
Moreover, the time in which the device is switched on without being used is important.
If you want to know how the update process works in detail, Microsoft describes it here.
Increasing connectivity of outdated devices
Microsoft refers to the timing when the download starts to when it’s completed as «Update Connectivity». Administrators should take this value into account if they want to increase the number of up-to-date Windows devices in their company. How many devices are affected at all can be viewed in the management software «Microsoft Intune». Microsoft has added a new «Insufficient Update Connectivity» indicator to the software.
To illustrate the importance of the Update Connectivity value, Microsoft lists an example of Windows 10 devices that lack updates. Around 50 percent of these devices don’t feature a serviced build of Windows 10 and don’t meet the minimum Update Connectivity requirements. Another 25 percent of devices that don’t meet the requirements have a serviced build, but the security updates are more than 60 days old.
To counteract the problem, Microsoft recommends that companies reach out to their employees and ask them to leave their devices turned on and plugged in instead of turning them off overnight. Correct energy settings are also important, as too fast automatic switch to energy-saving mode or hibernation can also be the cause for too low Update Connectivity.
Martin Jud
Senior Editor
martin.jud@digitecgalaxus.chI find my muse in everything. When I don’t, I draw inspiration from daydreaming. After all, if you dream, you don’t sleep through life.
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