General about updates

I've had quite a fight with my new computer build, mostly hardware related.

But, not being an expert in IT, I was surprised to hear the words of a person I highly respect, an expert here = in this area, not this Forum, that "You shouldn't fix what's not broken", meaning that you shouldn't update Windows unless necessary, since "Windows updates have been known to cause more trouble than they solve".

I know there has been problems with Windows updates, like there was a conflict between ZoneAlarm and a Windows XP update once, maybe 5 years ago, causing almost all computers using ZoneAlarm to go black with Internet.

But what's the true case? I'm not interested in all sorts of fancy things updates may bring, but I'm certainly interested in "Security Updates" --- I mean, they are SECURITY, eh??? Some sort of patches filling the holes from where worms can crawl in?

I'm with Windows 7 Professional, I have my update settings at "Check for updates but let me choose whether to download and install them". But the case is, I have not the needed knowledge to decide > I practically go for automatic update.

Should I keep the automatic update on, or skip it all until problems appear?

A bit confused here, I am.

I don't recommend setting updates to automatically install, I use the setting for Windows to notify me but let me select which ones to install. You are quite right in saying that security updates are absolutely essential and I have no quibbles with that at all. Similarly patches and general updates I generally install - yes they have been known to have some unforeseen effects but the benefits of maintaining updates massively outweigh the occasional bug which may get introduced. The only updates which I always reject are the device driver updates. Many branded pc's have their own drivers installed and generic drivers can cause a problem, affect performance or reduce features. I prefer to visit the manufacturer's site occasionally and manually check for driver updates.

Ok, thanks, patcooke. You made my sleep sounder.

Originally Posted by Titanic

I've had quite a fight with my new computer build, mostly hardware related.

But, not being an expert in IT, I was surprised to hear the words of a person I highly respect, an expert here = in this area, not this Forum, that "You shouldn't fix what's not broken", meaning that you shouldn't update Windows unless necessary, since "Windows updates have been known to cause more trouble than they solve".

I know there has been problems with Windows updates, like there was a conflict between ZoneAlarm and a Windows XP update once, maybe 5 years ago, causing almost all computers using ZoneAlarm to go black with Internet.

But what's the true case? I'm not interested in all sorts of fancy things updates may bring, but I'm certainly interested in "Security Updates" --- I mean, they are SECURITY, eh??? Some sort of patches filling the holes from where worms can crawl in?

I'm with Windows 7 Professional, I have my update settings at "Check for updates but let me choose whether to download and install them". But the case is, I have not the needed knowledge to decide > I practically go for automatic update.

Should I keep the automatic update on, or skip it all until problems appear?

A bit confused here, I am.

Just to echo Pats sentiments.. It depends really on what level of control your happy with. If your quite happy to let Windows update itself then set it to automatic. Now we are not saying that this is necessarily a bad thing but to actually be able to monitor what is being installed on your machine then the best settings would be 'Let windows check for updates but let me decide whether to download and install them'. Also updates are usually released to either improve the app or fix bugs and again it's perhaps good policy to read the release notes before applying any anything.