Autopatcher Replacement


Recommended Posts

1) Located a fresh install of xp (Vmware is the easiest)

2) Set automatic updates to download but not install

3) Wait until all 80 some updates have been downloaded and are ready to be installed

4) Copy the c:\windows\softwaredistrubution folder to a the desktop (or your main desktop out of vmware) (if it doesn’t let you, then stop the automatic update service in services.msc

5) Once copied, zip up and make self extracting or just burn the contents of the softwaredistribution folder to a cd

6) Take that cd and put it in a computer with a clean install of xp and no updates.

7) make sure automatic update is set to download updates but not to install them

7) Stop the automatic update service

10) Copy the contents of the cd you just burned to the softwaredistribution folder on the clean pc

11) Turn the automatic update service back on.

12) Wait a min or 2, and it should say “Updates have been downloaded and are ready to be installed”

13) Click it and then choose custom, you should now see all the updates you did on your other machine are now ready to be installed on this machine without having to do any LONG downloading.

Enjoy!

Below is a video of the how I made it all happen

The headset I was using always makes me sound nazzly which I'm not, but it is better than the microphone on the webcam doing the recording.

Also at the end when I get all gritty, I couldn't help it I was just thrilled it worked.

after completing the update at the end of the video I had IE7 and 2 XP updates left at windows update.

Edited by warwagon
Link to comment
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/594426-autopatcher-replacement/
Share on other sites

I know i'm using this method from now on, plus the updates installed in about 6 mins compared to 20 mins with autopatcher, because all i have to do is do the vmware thing once, now I have all the updates on cd.

Edited by warwagon

here is what I have so far, for an automatic script minus the part where it copies the files to the softwaredistrubtion folder. What I would like is the script to ask you what drive the files are on. If anyone wants to take a crack at it, go for it! this could be a combined effort

@echo off

cls

echo Stopping the Automatic Update Service

net stop wuauserv

cls

echo deleting contents of the softwaredistrubution folder

rd C:\windows\SoftwareDistribution\authcabs /s /q

rd C:\windows\SoftwareDistribution\datastore /s /q

rd C:\windows\SoftwareDistribution\download /s /q

rd C:\windows\SoftwareDistribution\selfupdate /s /q

del C:\windows\SoftwareDistribution\ /q

cls

echo at this point the files would be transfered to the folder from the cd or thumbstick

pause

cls

echo starting the automatic update service

net start wuauserv

cls

echo all done

exit

would also like to add this so at the end it forces automatic updates to go check for updates and see that it has them

REG DELETE "HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\WindowsUpdate\Auto Update" /v LastWaitTimeout /f

REG DELETE "HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\WindowsUpdate\Auto Update" /v DetectionStartTime /f

Reg Delete "HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\WindowsUpdate\Auto Update" /v NextDetectionTime /f

net start wuauserv

wuauclt /detectnow

Edited by warwagon
software branding as neowin.net possibly?

Or not.

Not that I don't think credit should be given, but at least make it easy to turn off, or leave it off and make it easy to turn on. I wouldn't want work computers to be stuck with non-company brandings - I couldn't use this if it did, and it does sound like a good idea.

I think he's refering to branding the batch file which automates the one time process for clean installs, the batch file could be on the cd and never be saved on the host computer

also sence I announced my new methoid, I have used it on 2 machines, and it has worked great. Though all machines have been XP home and not pro, but you could easily create one for pro too.

  • 2 weeks later...
This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • Yes, it was amusing at the time because even then dbrand was well known for stealing the designs of products from other companies. That’s what they do.
    • Didn’t Dbrand once complain that Casetify was ripping off their designs a well? seems pretty bad of them to try and get around Valve’s copyright this way with that in mind.
    • Dbrand thought they could get away with this Steam Machine case, Valve disagreed by David Uzondu Image via Dbrand Dbrand has cancelled its highly anticipated Companion Cube enclosure for the Valve Steam Machine, which it teased back in November of last year with a concept render and sign-up page, because it did not ask Valve for permission first before manufacturing the case. According to Dbrand, it took the "backwards approach" of building the product first before asking for permission from the copyright holder. Seven months of work went into the project, requiring over a thousand engineering hours from the design team. Workers developed forty-four sets of injection molding tools, making a unique mold for each sub-component of the crate. When the Companion Cube went live on Monday last week, it, according to Dbrand, quickly became the second-fastest-selling product in the company's fifteen-year history, racking up orders for hundreds of thousands of units. Customers eagerly bought the $129.95 deluxe edition or the bare-bones $99.95 version, which the manufacturer cheekily branded as the "Poverty Cube". It was around this time that the legal eagles at Valve descended on the accessory maker with a formal demand. The developer pointed out that the iconic block design remains protected intellectual property from the game Portal, so unlicensed sales had to stop. Dbrand said that all its pleas to salvage the project with the Valve team, including proposals to run a properly licensed release under official terms "with their blessing", fell on deaf ears, so it had no choice but to obey and remove every trace of the product from the internet. If you bought the enclosure, the company said that banks will process your refund by the end of this week, but if it still hasn't arrived in your account by then, you should not hesitate to contact support. The Steam Machine itself is a high-performance console that Valve designed directly to bring PC gaming into the living room. It was announced on 12th November 2025 (the same day Dbrand announced the Cube) and runs on the Linux-based SteamOS, the same OS that powers the Steam Deck. As for the price, due to the shortage of memory and storage chips, the hardware cost landed much higher than people were expecting, starting at $1,049 for the 512 model (without a controller) or $1,128 with the new gamepad. The premium 2 TB model pushes those prices even higher, selling at $1,349 for the standalone console and hitting $1,428 if you want the bundle.
  • Recent Achievements

    • Rookie
      Almohandis went up a rank
      Rookie
    • Apprentice
      jahara21 went up a rank
      Apprentice
    • Reacting Well
      NovaEdgeX earned a badge
      Reacting Well
    • Week One Done
      NovaEdgeX earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • One Year In
      BA the Curmudgeon earned a badge
      One Year In
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      534
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      266
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      148
    4. 4
      Steven P.
      97
    5. 5
      macoman
      57
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!