I have always had issues with Windows 10 forced updates and my bandwidth cap. But recently I found this neat WSUS offline alternative tool called WSUS Offline. I instantly loved the idea of offline Windows updates. WSUS Offline Updates is an open source project by Torsten Wittrock that lets you install Windows updates while you are offline or on a bad internet connection. In short with this tool I can download Windows updates at work on a USB drive then take the drive home and plug it into my computer or lab servers to install any recent windows updates. Doing this on top of turning off automatic updates has the potential of saving lots of bandwidth. Best of all the program is portable so it can run right off the USB drive.
How to get offline Windows updates
1. First of all, you need to download the program from the WSUS Offline download page. I just get the most recent version. Then unzip that onto a USB drive.
2. After that, you run UpdateGenerator.exe that you just unzipped.
3. Pick the options you need. For me, I just care about Windows 10 x64 and Server 2016. I also added in Windows Defender definitions.
4. Now click start and watch the magic happen as it downloads updates to the USB drive.
5. Now take the USB drive to your offline computer and open the “client” folder. Inside that folder, you will see a “UpdateInstaller.exe”. Run that.
6. Pick your options and click “Start” and it will start to install any needed windows update it has previously downloaded to your computer.
After it is done it will ask you to reboot. After that, your computer is up to date! It could not be easier than that. If you run into trouble check out the official documentation and if this program helps you throw a donation their way so they can keep up the good work!
Microsoft Update Catalog
There is another way to get offline updates that I found and that is the Microsoft Update Catalog. This is a web-based catalog. Just search for the update and download it. Then run the download on your offline computer. I like WSUS Offline better because it is automatic but I wanted to note this option here in case it comes in handy for someone.
