Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008

Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008

In Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008, the web site is no longer used to provide a user interface for selecting and downloading updates. In its place, the Automatic Updates control panel has been expanded to provide similar functionality. Support for Microsoft Update is also built into the operating system, but is off by default. The revised Windows Update can also be set automatically download and install both Important and Recommended updates. Such updates were only available through the Windows Update web site in prior versions of Windows.
Revised Restart dialog box in Windows Vista


In prior versions of Windows, updates requiring a reboot would pop up a dialog box requesting that the user reboot their machine every number of specified minutes.[10] This dialog box was changed to allow the user to select a longer period of time (up to 4 hours) before being prompted again. The revised dialog box also displays under other applications, instead of on top of them.

Windows Update makes use of Transactional NTFS, a file system feature introduced with Windows Vista, when performing updates to Windows system files. This feature helps Windows recover cleanly in the event of an unexpected shut-down during an update, as the transactioning system will ensure that changes are committed to the file system in an atomic fashion.[11]