Howto Reinstall WSUS from Scratch (2023)

FAQs

How do I recreate a WSUS database? ›

Open SQL Server Management Studio and connect to your WSUS instance. Expand Management, right-click Maintenance Plans, and then select New Maintenance Plan. Give your plan a name. Schedule this task to run about 30 minutes after you expect your cleanup to finish running.

In the WSUS administration console, select Options, and then Server Cleanup Wizard. By default this wizard will remove unneeded content and computers that have not contacted the server for 30 days or more. Select all possible options, and then click Next.

In Object Explorer, connect to an instance of the SQL Server Database Engine, and then expand that instance. Expand Databases, right-click the database to delete, and then click Delete. Confirm the correct database is selected, and then click OK.

Delete or rename the content directory, then recreate it. Please note that this will not delete/rename if the two services mentioned above are still running. Rename the directory by running REN WSUS WSUS_old , or delete it by running DEL WSUS , then confirm All with “A”: Recreate the directory by running MKDIR WSUS .

Click Start -> Run. Then type wuauclt /detectnow. To refresh the client report on wsus use the parameter /reportnow.

If you cannot get clients to appear on the Computers page in the WSUS console, it is almost always a problem with client self-update, which is the mechanism that WSUS uses to update the SUS client to the WSUS client (Automatic Updates) software.

On the Disk Cleanup tab, select Windows Update Cleanup, and then click OK. Note By default, the Windows Update Cleanup option is already selected. When a dialog box appears, click Delete Files.

How do I do a full system cleanup? ›

The Invoke-WsusServerCleanup cmdlet performs the process of cleanup on a specified Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) server. This process has the same impact as running the Cleanup Wizard from within the WSUS Console application and allows the specification of the same options as parameters.

1. Type Start PowerShell in the Command Prompt window to start Windows PowerShell. 2. Type Install-WindowsFeature Windows-Internal-Database and press Enter to install Windows Internal Database.

When the internal database is installed, the data files and log files of the internal database are created on C:\WID location. In our case, the data files and log files of WID are created on C:\WID\data directory. The internal database is created while configuring the WSUS server.

You cannot delete updates from WSUS. You can however decline update directly in WSUS. This will cause ConfigMgr to mark the update as expired and if the update is not deployed, ConfigMgr will remove the update after 7 days. This is actually what WSUS Automated Maintenance (WAM) does with declined updates, and Drivers.

In the WSUS Administration Console, under Update Services, expand the WSUS server, expand Computers, right-click All computers, and then select Add Computer Group. In the Add Computer Group dialog, for Name, specify the name of the new group. Then select Add.

A reliable WSUS replacement is ManageEngine Patch Manager Plus - a standalone patch management solution offering patches for Windows, macOS and Linux as well as 850+ third-party applications.

Running WSUSutil.exe. WSUSutil.exe is a tool that you can use to manage your WSUS server from the command line. WSUSutil.exe is located in the %drive%\Program Files\Update Services\Tools folder on your WSUS server.

Open the command prompt, by hitting the Windows key and type “cmd”. Right click on the Command Prompt icon and choose “Run as administrator”. 3. In the command prompt type (but, don't hit enter) “wuauclt.exe /updatenow“ (this is the command to force Windows to check for updates).

Why is WSUS not synchronizing? ›

If the BITS service was disabled during synchronization, synchronization will fail. To ensure that the BITS services is properly enabled, restart both the BITS service and the WSUS service. On the WSUS server, click Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Services.

Select Start > Control Panel > Security > Security Center > Windows Update in Windows Security Center. Select View Available Updates in the Windows Update window. The system will automatically check if there's any update that need to be installed, and display the updates that can be installed onto your computer.

Deployment Image Servicing and Management (DISM) is a command-line tool that is used to service Windows images. You can use DISM image management commands to mount and get information about Windows image (. wim) files, Full-flash utility (FFU) files, or virtual hard disks (VHD).

To approve and deploy feature updates manually

In the WSUS Administration Console, go to Update Services\Server_Name\Updates. In the Action pane, click New Update View. In the Add Update View dialog box, select Updates are in a specific classification and Updates are for a specific product.

Take a look under Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Update . You should see the keys WUServer and WUStatusServer which should have the the locations of the specific servers.

For example, an update might not install if a system file is damaged. The DISM or System Update Readiness tool may help you fix some Windows corruption errors. Check this page for Windows Update troubleshooting scenarios.

Run SFC first, and only if SFC finds a problem is it necessary to run DISM. Run SFC first, and — no matter what SFC reports — you might as well run DISM after that.

Resetting Windows Update Client Using PowerShell

You can use the PSWindowsUpdate PowerShell module to reset the Windows Update agent and service. The Reset-WUComponents command stops services, re-registers DLLs, and cleans up the C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution folder, etc. The full log of actions is available.

Can C :\ Windows Installer be cleaned up? ›

The C:\Windows\Installer folder contains Windows installer cache, it's used to store important files for applications installed using the Windows Installer technology and should not be deleted. The installer cache is used to maintain (remove / update) the applications and patches installed on the computer.

Click Start, and then click Run. In the Open box, type the following command, and then press Enter: c:\windows\SYSTEM32\cleanmgr.exe /dDrive Note In this command, the placeholder Drive represents the drive letter of the hard disk to be cleaned.

What Is Windows 10 Update Cleanup? Windows 10 update cleanup is a concept of Windows cleanup tool removes unnecessary files for you including temporary files, offline files, old Windows files, Windows update logs, etc.

Use an anti-static cloth to lightly dust your computer casing. Do not use furniture cleaners or strong solvents. Use a can of compressed air to blow out debris from the air intake slots. Ammonia diluted with water—or glass cleaner comprised mostly of ammonia and water—is a safe cleaning solution for computer surfaces.

To reset your PC, go to Start > Settings > Update & Security > Recovery > Reset this PC > Get Started.

Windows 10 has a feature built into the Disk Cleanup tool called Clean Up System Files that not many people take full advantage of.

The executables can be run from any command-line shell, like PowerShell. This includes script files that may require other shells to work properly. For example, if you run a Windows batch script ( . cmd file) in PowerShell, PowerShell runs cmd.exe and passes in the batch file for execution.

The command that erases the drive during this process is "Clean". In this article "Clean" and erase are used interchangeably. Cleaning or erasing a storage device removes all data and partitions from the drive.

Do you need SQL for WSUS? ›

WSUS must be setup using the SQL database option instead of WID. If storing updates locally, the same Content folder must be shared between the WSUS servers that are sharing the same SQL database.

To restore the WSUS database

On your WSUS server, click Start, and then click Run. In the Open box, type %systemdrive%\%windir%\system32\ntbackup.exe and then click OK. In the Backup or Restore Wizard, click Next. Click Restore files and settings, and then click Next.

Open SQL Server Management Studio and connect to your WSUS instance. Expand Management, right-click Maintenance Plans, and then select New Maintenance Plan. Give your plan a name. Schedule this task to run about 30 minutes after you expect your cleanup to finish running.

Database Permissions

Verify that the Default database is set to SUSDB. Click OK to save settings.

To manually decline WSUS updates from your server, find the update you wish to remove and right click it and choose Decline. Once the update is manually declined, you would need to run the Server Cleanup Wizard (SCW) and allow it to clean out the space used by the declined update(s).

To create a database

Right-click Databases, and then select New Database. In New Database, enter a database name. To create the database by accepting all default values, select OK; otherwise, continue with the following optional steps. To change the owner name, select (...) to select another owner.

How do I overwrite an existing database? ›

Select Options from the left panel. Then, on the right panel, under the Restore options section, select the checkbox saying “Overwrite the existing database” to replace or overwrite the existing database.

If an index contains less than 100 pages, I will perform no maintenance. If an index is between 10% and 30% fragmented, I will REORGANIZE the index and UPDATE the statistics. If an index is over 30% fragmented, I will REBUILD the index - with no UPDATE STATISTICS , as this is taken care of by the REBUILD .

REORGANIZE is an online operation that defragments leaf pages in a clustered or non-clustered index page by page using little extra working space. REBUILD is an online operation in Enterprise editions, offline in other editions, and uses as much extra working space again as the index size.

REINDEX rebuilds an index using the data stored in the index's table, replacing the old copy of the index. There are several scenarios in which to use REINDEX : An index has become corrupted, and no longer contains valid data.

The reindex() method allows you to change the row indexes, and the columns labels. Note: The values are set to NaN if the new index is not the same as the old.

Most database systems make it very easy to create a database via a user interface. Generally, it's just a matter of selecting an option from a menu, then providing a name for your database. The following example demonstrates how to create a database in Microsoft Access.

Yes—you can recover a previous version of an overwritten file using the File History feature in Windows, or the Time Machine tool in MacOS, if they have already been enabled on your device.

In Microsoft Word this is accomplished by pressing, often accidentally, the INS (Insert) key. This key is very close to the backspace key on a standard keyboard. The current status of the Overtype mode is indicated by the letters OVR on Word's Status Bar.

overwrite verb (REPLACE)

If you overwrite a computer file, you replace it with a different one. Want to learn more?