How to update your Windows PC manually

Even though most Windows computers today come with pre-enabled, automatic Windows updates, they don’t always work. This is why knowing your way around manual Windows updates could come to your rescue someday.
 In this article, we discuss the difference ways you can update your Windows PC manually.

So, let’s get started.

How to update your Windows PC manually

Windows updates are critical. In fact, they are your first line of defense against random PC bugs and ever-growing cyber threats. And that’s precisely why Microsoft brings in regular updates that patch all your Windows bugs and malware definitions for you.

But, like all things tech, your auto-updates might sometimes fail. In fact, they might crash for a host of reasons that might be well out of your control. This is why knowing how to fix your updates can be super handy in cases like this. Here’s how:

1. Use Windows Update Assistant

The Windows Update Assistant is a free update feature by Microsoft that enables users to download and update the versions of Windows updates.

Here’s how to get started with Windows Assistant:

1. Head to the Windows update assistant download website.
2. Click on Update now, and get the latest Windows 10 update patch for your PC.
3. Launch the downloaded file.
4. Click Yes on the next dialog box.
5. Select Update Now, and the software will check your compatibility with your PC.
6. Click on Next, and finally, select Restart Now.

Windows Update Assistant will download and install the latest versions of your Windows updates.

2. Windows Settings

A host of many things, the Windows Settings is a central hub that lets you do almost anything right from your PC. Unsurprisingly, you can also use it for downloading your Windows update manually. Here’s how you can get started with the Settings menu:

• Open the Settings menu on your Windows.
• Click on Windows Update.
• Select the Check for updates button.
• If any new updates are found, click on Install Now to complete the download and installation.
• Finally, click on the Restart now button.

That’s it—once you are done with all the steps above, the app will complete its download and install the updates, all in a few minutes.

3. Microsoft Update Catalog

Microsoft Update Catalog is a website by Microsoft that offers free updates for various Microsoft products and software, including Windows. It hosts updates for all the major versions of Windows, including Windows 2000 SP3, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows 10, and now, also Windows 11.

Here’s how to access the Windows Update Catalog:

• Open the Microsoft Update Catalog on your Windows.
• On the search bar, type in the KB number of the update you’d like to download.
• You’ll get a host of results. Choose the correct update from there, and click on Download.
• You’ll get a new Microsoft Update Catalog dialog box. Click on the Download Update link, and your update download will begin from there.

After the download is complete, launch the file to install the update. Moreover, don’t forget to give your PC a complete reboot, so that you don’t

4. Windows PowerShell


Windows PowerShell is a task automation tool that makes system administration super easy for users. Although the app is available in all versions of Windows, it comes in handy mostly for Windows Administrators.

But, if you can’t download your Windows updates through other methods, a Windows PowerShell is a good alternative that will do that job for you.

Here’s how to start with Windows PowerShell update:

1. Head to the Start menu search bar, type in ‘powershell,’ and run the PowerShell as an administrator.
2. Now, type in the following command in the PowerShell menu and hit Enter:
   Install-Module PSWindowsUpdate

3. Select Y and hit Enter.
4. Type in A and press Enter.
5. Again, type in the following command in the PowerShell and hit Enter:
   Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned
6. Now type in the following command and hit Enter again:
   Import-Module PSWindowsUpdate
7. Type in the following command to check your Windows updates:
   Get-WindowsUpdate
8. Then, type in the following command to select, download, and install a specific update and hit Enter:
   Install-WindowsUpdate -KBArticleID KBNUMBER


9. In your command, replace the KBNUMBER with the actual Windows update number you have to install.
10. Then, type in A and press Enter to begin the installation.
11. Again, type Y to restart your PC and press Enter.

As soon as you are done with the above steps, your Windows will complete the download and install your updates. Again, make sure you restart your PC for all the updates and changes to take effect.

Updating your Windows PC manually

Getting your PC updated regularly is critical for your safety. We hope one of the manual update methods from above helped you get your Windows updated for good.