Resolved Should Optional Updates Be Installed?

Both of my desktops and my laptop show optional update KB4550945 as available for me to download and install. I have looked at what support.microsoft.com and Bleeping Computer said about the release but don't really understand the technical nuances. The main thing I picked up from these explanations is that certain fixes are being made.
My bottom line question then is: Should most/all optional updates be installed as a general rule? It would appear to me that anything Microsoft releases that "fixes" something on my operating system should probably be installed.

 

Hey Robert,

I sure have a different opinion than Christer. First and foremost, Windows 10 is not Windows 7. W7 is over 10 years old. W10 is current. Is a 2009 Honda Accord the same as a 2020 Accord? So I fail to see why a comparison is being made here between W7 and W10.

It really is up to you, but I typically install them. I currently have 5 Windows 10 machines here and I am responsible for several dozen more. I keep them all current since keeping our operating systems current is, by far, one of the best ways to keep our systems secure. I may wait a few days to listen for any problems, but then I will install them. And I note KB4550945 has been out for a week now. That is plenty of time for Microsoft to act on any feedback it might have received, and recall or fix the update if necessary.

I say "typically" because I look to see what they are. Just because it is optional does not mean it should automatically be avoided, or automatically installed. For example, if my Microsoft keyboard is working fine, I may not install an optional update for the keyboard.

Yes, it is possible an update will break a computer. With over 900 million Windows 10 computers out there, each one unique in its hardware configuration or software configuration or [more likely] both, it is unrealistic to expect perfection 100% of the time. But frankly, Microsoft does indeed come pretty close. I can't say I have never had problems, but I will say I have never has a problem a simple reboot didn't get me out of. It is important to remember the vast majority of users stick with the Windows default settings. And why? Because they work.

As far as this specific update, I note it is a cumulative update. That means for the most part, most of changes/updates this installs have already been pushed out in previous updates. So if you have been staying current, much of the update will skip over those changes and very little new changes will be made - making the risk of problems even lower.

I have installed this update on this computer and all the others here with no problems. Unless you consider yourself a true Windows security expert, I recommend keeping your computer current.

 

It is probably more accurate to say they are not "critical". They still could be security related. And for sure, they could be important for the proper operation of the OS.

For example, as seen here, that KB4550945 addresses an issue that causes Windows Update to stop responding when manually checking for updates. That could cause the user to miss an important security update. If you look at the other "Improvements and Fixes" you will see that many fix features that I personally would not consider leaving them broken an option.

I used to be very much a "control freak" with my computers - especially back with XP. I don't know if I outgrew or just grew tired of controlling everything, but I did need to understand what my clients were going through. And most of my clients didn't want to become Windows and security experts. They just wanted their computers to work. So they just let Windows manage things.

So beginning with W7, I too stuck with the defaults on my own computers. And funny thing - my computers (and my client's computers) kept on working just fine. And when something did go wrong, they seemed easier to fix. I have never, for example, needed to start over and reinstall W10 on any of my systems, and frankly, I don't remember needing to when I ran W7.

Computers that came into the shop that were really messed up, on the other hand, were found to have many changes to the defaults. Page Files disabled or set to fixed sizes instead of just letting Windows manage it. Indexing disabled. 3rd party security apps installed, 3rd party driver updaters installed and more. The users apparently felt they were smarter all the CompSci and PhDs and their supercompters and 100s of exabytes of empirical data, so they dinked their computers to death.

That's when I really started to realize that W7 was not XP and now W10 is not W7. So we need to stop treating them like we did those legacy operating systems.

Microsoft has not been sitting on their thumbs, living on their laurels these last 10 - 20 years.

That said, I do understand the desire for some to keep their fingers dirty. All I can say there is to keep current backups - which we all should just anyway, just in case.

 

I suggest that people read this information concerning problems caused on some computers by update KB4550945

My granddaughter us an IT specialist for a fairly large company and they had exactly the problems described in the article on several of their computers. Since it is an Optional Update she advised me NOT to take this update and I have followed her alert.

 

Because KB4549951 did cause problems for some users as I understand it KB4550945 contained 'fixes' as stated in Judy's Post.
In a Thread by BOBBO on this topic, I stated then that I have BOTH of these Cumulative updates installed successfully on my comps without problems.
I agree with Bill's Posts on the subject and have always installed updates and always allow the update FULL use of my comp whilst doing it's job.
I wait and do not use that comp which is updating. This protocol has worked OK for me and I see no reason to change my choice.

 

I have rarely installed Optional Updates on any of my computers, Windows 10 or previous OS's. Optional being the key word which means "left to one's choice; not required or mandatory". This particular update is optional because not all people had problems with KB4549951, I had no problems with it which tells me that I do not need the Optional Fix because there is nothing to fix.

 

Seeing the differing points of view on this issue somewhat justifies my asking the question in the first place. Thanks to all who contributed. I think, based on the input I have seen, I will continue to install the optional updates but perhaps hold off a bit to make sure any flaws have been handled by Microsoft.
I will mark this thread as "Solved".

 

I will point out again that there are over 900 million Windows 10 devices out there (it's actually over 1 billion now - according to Microsoft!). And each one becomes unique within the first few minutes after the very first boot when new. This happens as users create their unique user accounts, setup and configure their unique network connections, install and configure their unique security, install and attach their unique hardware devices and their drivers, install their unique set of favorite programs, personalize their desktops in their own unique ways, etc. etc. Even 2 identical Dell notebooks coming off the assembly line, one after the other, become unique systems within minutes of first boot.

Consequently, there will ALWAYS be problems with "some" users. Always.

If just 1/10th of 1% of users had problems, that 99.9% success rate would be considered exemplary in just about any other industry. But with Windows 10, that 1/10th of 1% represents over 1 million users and 1 million upset users can make a lot of noise! This "noise", sadly, is often amplified and exaggerated by many - especially "wannabe journalist" bloggers and some in the IT media who echo and parrot that noise over and over again - instead of doing their own "due diligence" to learn how bad and widespread the problem really is.

If these problems were as bad as some want us to believe, tech support forums like Windows BBS would be inundated every Patch Tuesday with members reporting broken machines. That ain't happening!

If one actually does the research and digs in to see the reported complaints with this particular KB Update, they will see the complaints are not coming in by 100s of 1000s. Not by the 1000s. Not even by the 100s. But rather, a small hand full - if that!

And the fix? Uninstall the update, wait a couple days and try again. Most likely that will work as reported in that article. And in this case, a week has passed and MS has released a new update.

If we put off updating our computers based on "news" that "some" users had problems, we will never update our computers - exactly what the bad guys would love to see.

 

Once again Bill - well said.

 

Thanks, Neil.