Checking for Windows Updates on Your PC

This article covers how faculty, staff, and students can check for and download/install Windows Updates to their Windows PC computers and laptops.

1. Close all applications you have running. You may also want to restart your computer to stop any background processes that may be running.

2. Click on the Start menu and select the Settings icon.

You can also use the search bar to look for "updates" or "windows update."

start menu

3. Click on Update & Security.

Windows 10 settings

4. Click Check for updates. Or if you see Check online for updates from Microsoft Update, click on that link.

Campus-issued computers are likely to have the Check online for updates from Microsoft Update option. Be sure to use this option to get all available updates.

Windows Update screen

It may take quite a long time for Windows Update to check for updates, so be patient.

  1. Click Check for updates.
  2. Or if you see Check online for updates from Microsoft Update, click on that link.

5. All available updates should immediately start downloading and installing, but if you see a Download or Install button, click on it.

windows update running

6. Some updates will require that you restart your computer. If you see a Restart button, click on it to restart your computer.

Please note that some updates will continue to process once you restart your PC. You may see a loading screen or a progress screen as the update(s) are installed. Do not unplug or try to turn off your PC during this process!

7. If your computer installed a lot of updates, you may want to repeat this process to check for additional updates.

Need More Help?

Faculty and Staff should contact the IT Help Desk at [email protected] or 657-278-7777 for additional assistance.

Students should contact the Student IT Help Desk at [email protected] or 657-278-8888 for additional assistance.