Windows Updates and Your PC

Microsoft changed the process that it uses to deploy updates. Starting with Windows 10 and Windows 11, Windows automatically downloads and installs operating system updates when they become available. You now have less control over when Windows applies these updates to your PC. The amount of control that you have is based on the edition of Windows that you are using.

This guide shows you how to do the operations that follow:

  • Configure your PC to prevent Windows updates from causing problems with your Automation1 and INtime configuration.
  • Correct an Automation1, INtime, or Windows configuration that was changed by a Windows update.

The table that follows shows you the different types of updates that can occur in Microsoft.

Table: Types of Windows Updates

Update Type Description Availability

Driver Updates

Fix problems, improve performance, and add new features to hardware.

Windows might automatically download and install these updates through Windows Update.

Feature Updates

Add new functionality and make improvements to applications.

Approximately twice per year.

Quality Updates

Apply security and reliability fixes.

Approximately twice per month.

Why Are Windows Updates a Concern?

Most Windows driver updates and quality updates that keep your PC running securely do not cause problems for an Automation1 system or the TenAsys INtime real-time operating system.

For Windows 10 and Windows 11, Microsoft automatically pushes feature updates to most users. Feature updates are different from quality updates and driver updates because Windows feature updates are a full operating system upgrade. As a result, some feature updates can cause major changes to your PC.

For information about the problems that updates can cause, refer to the sections that follow.

Driver and Quality Updates

  • Some driver updates can cause problems with Automation1. You can easily disable them to prevent these problems.
  • Driver and quality updates can cause your PC to automatically restart at unwanted times, such as during a manufacturing process, to complete the installation of an update.

Feature Updates

  • A feature update might change the device drivers used in Windows Device Manager. Your driver update settings do not prevent these changes from occurring:
    • INtime Devices: The update might cause these devices to be passed back to Windows.
    • Windows Devices: Windows might select a more up-to-date device driver for a device such as a display adapter. As a result, the new driver might have a different timing impact on INtime than the previous driver.
  • A feature update might re-enable power management features, such as Fast Startup, that cause problems for INtime.
  • A feature update might cause Windows Boot Configuration Data (BCD) to use default values:
    • Your processor core configuration might change back to the default Windows setting.

      • For Example

      You configure INtime to use one core and Windows to use three cores. But a new feature update causes all four cores to be given to Windows.

    • A feature update might re-enable Hypervisor settings, which can cause problems for INtime.
    • A feature update might cause APIC mode settings to use the default values, which can cause problems for INtime.
  • Feature updates can cause your PC to automatically restart at unwanted times, such as during a manufacturing process, to complete the installation of an update.

A default Windows installation can cause problems with Automation1 and INtime because of how Microsoft deploys updates. But if you use the instructions in this guide to configure your PC or use an Aerotech supplied PC that is already configured, you can prevent these problems from occurring.

 

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