How To Run Windows Update From Command Line (CMD & PowerShell)

Windows Update allows users to keep Windows OS up to date with the latest security patches, new features and bug fixes from Microsoft. You can access Windows Update from the Settings app on your PC.

Windows Update runs automatically in the background and installs new updates when they are available. However, you can also manually check for updates at any time. This will help you get the latest features and improvements faster.

By checking regularly for new Windows updates, you can ensure your PC is running smoothly and securely, ensuring you are safe from viruses, malware and other threats.

On this page, you will find several methods to force run Windows Update. Let’s start:

Force Windows Update from CMD

Check for updates on all Windows versions

If you want to run Windows Update from Command Prompt, you can use the wuauclt.exe utility. This utility allows you to check for updates, download updates, and install updates from the command line. The only limitation of running Windows Update through the CMD is that it won’t show any progress. Only results are shown when the process is complete. Here is how to run Windows Update from CMD:

1. Open Command Prompt with administrative privileges

2. Run wuauclt /detectnow to check for new updates and download them

   wuauclt /detectnow

3. Run wuauclt /updatenow to install updates

   wuauclt /updatenow

4. (Optional) Run wuauclt /reportnow to report back to WSUS server (if available)

   wuauclt.exe /reportnow

You can also use multiple switches in the same command:

wuauclt /detectnow /updatenow

If you want to disregard the already detected updates and force Windows Update to check for updates again immediately, you may run the following command:

wuauclt /resetauthorization /detectnow

Since the command prompt does not show any progress, a better approach would be to check and install updates simultaneously. Here’s the command for this:

wuauclt /detectnow /updatenow

Check for Windows updates in Windows 11, 10

The above-mentioned command will work in all versions of Windows, including Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2. But if you are using Windows 11, Windows 10 or Windows Server 2016, you can use the “UsoClient” command, which has more options than “wuauclt.” You can run UsoClient with the following switches:

1. Start checking for new updates

   UsoClient /StartScan

2. Start downloading updates

   UsoClient /StartDownload

3. Start installing updates

   UsoClient /StartInstall

Force Windows Update Check using Run Command Box

I found out that the easiest way to force a Windows update check is to use a command in the Run dialog box. There are other commands from CMD and PowerShell as well, but let’s start with the easiest way to do it.

1. Open the Run Command box (Windows key + R).

2. Run the following command:

   control update

   

This will trigger the Windows Update graphical user interface which will start checking for new updates. This method works on all versions of Windows including Windows 10 and Windows 11.

There is another command that will trigger the same effect but only works in Windows 10 and 11:

ms-settings:windowsupdate

Run Windows Update from PowerShell

There is no official Windows Update module for PowerShell. However, you can use “PSWindowsUpdate.” PSWindowsUpdate is a third-party module that can be used to configure Windows updates in Windows.

This module is not installed in Windows by default but you can download it from the PowerShell gallery and install and run the module to check for new updates.

Here are the three steps to run Windows Update through PowerShell:

1. Run the following command to install PSWindowsUpdate:

   Install-Module PSWindowsUpdate

   

2. Check for available updates by running this cmdlet:

   Get-WindowsUpdate

   

3. Now install these updates using this cmdlet:

   Install-WindowsUpdate

   

The above-mentioned commands will only install Windows updates. If you want to update other Microsoft products, you’ll also need to enable the Microsoft Update Service. It’s pretty easy to enable it using PowerShell:

Add-WUServiceManager -MicrosoftUpdate

If you want to automatically restart your computer after installing all the updates, you can run the following command instead:

Install-WindowsUpdate -MicrosoftUpdate -AcceptAll -AutoReboot

If you don’t want to install a separate module, you can run the following command to force start Windows Update using PowerShell:

Start-Process -FilePath 'ms-settings:windowsupdate'

Deploy Updates on Remote Computers

The PSWindowsUpdate PowerShell module can also be used to deploy Windows updates on remote computers. There are two commands involved in this process:

1. Create a list of computers and pass the list as a variable string using the computer names:

   $computer = "comp1, comp2, comp3"

   You can add more computers to the string separated by commas. Replace “compX” with the name of each computer.

2. Run the following command to start checking for Windows updates on remote computers:

   Invoke-WUJob -ComputerName $computer -Script {ipmo PSWindowsUpdate; Install-WindowsUpdate -MicrosoftUpdate -AcceptAll -AutoReboot} -RunNow -Confirm:$false | Out-File "\server\share\logs\$computer-$(Get-Date -f yyyy-MM-dd)-MSUpdates.log" -Force

Install Specific Updates Only

If you already know the article KB no. of the specific update you want to install, you can run the following command to install that particular update(s) only:

Get-WindowsUpdate - KBArticleID "KB5002324", "KB5002325" -Install

Replace the KB number with the one you want to install.

Prevent Specific Windows Updates from Installing

You can prevent specific updates from installing on your computer by replacing the KB numbers in the following command in PowerShell:

Install-WindowsUpdate -NotKBArticle "KB5002324, KB5002325" -AcceptAll

Check for Windows Updates using Windows Settings

To check for new updates and configure your Windows Update settings, follow the steps below:

1. Navigate to:

   • In Windows 11:

     Settings app >> Windows Update

   • In Windows 10:

     Settings app >> Update & Security >> Windows Update

2. Click “Check for updates.”

   

Force Windows Update to Download Already Downloaded Updates

There will be times when the updates become corrupted or for other reasons, you just don’t want to install the downloaded updates. In that situation, you can easily delete the already-downloaded updates, which will force Windows Update to run again and check for and download the updates again.

The only caveat in this situation is that the update must not have been installed on your computer. If the update is already installed, Windows will detect it as installed and will not download it again. In that case, you will need to uninstall the update first and then force Windows Update to run again.

If you want to force Windows Update to re-download all the updates again, you can do this using the steps below.

1. Navigate to the following directory using File Explorer:

   C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download

   This folder contains all the Windows update files that Windows OS is currently downloading or recently downloaded and installed.

2. Select and delete all the files from the “Download” folder.

   

3. Run Windows Update again using the above-mentioned methods.

   This will force Windows Update to check for the same updates and download them again. The download and install process for new updates is completely automated. You don’t need to do anything during the download and installation process.

Manage Windows Updates using Wuinstall

Using WuInstall, IT Administrators can automate Windows updates. Wuinstall can be used to enforce Windows Updates inquiries, downloads, and installations at times when they deem them appropriate, enabling them to make the entire update process more controlled and user-friendly.

WuInstall is a strong and flexible system management tool that can be used in a WSUS-based or standalone environment. To download the latest updates using Wuinstall, you will need to download and install Wuinstall first. Follow the steps below:

1. Go to http://www.wuinstall.com/ and install the latest free version of Wuinstall on your computer.

2. Open an elevated Command Prompt.

3. Run the following cmdlet to search for the latest available Windows updates:

   wuinstall /search

   This will not only look for new updates but will also list them in the command window.

4. To download the updates, run the following command:

   wuinstall /download

   This will download all the available updates from Microsoft servers.

5. To install the updates, run the following command:

   wuinstall /install

There are a few more switches that you can use with the install command:

• /quiet – will install updates without showing anything.
• /disableprompt – Disable any input from Windows.
• /autoaccepteula –  Auto-accept any agreement during the update installation.
• /rebootcycle – Install updates on the next computer reboot.

Fix Corrupted Windows Updates

Sometimes Windows Update files get corrupted and the user is not able to download the files again or install the corrupted update files. In that case, we need to run a DISM command to fix the corrupted Windows Update. Here are the steps:

1. Launch the Command Prompt.

2. Run the following cmdlet:

   dism.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth

After successfully running this command, try force downloading the updates again, and the Windows Update should start working again.

Hopefully, this will be useful in situations where you want to automate certain Windows functions. What other purposes do you want to use command line options to run Windows Update?

Run Windows Update FAQs