How to Install the Windows Update Agent on Client Computers

[Yvette O'Meally]

First published on CloudBlogs on Jul, 14 2014
Author: Harini Muralidharan, Program Manager, Configuration Manager Sustained Engineering Applies To: System Center 2012 Configuration Manager SP1, and System Center 2012 R2 Configuration Manager. This article describes the steps to update to the latest Windows Update Agent version for Configuration Manager Clients.

For client computers running Windows 8

Approve KB 2937636 through the Configuration Manager console and the update will be deployed on the client computers, just like updates for other Windows components.

For client computers running Windows 7 Service Pack 1 and below

Updating using standalone installer

The standalone installer applies to Windows Vista with SP2, and Windows 7 RTM or SP1. For Windows 7 SP1, the standalone installer will install the client version Windows Update Agent7.6.7600.320. For all previous versions, the standalone installer will install the client version 7.6.7600.256. The following procedure provides the steps to download the installation file, create a query for computers that do not have at least Windows Update Agent version 7.6, create a collection based on the query, and create a software distribution that targets the new collection.

To download the Windows Update Agent version 7.6

Stand-alone packages for  all supported versions of Windows 7 SP1 and below

The following files are available for download from Windows Update.

Operating system	Update
All supported x86-based versions of Windows 7 SP1 and below	Download the package now.
All supported x64-based versions of Windows 7 SP1 and below	Download the package now.
All supported x86-based versions of Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 and below	Download the package now.
All supported x64-based versions of Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 and below	Download the package now.
All supported Itanium-based versions of Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 and below	Download the package now.

To create a collection that retrieves computers that have an older version of the Windows Update Agent version

1. In the Configuration Manager console, navigate to Assets and Compliance -> Device Collections .
2. Right-click Device Collections and then click Create Device Collection .
3. Specify the Name , Comment , and Limiting Collection then click Next .
4. In the Membership Rules page, Click Add Rule, and select Query Rule
5. In the Query Rule Properties dialog box, specify a name for the query, and then click Edit Query Statement to open the <Query name> Statement Properties dialog box .
6. Under the General tab, click Show Query Language , and then replace the existing statement with a query such as the following sample query statement:SELECT SMS_R_System.NetbiosName, SMS_G_System_WINDOWSUPDATEAGENTVERSION.Version FROM SMS_R_System INNER JOIN SMS_G_System_WINDOWSUPDATEAGENTVERSION on SMS_G_System_WINDOWSUPDATEAGENTVERSION.ResourceID = SMS_R_System.ResourceId WHERE SMS_G_System_WINDOWSUPDATEAGENTVERSION.Version < "<enter latest Windows Agent version>" order by SMS_G_System_WINDOWSUPDATEAGENTVERSION.Version Note: The latest Windows Update Agent version for Windows 7 RTM and below clients is 7.6.7600.256 and the latest Windows Update Agent version for clients with Operating System Windows 7 SP1 and higher would be 7.6.7600.320 The sample query will return all computers with a version of the Windows Update Agent that is less than the latest Windows Agent version. The query will return only the computers that have a value for the Windows Update Agent version, which requires the computer to scan for software updates at least once and then take hardware inventory.
7. Click OK to get back to Query Rule Properties page.
8. Click OK back to Membership Rules page.
9. Schedule a full update on this collection - Select this option to schedule a regular full evaluation of the collection membership.
10. Click Next .
11. Verify if the details on the summary page is accurate.
12. Click Next and Close the Wizard
13. Right Click the collection under the Device Collections node and select Show Members to return the computers that the Windows Update Agent version is lesser than the version mentioned in the query.

Note: Refresh or reload the Configuration Manager console to see the collection members. However, the members will not appear in the collection until after the first scheduled update, or until you manually select Update Membership for the collection. Depending on the complexity of the collection rule and the number of entries in the Configuration Manager database, it can take a few minutes for a collection update to complete.

To distribute Windows Update Agent to clients

1. Create a software distribution package for the downloaded Windows Update Agent installation files. For more information, see How to Create Packages and Programs in Configuration Manager .
2. Create the program for the software distribution package. For the command line, specify WindowsUpdateAgent-7.6-< platform >.exe /quiet /norestart /wuforce . For more information, see How to Create Packages and Programs in Configuration Manager .
3. Create a deployment that targets the client computers that do not have Windows Update Agent version 7.6 or later. Specify the collection that was created in the preceding procedure. For more information, see How to Deploy Packages and Programs in Configuration Manager.

Related Links

Update to Microsoft Update Client – KB 2937636 Upcoming Update for Microsoft Update Client blog post --Harini Muralidharan Configuration Manager Resources Documentation Library for System Center 2012 Configuration Manager Configuration Manager 2012 Forums System Center 2012 Configuration Manager Survival Guide System Center Configuration Manager Support This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties and confers no rights.