It is very convenient to use a special PowerShell script- PSWindowsUpdate to install Windows updates remotely from the command line on a separate computer. The PSWindowsUpdate module is not built into Windows and it is a third-party module available in the Technet Script Gallery. PSWindowsUpdate allows administrators to remotely check for updates on computers and workstations, install, remove and hide certain updates. The PSWindowsUpdate module is especially valuable when used to manage Windows updates in the Core editions of Windows Server, which do not have a graphical interface, as well as when setting up a Windows image in audit mode. In this article, I show a Powershell script to install Windows Updates remotely also you will find another module which helps to get a list of all the missing Windows updates.

1. HOWTO: Powershell Script to Install
Windows Updates Remotely
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2. It is very convenient to use a special PowerShell script-
PSWindowsUpdate to install Windows updates remotely from
the command line on a separate computer. The
PSWindowsUpdate module is not built into Windows and it is
a third-party module available in the Technet Script Gallery.
PSWindowsUpdate allows administrators to remotely check
for updates on computers and workstations, install, remove
and hide certain updates.
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3. The PSWindowsUpdate module is especially valuable when
used to manage Windows updates in the Core editions of
Windows Server, which do not have a graphical interface, as
well as when setting up a Windows image in audit mode.
In this presentation, I show a Powershell script to install
Windows Updates remotely also you will find another module
which helps to get a list of all the missing Windows updates.
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4. 1. Installing the Update Management Module
PsWindowsUpdate
If you have Windows 10 installed, you can install the
PSWindowsUpdate module from the online repository via the
Package Manager PackageManagement with just one
command:Install-Module -Name PSWindowsUpdate
Manually:
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5. 1. Installing the Update Management Module
PsWindowsUpdate
If you have an older version of Windows (Windows 7 / 8.1 /
Windows Server 2008 R2 / 2012 R2) or do not have direct
Internet access, you can install the PSWindowsUpdate module
manually.
This module can be installed on any supported version of
Windows, starting with Vista / Windows Server 2008 with
PowerShell 2.0 installed (but PoSh 3.0 and higher is
recommended).
Manually:
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6. 1. Installing the Update Management Module
PsWindowsUpdate
- Download the latest version of the PSWindowsUpdate module
from the page:
https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/scriptcenter/2d191bcd-
3308-4edd-9de2-88dff796b0bc and unlock the downloaded file.
Manually:
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7. Manually:
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8. 1. Installing the Update Management Module
PsWindowsUpdate
- Unpack the archive with the module into one of the%
USERPROFILE% Documents WindowsPowerShell Modules
or% WINDIR% System32 WindowsPowerShell v1.0
Modules directories (using the module permanently is the best
option).
- Allow script execution: Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned
- Now you can import a module into your PowerShell session:
Import-Module PSWindowsUpdate
Manually:
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9. Manually:
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10. 1. Installing the Update Management Module
PsWindowsUpdate
Note. In Windows 7 / Server 2008 R2, when importing a
PSWindowsUpdate module, you may encounter an error like
the following: The name “Unblock-File” is not recognized as the
name of the cmdlet. The point is that the module uses some
functions that appeared only in PowerShell 3.0. To use these
functions, you will have to update PowerShell, or manually
remove the line | Unblock-File from the
PSWindowsUpdate.psm1 file.
Manually:
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11. 1. Installing the Update Management Module
PsWindowsUpdate
If you installed the Windows Update Management Module on
your computer, you can install it remotely on other computers
and / or servers. Use this script to copy the module to the two
specified remote servers:
Manually:
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12. 1. Installing the Update Management Module
PsWindowsUpdate
$ Targets = "Server1", "Server2" Update-WUModule -
LocalPSWUSource "C: Windows system32
WindowsPowerShell v1.0 Modules PSWindowsUpdate" -
ComputerName $ Targets
Invoke-Command -ComputerName $ Targets -ScriptBlock {Add-
Content $ Env: WINDIR system32 WindowsPowerShell v1.0
profile.ps1 "` `nImport-Module PSWindowsUpdate"}
Manually:
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13. 2. Overview Module PSWindowsUpdate Commands
The list of available cmdlets for the module can be displayed
as:get-command-module PSWindowsUpdate
Briefly describe the purpose of the module commands:
Get-WindowsUpdate - an alias for Get-WUList.
Hide-WindowsUpdate - alias for Hide-WUUpdate.
Install-WindowsUpdate - alias for Get-WUInstall.
Uninstall-WindowsUpdate - alias for Get-WUUninstall.
Manually:
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14. 2. Overview Module PSWindowsUpdate Commands
Add-WUOfflineSync - the function allows you to install updates
from the local cache using the file wsusscan.cab or
wsusscn2.cab.
Add-WUServiceManager - register the update server on a
computer.
Get-WUHistory - displays a list of installed updates.
Manually:
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15. 2. Overview Module PSWindowsUpdate Commands
Get-WUInstall is the main cmdlet of the PSWindowsUpdate
module. Allows you to download and install updates from the
server WSUS or Microsoft Update. Allows you to select
categories of updates, specific updates and specify the rules for
restarting the computer when installing updates.
Get-WUInstallerStatus - check the status of the Windows
Installer service.
Manually:
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16. 2. Overview Module PSWindowsUpdate Commands
Get-WURebootStatus - allows you to check whether a reboot is
necessary to apply a specific update.
Get-WUList - lists the updates that meet the specified criteria,
allows you to find and install the desired update.
Get-WUServiceManager - check for update sources.
Get-WUUninstall - cmdlet allows you to remove a specific
update by KB ID.
Manually:
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17. 2. Overview Module PSWindowsUpdate Commands
Hide-WUUpdate - allows you to hide certain updates from the
installation.
Invoke-WUInstall - manage remote installation of updates.
Remove-WUOfflineSync - remove offline scan source.
Remove-WUServiceManager - remove update server.
Manually:
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18. Manually:
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19. 3. Get a List of Available Updates for the Computer
List the available updates for your computer on the update
server:Get-WUInstall -ListOnly
To check the list of available updates on a remote computer,
run:
Get-WUList –ComputerName server2
You can check where your Windows should get updates from.
Run the command:
Get-WUServiceManager
ServiceID IsManaged IsDefault Name
Manually:
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20. Manually:
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21. 3. Get a List of Available Updates for the Computer
As you can see, the computer is configured to receive updates
from the local WSUS and Windows Update service. If you want
to scan your computer on Microsoft Update servers (besides
Windows updates, these servers contain Office updates and
other products) on the Internet, run the following command:
Get-WUinstall -MicrosoftUpdate –ListOnly
You get a warning:
Can’t find registered service Microsoft Update. Use Get-
WUServiceManager to get registered service.
Manually:
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22. 3. Get a List of Available Updates for the Computer
To enable scanning on Microsoft Update, run the following
command:
Add-WUServiceManager -ServiceID "7971f918-a847-4430-
9279-4a52d1efe18d" -AddServiceFlag 7
Now you can perform a scan on Microsoft Update.
Manually:
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23. 3. Get a List of Available Updates for the Computer
To remove certain products or specific packages from the list of
updates your computer receives, you can exclude them by:
- Categories (-NotCategory);
- Name (-NotTitle);
- Update number (-NotKBArticleID).
For example, exclude from the list of updates for drivers,
OneDrive, and one specific KB:
Get-WUInstall -NotCategory "Drivers" -NotTitle OneDrive -
NotKBArticleID KB4011670 -ListOnly
Manually:
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24. 4. Powershell Script to Install Windows Updates Remotely –
PsWindowsUpdate
To automatically download and install all available updates for
your operating system, run:Get-WUInstall -AcceptAll –
IgnoreReboot
The AcceptAll key includes installation approval for all packages,
and IgnoreReboot suppresses automatic restarts of Windows
after installing updates.
Manually:
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25. 4. Powershell Script to Install Windows Updates Remotely –
PsWindowsUpdate
You can install only specific update packages:
Get-WUInstall -KBArticleID KB4011670,KB4456655 –AcceptAll
If you want to remove some updates from the installation list,
run:
Get-WUInstall -NotCategory "Drivers" -NotTitle OneDrive -
NotKBArticleID KB4011670 -AcceptAll -IgnoreReboot
Manually:
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26. 4. Powershell Script to Install Windows Updates Remotely –
PsWindowsUpdate
To automate the installation of updates with exceptions on
multiple computers, you can use the following script:
PowerShell -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Command Import-
Module PSWindowsUpdate; Get-WUInstall -NotCategory
"Language packs" -NotTitle OneDrive -NotKBArticleID
KB4011670 -AcceptAll –IgnoreReboot
Manually:
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27. 4. Powershell Script to Install Windows Updates Remotely –
PsWindowsUpdate
The module allows you to remotely start the installation of
updates on several computers at once or on a server (the
PSWindowsUpdate module should be present on the computers).
The following command will install all available updates on three
remote servers:
Invoke-WUInstall -ComputerName server1, server2, server1-Script
{ipmo PSWindowsUpdate; Get-WUInstall -AcceptAll -AutoReboot
| Out-File C:WindowsPSWindowsUpdate.log } -Confirm:$false -
Verbose -SkipModuleTest –RunNow
Manually:
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28. 5. View the History of Installed Updates
Using the Get-WUHistory command, you can get a list of updates
installed on your computer earlier. You can get information about
the date of installation of a specific update:Get-WUHistory|
Where-Object {$_.Title -match "KB4011*"} | Select-Object *|ft
To obtain information about the presence of an installed update
on several remote computers, you can use the following code:
"server1","server2" | Get-WUHistory| Where-Object {$_.Title -
match "KB4011634"} | Select-Object *|ft
Manually:
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29. 6. The Next Feature Is Uninstalling Updates
To remove updates, use the Remove-WindowsUpdate cmdlet.
You only need to specify the KB number as an argument to the
KBArticleID parameter. To postpone the automatic restart of the
computer, you can add the –NoRestart key:Remove-
WindowsUpdate -KBArticleID KB4011634 -NoRestart
Manually:
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30. 7. How to Hide Unnecessary Updates Using Powershell
You can hide certain updates so that they are never installed by
Windows Update on your computer. For example, to hide the
KB4011670 and KB4456655 updates, run the following
commands:$HideList = "KB4011670", "KB4456655"
Hide-WindowsUpdate -KBArticleID $HideList –Hide
Manually:
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31. 7. How to Hide Unnecessary Updates Using Powershell
The next time you scan for updates using the Get-WUInstall –
ListOnly command, hidden updates will not be displayed in the
list of patches available for installation.
You can list the updates that are hidden on this computer as
follows:
Get-WindowsUpdate -IsHidden
To remove updates from hidden, run:
Hide-WindowsUpdate -KBArticleID $HideList -Hide:$false
Manually:
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32. Other Relevant HOWTOs:
How to Restart Remote Computer
Free Tool: Install Patch Remotely
Free Tool: Run Scheduled Task Remotely
Free Tool: Set Share Permissions
Free Tool: Web Browsers
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