command line switch - update.exe and hotfix.exe

Overview of the installation process

When you run a Windows software update package without command-line switches, the Hotfix.exe or Update.exe Setup program is automatically run to install the software update. The following actions are performed by the Setup program:

• The installation program (Hotfix.exe or Update.exe) examines the service pack version you currently are using. If your service pack version is earlier than the software update version, but not earlier than the minimum version specified by the software update, and the language is the same, the Setup program automatically installs the software update. If your service pack version is later than the software update version, the installation does not continue.
• If the software update language version does not match your operating system language, the installation does not continue.
• If no version conflict exists, Hotfix.exe or Update.exe installs the software update.
• The installation program registers the software update under one of the following registry keys:
  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \Software\Microsoft\Updates\\\KB
  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Hotfix\Q
  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Hotfix\KB
• Removal information for the software update is stored in a hidden folder named $NtUninstallQnnnnnn$ or $NtUninstallKBnnnnnn$ in %Systemroot%.

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Command-line switches for the Update.exe program

The following tables list the command-line switches that are supported by each different version of the Update.exe program.

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Standard switch	Description of the switch	Versions of Update.exe that support this switch
/help	Displays command-line help.	Version 5.3.24.3 and later versions support the /help switch. For compatibility with older versions, the /? switch can be used.
/passive	Unattended Setup mode. No user interaction is required, but installation status is displayed. If a restart is required at the end of Setup, a dialog box will be presented to the user with a timer warning that the computer will restart in 30 seconds.	Version 5.3.24.3 and later versions support the /passive switch. For compatibility with older versions, the /u switch can be used.
/quiet	Quiet mode - same as unattended mode, but no status or error messages are displayed.	Version 5.3.24.3 and later versions support the /quiet switch. For compatibility with older versions, the /q switch can be used.
/norestart	Do not restart the computer when the installation is finished.	Version 5.3.24.3 and later versions support the /norestart switch. For compatibility with older versions, the /z switch can be used.
/warnrestart	Presents a dialog box with a timer warning the user that the computer will restart in x seconds. (Default is 30 sec). Intended for use with either /quiet or /passive switches.	Version 6.1.22.0 and later versions support the /warnrestart switch.
/forcerestart	Restart the computer after installation and force other applications to close at shutdown without saving open files first.	Version 5.3.24.3 and later versions support the /forcerestart switch.
/promptrestart	Presents a dialog box to prompt user to restart if required. Intended for use with /quiet.	Version 6.1.22.0 and later versions support the /promptrestart switch.
/forceappsclose	Forces other programs to close when the computer shuts down.	Version 5.4.15.0 and later versions support the /forceappsclose switch. For compatibility with older versions, the /f switch can be used.
/nobackup	Do not back up files for uninstall.	Version 6.1.22.0 and later versions support the /nobackup switch. For compatibility with older versions, the /n switch can be used.
/overwriteoem	Overwrite OEM files without prompting.	Version 6.1.22.0 and later versions support the /overwriteoem switch. For compatibility with older versions, the /o switch can be used.
/integrate:path	Integrates the software updates into the Windows installation source files located at the path specified. Note that :path refers to the folder that contains the i386 folder.	Version 5.4.15.0 and later versions support the /integrate:path switch. For compatibility with older versions, the /s switch can be used.
/log:path	Allows user to specify where to create the log file.	Version 6.1.22.0 and later versions support the /log switch.
/ER	Enable extended error reporting.	All versions support the ER switch.
/verbose	Enable verbose logging. Creates %Windir%\CabBuild.log upon install that details files to be copied. Using this switch may cause the installation to occur much slower.	Version 5.3.24.3 and later versions support the /verbose switch. For compatibility with older versions, the /v switch can be used.
/d:path	Specifies a backup directory for Windows Service Pack installation. :path indicates the destination folder for the backup files. The default backup location is %Systemdrive%\$ntservicepackuninstall$.	This switch is not available for updates other than Service Packs and is available only in Installer versions 5.3.16.5 and later versions.
/extract[:path]	Extracts files without starting Setup. If ":path" is not included, you are prompted for the path of a destination folder to extract the files. If ":path" is used, the files are extracted to the specified destination folder.	Version 5.3.24.3 and later versions support the /extract switch. For compatibility with older versions, the /x switch can be used.
/hotpatch:disable	Disables hotpatching functionality, and installs the cold patch only.	This is only to be used for Windows Server 2003 packages that support hotpatching and is available in versions 6.1.22.0 and later. For more information on hotpatching, see the "References" section in this article for a link to the "Inside Update.exe" whitepaper.

Notes

• We are adopting a consistent set of command-line switches that you can use to deploy packages that contain software updates. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
  824687 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/824687/ ) Command-line switches for Microsoft software update packages
  For backward compatibility, Windows software updates that implement the new standard switch names also support the setup switches that are used by the earlier version of the Update.exe. However, we recommend that you stop using the old switches because this support may be removed in future software updates.
• All the switch options that are listed use a forward slash (/). For compatibility with older versions, a hyphen (-) can still be used instead of the forward slash (/).
• To safely remove a software update, remove the one most recently installed first. For example, assume that hotfix A and hotfix B both replace the same file or registry keys, and that you installed hotfix A before you installed hotfix B. To return your system to the state before the installation of hotfix A, you must uninstall hotfix B before you uninstall hotfix A. For more information about how to remove Update.exe updates, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
  823836 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/823836/ ) Removing Windows software updates in the wrong order may cause the operating system to stop functioning