I believe some of you must have noticed that WUAUClt no longer works on Windows 10 or Windows Server 2016 / 2019. There is a replacement for WUAUClt named USOClient located in C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\ directory.
WUAUclt Utility
Before Windows 10 and Windows Server 2016 / 2019, you can use WUAUClt to search for and download and install new updates.
WUAUClt.exe /detectnow - forcing an update detection. If there are updates approved for install that client needs, it ill download them when the command run.
WUAUClt.exe /updatenow - installs the downloaded updates
Note that WUAUClt.exe /detectnow works only when Automatic Update is enabled and that WUAUClt.exe /updatenow works only when 4 – Auto download and schedule the install is selected for Configure Automatic Updates. You can enable Automatic Updates via Group Policy.
Other command line switches for WUAuclt utility
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| /a /ResetAuthorization | Initiates an asynchronous background search for applicable updates. If Automatic Updates is disabled, this option has no effect. |
| /r /ReportNow | Sends all queued reporting events to the server asynchronously. |
| /? /h /help | Shows this help information. |
wuauclt.exe /resetauthorization /detectnow - you can use this command to expire the cookie, initiate detection, and have WSUS update computer group membership.
Sometimes you may need to re-register a client with WSUS server. In that case you can run the following command.
gpupdate /force WUAUclt.exe /detectnow
Note that for Windows 10 and Windows Server 2016 / 2019 +, you need to run USOClient.exe StartScan instead of WUAUclt.exe /detectnow. Read further for USOClient utility.
USOClient Utility
USO stands for Update Session Orchestrator, and it’s the replaced Windows Update Agent. Windows Update service, USOClient.exe, is basically a command to run either scan for updates, install or resume updates.
USOClient utility works on Windows 10 and Windows 2016 / 2019 + as a replacement of WUAUclt.
USOClient utility switches
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| StartScan | Used To Start Scan |
| StartDownload | Used to Start Download of Patches |
| StartInstall | Used to Install Downloaded Patches |
| RefreshSettings | Refresh Settings if any changes were made |
| StartInteractiveScan | May ask for user input and/or open dialogues to show progress or report errors |
| RestartDevice | Restart device to finish installation of updates |
| ScanInstallWait | Combined Scan Download Install |
| ResumeUpdate | Resume Update Installation On Boot |
To scan and install updates, you can simply run:
USOClient.exe ScanInstallWait USOClient StartInstall
References
- Automatic Update behavior – https://docs.microsoft.com/fr-fr/security-updates/windowsupdateservices/18127351
- Automatic Update configuration – https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/administration/windows-server-update-services/deploy/4-configure-group-policy-settings-for-automatic-updates#configure-automatic-updates
- WUAuclt Utility – https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/windows/it-pro/windows-server-2008-R2-and-2008/cc720477(v=ws.10)?redirectedfrom=MSDN
- Re-register client with WSUS – https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/555974/
- USOClient documentation – https://www.urtech.ca/2018/11/usoclient-documentation-switches/
SCCM Monde 