Configuring Automatic Updates via Windows Registry

This article documents how to configure Automatic Updates in Windows through the Windows Registry in a non-Active Directory environment.

There are two ways to create these registry keys:
 * Manually editing the registry (regedit.exe, reg.exe or a similar tool)
 * Deploying the registry keys using the Windows NT 4.0-style System Policy functionality.

To open the registry editor you can do the following:
 * Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP, Vista: Open the start menu, click on "Run", and then type in "regedit.exe" and hit OK.
 * Windows 7: In the Windows Search, type "Registry" and click on Registry Editor. Alternatively, press and hold WINKEY + R and type in "regedit.exe" then hit OK.
 * Windows 8, 8.1, 10: Press and hold WINKEY + R and type in "regedit.exe" then hit OK.