Check if Windows Updates were installed

Whenever you are faced with doubts about determining which updates you have installed on your device. Or which updates are problematic and you need to uninstall them. Whether you’re working on a workstation you’ve never supported before or trying to determine how vulnerable your workstations are to security attacks. It's important to know which updates have been applied. In this post, I will show you the steps to check which Windows Updates were installed.

So how can you quickly find out which updates have been applied to a system? Kindly refer to these related guides: How to Install and Run Ubuntu 20.04 LTS on Windows 11 using WSL. See Getting started with Python Automation in Windows with Visual Studio Code.

To determine which updates are installed on your device. There are various ways to achieve this. Here are a few steps to perform this task.

• Via the Windows Update history
• Can be viewed via installed updates in the Programs and Features Control Panel
• Via the WMI command-line tool
• Use DISM command-line
• Run the KB update installer (.msu) file again to test
• Testing with the WinUpdatesList utility from NirSoft
• Can be viewed via the Windows Update CBS Registry Entries
• Via Windows Admin Center

1: Via the Windows update history

In order to use this method, follow the steps below. Open Settings and click Update & Security, and click on View Update History.

This will thereby output a list of installed updates on your device.

2: Via the Control Panel (Programs and Features)

With this functionality, you can view a list of installed updates on your Device. From the search menu, click Run or search directly for the Control Panel. In the run dialog box, type “appwiz.cpl“, click on OK.

Alternatively, open file explorer and fire up the control panel from there. Type control panel and hit enter

This opens the Programs and Features window in the classic Control Panel. Click on programs, and then click on View Installed Updates

This will open the installed Windows update window. Here you can also uninstall updates as well).

Please see how to resolve this “Thunderbolt” application is not in use anymore and can be safely uninstalled. Also, see Azure API Management: Benefits of Azure API Management, and how to create an API instance in Azure.

3: Via the WMI command line

From an admin Command Prompt, run:

wmic qfe list full /format:table

It shows the list of updates installed along with the date of installation and other details. Or to list a specific update, run

wmic qfe list full /format:table | findstr /i "4532938"

Also, you can run the command Get-Hotfix from a PowerShell window to get the same results.

4. Via WinUpdatesList utility from NirSoft

The WinUpdatesList utility (wul.exe) from Nirsoft displays the list of all Windows updates, including Service Packs and Hotfixes installed on your local computer.

You might want to see how to Check if Windows Updates were installed on your device via the Registry Editor. And How to Get lists of installed Microsoft Windows Updates.

5: Use DISM command-line

Run the following commands. Elevated permissions are required to run DISM. Else, it will fail and prompt Error: 740

"dism /online /get-packages | clip”

Paste the result in an Editor as shown below.

Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool
Version: 10.0.18362.1
Image Version: 10.0.18363.535
Packages listing:
Package Identity : Microsoft-OneCore-ApplicationModel-Sync-Desktop-FOD-Package~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~~10.0.18362.1
State : Superseded
Release Type : OnDemand Pack
Install Time : 3/19/2019 6:22 AM
Package Identity : Microsoft-OneCore-ApplicationModel-Sync-Desktop-FOD-Package~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~~10.0.18362.329
State : Installed
Release Type : OnDemand Pack
Install Time : 10/3/2019 11:08 PM
Package Identity : Microsoft-Windows-Client-LanguagePack-Package~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~en-US~10.0.18362.1
State : Superseded
Release Type : Language Pack
Install Time : 3/19/2019 6:20 AM
Package Identity : Microsoft-Windows-Client-LanguagePack-Package~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~en-US~10.0.18362.535
State : Uninstall Pending
Release Type : Language Pack
Install Time : 12/10/2019 8:29 PM
Package Identity : Microsoft-Windows-Client-LanguagePack-Package~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~en-US~10.0.18362.592
State : Install Pending
Package Identity : Package_for_RollupFix~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~~18362.535.1.6
State : Uninstall Pending
Release Type : Update
Install Time : 12/10/2019 8:29 PM
Package Identity : Package_for_RollupFix~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~~18362.592.1.5
State : Install Pending
Release Type : Update
Install Time : 2/6/2020 7:58 PM
The operation completed successfully.

To view the logs generated, navigate C:\windows\Logs\DISM\dism.log

Please, see Prevent Windows from Saving RDP Connection History, How to view and remove Remote Desktop connection history, and Fix Windows cannot check for updates in Windows 8, 7, and 10.

6. Rerun the Run the KB update installer (.msu) file

You will be alerted with a Windows Update Standalone Installer dialog window that the update has been installed already.

Note: If it has not been installed and you have the privilege to install the update, this will be installed on your PC

• Search for the update in the Microsoft Update catalog
• Download the update package (.msu) by mentioning the KB number.
• Double-click the .msu file to run the setup. The Windows Update Standalone Installer (WUSA) searches for updates on your computer and determines if the update is already installed or not.

7: Via Windows Admin Center (WAC)

Click on the Server vi the WAC, and Navigate to Updates. On the right pane, select Update History. This will output the list of installed updates

I hope you found this blog post helpful on how to check which Windows Updates were installed. If you have any questions, please let me know in the comment session