this post was submitted on 14 Apr 2026
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266
Windows Update is a torture chamber for seldom-used PCs (www.theregister.com)
submitted 1 week ago by throws_lemy@reddthat.com to c/technology@lemmy.world
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[–] Grass@sh.itjust.works 9 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I use windows like once a year to update some random bios or firmware and it always takes a goddamn long time. I needed to use intel eeupdate to fix wrong checksum on my ghetto cheap intel 10g nic and it took like an hour of update bootloop in my seldom used windows drive. I still have some linux computers using ide drives and its faster to update.

[–] Brkdncr@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Just use a win pe boot environment.

[–] Grass@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 week ago (2 children)

is there a free way to set that up? I've literally just been moving an internal drive between computers and using a linux live to add it to the boot with efibootmgr if it has one of those early half uefi mobos

[–] Brkdncr@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago

I think it’s part of the windows sdk but yeah it’s free.

[–] Trainguyrom@reddthat.com 1 points 1 week ago

Hirens Boot CD might have sufficient utilities to perform a bios update? I've not tried because I usually don't bother updating the BIOS unless there's an actual problem I'm hoping to fix

[–] Itdidnttrickledown@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Won't work if you need to update something like dell hardware firmware. DUP wont run in a pe environment. Of course you can extract the files but that doesn't always work. Sometimes you have to boot windows if the manufacturer doesn't bother to make a linux version for a desktop like they do for all their servers.

[–] Brkdncr@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago (1 children)
[–] Itdidnttrickledown@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Do it the hard way or the easy way. Oh and good luck with a drive update.