Belarc Advisor



Since the introduction of Microsoft Windows 98, Microsoft has greatly improved the way users can update their computer. Below are steps on how to perform these updates and additional recommendations to help update your computer.

The Belarc Advisor builds a detailed profile of your installed software and hardware, including Microsoft Hotfixes, and displays the results in your Web browser. Feb 16, 2019 Belarc Advisor offers this free system diagnostic tool without any tracking software or malware. Belarc Advisor is a great little program which gives you an overview of your computer system and provices you with information about fixes available from Microsoft, the current status of you AntiVirus software and offers several benchmarking tools. When I run a product like Magic Jelly Bean Keyfinder (or Belarc Advisor) it reports the license key as not available. However, is it true that if the product id is the same on two PCs then the license key is the same? Chrisjr Posts: 33,282. Alternatively, you can download software utilities such as Belarc Advisor that lists the updates installed on your computer and any critical updates you may be missing. How to find hardware and other computer specifications. Belarc Advisor is fast, easy to use, and gives you a surprisingly informative report of what makes up your computer system. It gathers information regarding things like any software installation, video card, CPU, RAM, software updates, as well as motherboard and network information. Where this application really shines though, is gathering.

Microsoft Windows Update

If you are running Microsoft Windows 98 or later, at least some updates should be available for your computer. In most cases, automatic updates and the latest drivers are available online. To update your software through Windows, follow the steps below.

AdvisorNote

Users on a corporate network or running an illegal copy of Microsoft Windows may be unable to perform Microsoft Updates. If you are on a corporate network, contact your administrator if you are concerned about updating your computer. If you are running an illegal copy of Microsoft Windows, we recommend you purchase a valid copy of Microsoft Windows to download updates.

Windows 10

Windows Update is automatically turned on in Windows 10 and cannot be turned off for home users. Only enterprise users (Windows 10 for business) can delay the installation of Windows updates.

Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1

  1. Open the Control Panel.
  2. If using Small icons view, click the Windows Update option. If using the Category view, click the System and Security option, then click the Windows Update option.
  3. Windows Update checks for any available updates for your computer. If any updates are found, they'll be shown. We recommend you first install all important updates and service packs that are available. In some cases, you may only be able to do a few important updates or service pack updates each time, if some updates are dependent on other updates.
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Windows XP and earlier

  1. Read the Windows Update FAQ.
  2. On the Microsoft Windows Update page, select the option Scan for updates. If prompted to install a plugin, click Yes. Not installing this plugin prevents you from scanning for updates.
  3. Because this feature must query your computer, Microsoft gathers information from your computer allowing the software to know what it needs to update. Several urban legends exist about Microsoft attempting to inspect your computer for illegal software, install unwanted the programs, and steal your private information. None of these are true. Unless otherwise stated in Microsoft's Privacy Statement, Microsoft collects information from your computer during this process. Collected information includes the following information.

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  • Your operating systemversion.
  • Your product key.
  • What version of Internet Explorer you are using.
  • Version numbers of any other programs you have installed which Microsoft provides updates.
  • ID numbers of the hardware devices installed in your computer.
  • Your region and language settings.
  1. After Windows Update has completed scanning, any available updates are displayed. We recommend you first install all critical updates and service packs that are available. In some cases, you may only be able to do a few critical updates or service pack updates each time.
  2. Although Microsoft does provide some driver updates for hardware devices, it is important to realize that they will not have all the latest drivers. You may want to consider updating the drivers directly from your computer manufacturer. See the computer drivers page for a listing of computer hardware manufacturers and a link to their drivers page.
Note

Whenever you are prompted to reboot the computer, reboot the computer. Rebooting is an important step and in some cases may be required several times before you have installed all the Windows updates available. After the computer has rebooted, make sure to visit the Windows update page again to make sure all the files you need are downloaded.

Microsoft Windows XP and later users

Users of Microsoft Windows XP and later versions can have Microsoft Windows automatically update their computer.

Other hardware drivers

To get the best performance from your computer, we recommend you make sure you have the latest drivers for the hardware devices in your computer.

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Unable to view Windows Update page

Below are some reasons why you may be unable to view the Microsoft Windows Update page.

  • If you've recently installed Windows XP, 2000, or older version of Windows the update page is no longer compatible unless you're running the latest service pack. See Microsoft's guide to fixing Windows Update errors for more information.
  • Your time, date, or year on your computer is not set properly. See: How to set or change a computer's date and time.
  • You are trying to access the Microsoft Windows Update page through a web browser other than Microsoft Internet Explorer.
  • If you are on a corporate network, your administrators may have disabled this feature. If this is the case, a message indicating that the Windows Update feature was disabled is shown.
  • You are using an illegal copy of Microsoft Windows.
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Every time I run the Windows Update my computer has problems

Although Microsoft tests the updates before they are released with numerous computer configurations, you may have issues after running an update. Usually, these problems are caused by other software programs, a unique computer or software configuration, or third-party drivers.

If you ran an update and are having a problem not documented, try uninstalling the updates through Add/Remove Programs or Programs and Features in the Control Panel.

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Below are recommendations for helping to prevent problems.

  • Temporarily disable any virus and spyware protection programs.
  • Disable any disk software utilities or performance tools running on the computer.
  • Let the updates run without using the computer. Step away from the computer while updates are being installed.
  • If you are encountering problems after installing driver updates, we recommend you try updating the drivers from the hardware manufacturer's website instead of through Microsoft. A listing of driver manufacturers is on our computer drivers page.
  • If the update is not a critical update, do not run the update immediately after it's released. In some rare cases, Microsoft discovers issues with its updates after they are first released that may cause your computer issues.

Although problems may occur after running the Microsoft Windows Update, it's still highly recommend you always update your software because of the problems and security issues they can fix.

How do I know if my computer has all the Windows updates?

If you're uncertain if your computer has all the Microsoft Windows updates installed on your computer, read the Windows Update FAQ. It guides you through performing a Windows Update. If no updates are required, it will report the computer is up-to-date.

Alternatively, you can download software utilities such as Belarc Advisor that lists the updates installed on your computer and any critical updates you may be missing.

Additional information

Belarc Inc.
TypePrivate
IndustryComputer software
Founded1996
HeadquartersMaynard, Massachusetts, U.S.
Gary Newman, President
Sumin Tchen, Chairman
ProductsBelManage
Data Analytics module
BelSecure
Belarc Advisor
Websitebelarc.com

Belarc's products are used for software license management, configuration management, cyber security status, information assurance audits, IT asset management, and more.

Products by Belarc are in use on well over fifty million computers and are licensed by numerous customers, including: AIA/Asia, Catholic Relief Services, Federal Aviation Administration, NASA, Oakland County Michigan, Railinc, Travelers, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, U.S. Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Navy, Unilever, WebMD/Emdeon.

BelManage[edit]

BelManage automatically creates an accurate and up-to-date central repository CMDB, consisting of detailed software, hardware, and security configurations.

Data Analytics[edit]

Belarc’s Data Analytics Module is an add-on module to BelManage which provides optimization of software licensing and maintenance costs along with flexible analysis of your BelManage Cyber Security data.

Belarc Advisor[edit]

The Belarc Advisor is a free download licensed for personal use only. The Belarc Advisor builds a detailed profile of installed software and hardware, missing security patches, anti-virus status, and NIST SCAP security configurations (USGCB, FDCC) and displays the results in a Web browser. All of the profile information is kept private on the user's computer and is not sent to any web server.[1] There are over 500,000 downloads of the Belarc Advisor every month.[citation needed]

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The report is divided into a number of sections. The summary report lists details of the computer's hardware, local user and system accounts, a map of the local area network, lists of software licence keys and installed Hotfixes, and an inventory of the installed software with an indication of when each piece of software was last used.

The Security Benchmark Score report, on a separate page, is generated only for Windows 7, Vista, and XP Pro, but not for Windows 10. It details the computer's compliance with US Government Configuration Baseline benchmarks, developed by the United States Department of Defense and National Institute of Standards and Technology. The benchmarks are grouped into general categories. The status of compliance with each benchmark, and the overall compliance per category, are shown. Administrators of commercial versions of Windows can use the Group Policy Editing tool - which can be configured to display USGCB benchmarks - to resolve many of these non-compliances.

History[edit]

Belarc was founded in 1997 by Gary Newman and Sumin Tchen. Dr. Jack Goldman,[2] creator and visionary behind Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center (Xerox PARC), was an early director of the company. Belarc is owned by its founders and employees.[citation needed]

References[edit]

  1. ^https://download.cnet.com/Belarc-Advisor/3000-2094_4-10007277.html
  2. ^Belarc Press Release: Creator of Xerox PARC joins Belarc Board

External links[edit]

Belarc Advisor Download


Belarc Advisor Review

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