I was given an older laptop with win 8 on it. Windows has not been updated for like 2 years and the OS is not activated and not "genuine" but working. Pretty sure the device is being attacked by an online trojan or WRAT, but I cannot find the source. Sfc scan reports it fixed some things and not others and DISM chekup (from memory) reports that the system files have not been altered.

What is the safest easiest way to upgrade all the security updates? I searched and read the articles on this which are VERY confusing and convoluted. They SAY the MS updates are "cumulative" but the MS catalogue for updates lists SEVERAL update files all supposedly "cumulative".

I would like to upgrade this machine but not at the risk of making it worse from the "update" procedure. What is the easiest, safest way?
I can image the partitions in case MS screws up, which they often do.

On 1/28/2023 2:15 AM, Nomen Nescio wrote:
> I was given an older laptop with win 8 on it. Windows has not been updated for like 2 years and the OS is not activated and not "genuine" but working. Pretty sure the device is being attacked by an online trojan or WRAT, but I cannot find the source. Sfc scan reports it fixed some things and not others and DISM chekup (from memory) reports that the system files have not been altered.
>
> What is the safest easiest way to upgrade all the security updates? I searched and read the articles on this which are VERY confusing and convoluted. They SAY the MS updates are "cumulative" but the MS catalogue for updates lists SEVERAL update files all supposedly "cumulative".
>
> I would like to upgrade this machine but not at the risk of making it worse from the "update" procedure. What is the easiest, safest way?
> I can image the partitions in case MS screws up, which they often do.
>

You would image it offline, then just let Windows Update
update it. But your description of the license state,
will the usage of Windows Update, cause a Not Genuine
response from the machine, hampering the completion
of the operation ? When you use Windows Update, that
is one time when it does the Genuine check.

Given it's a laptop, it must have had some licensed OS on
it at some point in time. You could at least record the
Windows 8 key, if there is one, in case it was
installed as an upgrade to the original OS. Then reinstall
the OS, and patch it up.

A Win8, Win10, Win11 machine, the license key is in the BIOS
and is stored in the ACPI MSDM table. Earlier machines
would be enabled by an ACPI SLIC table, and they would have
a COA sticker for emergency installation if the hard drive
got wiped out. Sometimes the COA sticker is in the battery
bay, to prevent the sticker from getting scratched up. On
the newer machines, there is no sticker, since the key
is held in the BIOS and every machine has a unique
license key in the BIOS.

*******

I would do a clean install. That would be my preferred method.
It's not clear to me from your description, whether this
thing can be saved. (If it's not licensed.) Sure, you can
use DAZ Loader or whatever. But again, you'd want to
start with clean materials, so you don't have this Trojan
problem.

Really, you have to do something to improve the state
of this setup, before you can consider installing any
Cumulatives. Cumulatives will be the icing on the cake,
when your cake has a "good foundation" and is worth
the icing.

Paul