Applying patches offline - Microsoft Update? WSUS? SMS? HFNetChk?

Hello, I would like to scan and patch a new Windows XP SP2 machine
without ever connecting it to the Internet and without installing any
3rd party software.

Could I download a copy of Microsoft Update, the scanner CAB files, and
all the patches and copy them to the offline XP machine? Then,
redirect XP's Microsoft Update to its own local CABs and patches? Or,
redirect its current Windows Update (with MSI 3.1) to its local cache?

(end of question, below are notes and lesser questions)

I could easily use HFNetChk Pro on an online machine to download all
the XP patches and the scanner CAB files. Then, move them to the
offline machine, install HFNetChk Pro there, and have it apply the
patches. But I'd like to avoid the 3rd party software.

I've read that I can set up a WSUS server on an offline network to
serve patches to the new XP machine. XP's Microsoft Update could be
told to to download patches from the WSUS server's local cache.
Correct? But I don't have resources for a temporary WSUS server and
will be using SMS 2003 in a few months.

Worst case, I could install each patch one by one, but I don't trust
that I'll do it in the right order. If newer updates change the same
files as older updates, and the KB numbering scheme and date don't
indicate the exact order, I can only trust a program to install them
correctly. Right?

Or just suck it up, connect an unpatched machine to the Internet, and
run Microsoft Update before it gets hit by a worm. Not good enough.

The latest version of AutoPatcher should have just about all the updates you
need in one package. Go here
http://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?showforum=89 and check the forum about
it.

<> wrote in message
news: oups.com...
> Hello, I would like to scan and patch a new Windows XP SP2 machine
> without ever connecting it to the Internet and without installing any
> 3rd party software.
>
> Could I download a copy of Microsoft Update, the scanner CAB files, and
> all the patches and copy them to the offline XP machine? Then,
> redirect XP's Microsoft Update to its own local CABs and patches? Or,
> redirect its current Windows Update (with MSI 3.1) to its local cache?
>
> (end of question, below are notes and lesser questions)
>
> I could easily use HFNetChk Pro on an online machine to download all
> the XP patches and the scanner CAB files. Then, move them to the
> offline machine, install HFNetChk Pro there, and have it apply the
> patches. But I'd like to avoid the 3rd party software.
>
> I've read that I can set up a WSUS server on an offline network to
> serve patches to the new XP machine. XP's Microsoft Update could be
> told to to download patches from the WSUS server's local cache.
> Correct? But I don't have resources for a temporary WSUS server and
> will be using SMS 2003 in a few months.
>
> Worst case, I could install each patch one by one, but I don't trust
> that I'll do it in the right order. If newer updates change the same
> files as older updates, and the KB numbering scheme and date don't
> indicate the exact order, I can only trust a program to install them
> correctly. Right?
>
> Or just suck it up, connect an unpatched machine to the Internet, and
> run Microsoft Update before it gets hit by a worm. Not good enough.
>

Thanks for the link, but what part of AutoPatcher actually installs the
patches? That is not covered in the FAQ:
http://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=378241

I already have all of the patches thanks to Windows Update Catalog (or
HFNetChk Pro). My biggest concern is installing them in the correct
order so older patches don't overwrite files fixed by newer patches.

I must have all the pieces to do offline patching: Auto Updates must
have the patch install engine, I have the patches from the Catalog, and
I can get the update CAB online somehow. How can Auto Updates be
fooled to use a local CAB and local patch files? And how can I get the
latest patch install engine for Auto Updates?

Hm, nobody mentioned slipstreaming. Maybe I can slipstream those 22
patches into the XP SP2 CD on an online machine. Then when I install,
the machine will be fully patched!