Category: At least Windows XP Professional Service Pack 1 or Windows 2000 Service Pack 3 excluding Windows RT

Specifies the target group name or names that should be used to receive updates from an intranet Microsoft update service. If the status is set to Enabled the specified target group information is sent to the intranet Microsoft update service which uses it to determine which updates should be deployed to this computer. If the intranet Microsoft update service supports multiple target groups this policy can specify multiple group names separated by semicolons. Otherwise a single group must be specified. If the status is set to Disabled or Not Configured no target group information will be sent to the intranet Microsoft update service. Note: This policy applies only when the intranet Microsoft update service this computer is directed to is configured to support client-side targeting. If the “Specify intranet Microsoft update service location” policy is disabled or not configured this policy has no effect. Note: This policy is not supported on Windows RT. Setting this policy will not have any effect on Windows RT PCs.

Specifies an intranet server to host updates from Microsoft Update. You can then use this update service to automatically update computers on your network. This setting lets you specify a server on your network to function as an internal update service. The Automatic Updates client will search this service for updates that apply to the computers on your network. To use this setting you must set two servername values: the server from which the Automatic Updates client detects and downloads updates and the server to which updated workstations upload statistics. You can set both values to be the same server. If the status is set to Enabled the Automatic Updates client connects to the specified intranet Microsoft update service instead of Windows Update to search for and download updates. Enabling this setting means that end users in your organization don’t have to go through a firewall to get updates and it gives you the opportunity to test updates before deploying them. If the status is set to Disabled or Not Configured and if Automatic Updates is not disabled by policy or user preference the Automatic Updates client connects directly to the Windows Update site on the Internet. Note: If the “Configure Automatic Updates” policy is disabled then this policy has no effect. Note: This policy is not supported on Windows RT. Setting this policy will not have any effect on Windows RT PCs.

Specifies the hours that Windows will use to determine how long to wait before checking for available updates. The exact wait time is determined by using the hours specified here minus zero to twenty percent of the hours specified. For example if this policy is used to specify a 20 hour detection frequency then all clients to which this policy is applied will check for updates anywhere between 16 and 20 hours. If the status is set to Enabled Windows will check for available updates at the specified interval. If the status is set to Disabled or Not Configured Windows will check for available updates at the default interval of 22 hours. Note: The “Specify intranet Microsoft update service location” setting must be enabled for this policy to have effect. Note: If the “Configure Automatic Updates” policy is disabled this policy has no effect. Note: This policy is not supported on Windows RT. Setting this policy will not have any effect on Windows RT PCs.