Now that I’m running Win10 on my Toshiba, I can’t figure out how to check to see if there are app updates. I can get system updates, but what’s the trick to getting my programs updated?
Windows 10 is a bit confusing in that there are two places you need to check to ensure that everything on your system is completely updated: the system settings for Windows updates, and the Windows Store for individual apps and programs. Each ostensibly also runs automatically and should generally keep you updated, but if you don’t leave your computer running 24×7 every single day, it’s surprisingly easy to miss your scheduled update times and end up days or even weeks behind.
Usually being a week or two behind on updates, even system patches, isn’t a big deal, until it is, and the latest plague of the WannaCry ransomware that exploits a Windows bug is a fine example of one where systems that updated with great frequency ended up safe from the attack while those that were just a few weeks behind were vulnerable and could have been infected.
I’ve written before about how to force a Windows Update check – go do so if you’re concerned that your system is behind on patches and security updates – so let’s look at how to force update your individual Windows programs and apps.
To start, find and launch Windows Store. It’ll look like this:
See it on the lower left? That’s what you want to click. It might be a bit hard for you to find, I should note, because if the tile’s “active” then it’ll be showing tiny little ads for different apps and programs that are being featured. Just look for the shopping bag (I mean, that’s the universal symbol of shopping, right?)
In any case, launch the Store and you’ll see something similar to this:
Your promotions might be slightly different, but there’s always something interesting to check out in the Windows Store. Look along the top and you’ll see the main categories: Apps, Games, Music, Movies & TV and Books. Yes, the Windows Store is more than just software!
To proceed, click on your tiny profile photo, just to the left of the search box. A menu pops up:
You can see the choice I’ve highlighted: “Downloads and updates“. That’s what you want to click on to move into that area of the Windows Store. The program has a “Check for updates” button, as you can see below. Click on it and in just a moment or two the Store program will check with the Microsoft server, identify what’s updated, and begin the multi-app download process:
Also notice that on the top bar between “Books” and my profile photo is now a downloading indicator with a counter “2” that indicates how many programs are downloading updates. Once downloaded, the updates are automatically applied – unless you’re running the program! If you are, quit ’em first – and it doesn’t take long until you’re done.
That’s all there is, Easy enough once you know where to find that mystery menu within the Windows Store!