Microsoft always sends the patches needed for Windows on the 2nd Tuesday of every month. They give 3 business days advance notification so Windows users are prepared for the patch.

The following is a few things to consider for patch Tuesday.

Before patch Tuesday:

• Create a backup. Backup Windows!
  
• Check whether System Restore is enabled and actually running:
  
  
  
  • Click Start>Run...
    
  • Type services.msc
    
  • Click OK button
    
  • Locate System Restore Service in the list of services and verify that the status is “Started”.
    Note: You may also access the Services Console by going to Control Panel>Performance and Maintenance>Administrative Tools>Services.
  
  
• Examine Event logs using Event Viewer, to check for Windows Errors.
  

More about patch Tuesday: Microsoft Security Bulletin Advance Notification

Post to this topic if you have any questions about doing any of the steps above.

Where to download new patches for windows 2003,Win NT & XP

Windows Update. http://update.microsoft.com

You can only run the updates through Internet Explorer (IE) 5 or later. So if you use Firefox you will need to run IE. If you don't have IE you can download it here.

Or you can use Automatic Updates.

To turn on Automatic Updates:
1. Click Start, click Control Panel, and then click Security.
2. Click Security Center, and then make sure Automatic updating is turned on.