1
APUP.exe is the updater that keeps your AutoPatcher installation up-to-date. If you run APUP regularly each month, it will:
(1) check and verify every file that is in your AutoPatcher installation, then it will
(2) remove old and obsolete files, then it will
(3) download new files from the internet and finally it will
(4) verify the new downloads.
Always make sure that APUP has full access to the internet and that your firewall, Anti-virus, Anti-spyware and Anti-malware programs allow APUP to run with no restrictions on downloading.
Always run APUP in the same folder. If you do not, then it cannot check existing files, it cannot remove old or out-of-date files and you will waste bandwidth by downloading everything again. Only create a new installation of APUP if you are instructed to do so by a member of the AutoPatcher team (a Developer, a Staff member, or a Forum Moderator).
Questions and Answers
Q: How often should I run APUP?
A: As often as you like. Windows updates are released every month and Microsoft regularly removes old and obsolete files from the Download Center. A good plan would be to run APUP once per week.
Q: APUP reports "Error fetching releases.list"
A: APUP has no internet connection. Check that Internet Explorer can access the internet, then check your firewall settings.
Q: APUP reports "One or more files failed verification"
A: This is the most common error. It means that APUP has downloaded a file that it cannot verify with the information in its script.
Please do not post this error message on the forums without any further details.
There are many reasons why this message appears. For example: (1) Microsoft has removed the file from its download servers, or (2) Microsoft has updated the file on its download servers, but the updated file keeps the same name, or (3) the AutoPatcher team have made a mistake in the APUP script, or (4) the download was interrupted, or (5) the download was blocked by a firewall, Anti-virus, Anti-spyware, or Anti-Malware program, or (6) your ISP is caching an out-of-date file, or (7) you are running an out-of-date APUP script, or (8) you have a virus or trojan on your computer.
The only way to find out the details of the error, including the name(s) of the file(s) that have failed, is to run APUP again in the same folder with the same releases selected, but with the option to make a log-file.
See How to make and post an APUP log-file.
Q: I have a "Core" release for AutoPatcher XP August 2007, that I downloaded from an AutoPatcher mirror, can I update it using APUP?
A: NO! Core releases are completely out-of-date. See the answer to the next question.
Q: Do I download and create my AutoPatcher release today the same way as I did in 2007 or earlier?
A: No. In the past AutoPatcher users would download "pre-assembled" releases along with all the updates and addons as a single file. This file was quite large (about 300 or 500 MB). Microsoft said no to this procedure: Microsoft reserves the exclusive right to distribute updates and patches to its own products. This was the reason for creating APUP, which has now become the "First Step" in creating an AutoPatcher release package.
Q: I see various AutoPatcher products in cyberspace, can I trust them?
A: No. There are no longer any official mirror sites for AutoPatcher. It is best to use APUP to download and create the AutoPatcher release you need. The latest updates and addons will be downloaded directly from Microsoft and directly from AutoPatcher.com -- sites you can trust.
Q: I see a theme here. Is APUP a critical factor for the reliability and effectiveness of AutoPatcher?
A: Absolutely! APUP is the AutoPatcher Manager and they are a team. APUP will "keep current" the AutoPatcher release as long as you run apup.exe on a regular basis from within the release folder.
Q: So APUP completely replaces the old "Core" release?
A: Exactly! You still have a complete AutoPatcher release on your hard disk, but you don't download it as one huge file. Instead you build it by using APUP.
Q: APUP reports "Failed to load control 'ctlwinsckdownloader' from . Your version of may be outdated. Make sure you are using the version of the control that was provided with you application."
A: Your firewall is blocking APUP from accessing the internet or your firewall is blocking APUP from downloading EXE files.
Q: I have Agnitum Outpost firewall and APUP is not working
A: See above. In Outpost (in the application rules window), turn off Content Filtering for APUP. You must turn off Content Filtering. It is not sufficient to disable the Outpost firewall: a disabled Outpost firewall will still block APUP.
Q: I have PC Tools Spyware Doctor and APUP is not working
A: Configure Spyware Doctor to allow APUP to download from the internet.
Q: Every time I try to run APUP, I get an error message that says DISCONNECTED!!!
A: See the answer to the next question
Q: I have my computer set to display a Far Eastern language on-screen and APUP doesn't work
A: APUP will not function properly and will not download files without errors if your Language for non-Unicode programs is set to any of the following:
[indent]Chinese - People's Republic of China
Chinese - Singapore
Chinese - Taiwan
Chinese - Hong Kong SAR
Chinese - Macao SAR[/indent]
To resolve your problem you will need to reset the Language for non-Unicode programs to English. This is shown in the following dialog box:
(Picture credit: Computing Services Centre, City University of Hong Kong)
Please follow the steps below to do this:
1. Click Start > Control Panel > Date, Time, Language and Regional Options > Change the format of numbers, dates, and times > Advanced, to show the same dialog box.
Or, if Control Panel is set to "Classic View"
Click Start > Control Panel > Regional and Language Options > Advanced, to show the same dialog box.
2. Click the "V"-shaped down-arrow to the right of Chinese (Taiwan) in the above example - your language may differ from the example given. Select English from the list that appears.
(Any English will work, including English (United States) and English (United Kingdom) )
3. Click OK to close the dialog box.
4. If Windows asks to restart your computer, click Yes
After Windows has restarted, you should find that APUP now works properly.
Q: I have my computer set to display Arabic/Hebrew/Thai -- or any other Complex Script language -- on-screen and APUP doesn't work
A: See the answer to the previous question and follow the same instructions.
Q: Do I need to re-configure, or disable, the Windows firewall to use APUP?
A: No! APUP uses the standard http:// protocol for all communications. If Internet Explorer or other browser can connect directly to the internet, then APUP will run.
__________
The AutoPatcher team
last reviewed: 2008-12-14
