Generally, when I am loading software on a computer, that computer is not used for a single purpose and I download many types of programming software, third party programs like Sublime Text or Putty, and other programs that I will use to configure specific instruments or controls.

In the Rockwell world, I might have installed many versions of RSLogix or Studio 5000 to cover the variety of processors that I must support. When you install these many types of software, I recommend to collect the latest patch rollup from Rockwell and install the patches.

Downloading the Patch Rollup from the Product Compatibility and Download Center(PCDC):

Select “Downloads By Product” as shown below

Find the Search Bar and type in “patches”

The Patch Roll-up will appear and when you click it, you get a selection to pick which month release that you wish to download.

Select the “Downloads” Button

Select the “Select Files” option

Sign in with your Rockwell Automation Account

Select the “checkbox” and then the “Downloads” icon that looks like a cart

Select “Download Now”

Accept the License Agreement and Download

The download link will appear in the bottom left corner of the web browser, click the link and the download manager will appear

From here, the patches will be downloaded as a folder in the selected location. The location defaults to C:\RA

Inside the patches folder, right-click on the Setup Application Icon and “Run as administrator”

Editor’s Note: It’s highly recommended to make a backup or take a snapshot prior to installing ANY new software or patch. If you’re using VMware Workstation, it’s as simple as shown in our previous coverage here, and there is also free Virtualization Software which we covered previously here.

The setup will evaluate your computer for installed software and determine which patches are needed and recommend installing them.

Simply Click the “Install” button, the patches will install and then a reboot will be required.

Note: in this screenshot the “Install” Button says “Repair” as I have already installed the patches.

Conclusion

Downloading and installing the latest patches can save you time and frustration later if you run into any software “bugs” that would have been mitigated by the patches, so I recommend installing them.

As a caveat, I would also recommend doing a system backup before installing any new software or patches on a system, just in case the software or patches break what was working before the installation.

While this whole process is very simple, you can see that there are a lot of mouse clicks to make it happen.

Written by Brandon Cooper
Senior Controls Engineer and Freelance Writer

Have a question? Join our community of pros to take part in the discussion! You'll also find all of our automation courses at TheAutomationSchool.com.

Sponsor and Advertise: Get your product or service in front of our 75K followers while also supporting independent automation journalism by sponsoring or advertising with us! Learn more in our Media Guide here, or contact us using this form.

Brandon Cooper
 

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here