Change the Windows Automatic Updates Schedule on Server Core

I don't know why sconfig does have this error on your server.

scregedit.wsf is located in system32:

cd c:\windows\system32
Cscript scregedit.wsf /AU /v 4

would turn on automated updates.

You can also change the registry directly, the key is at: HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\WindowsUpdate\Auto Update

There is a DWORD value named 'AUOptions'

A value of 1 turns updates off, a value of 4 downloads and installs them automatically. Values 2 and 3 notify the user via the Taskbar notification area which does not exist in Core, so don't use these.

I install updates manually because I need to be able to decide when reboots happen.

There are various third party tools such as 'Core Configurator' that allow you to manually perform updates.

I am currently using: 'WUA_SearchDownloadInstall.vbs', a small script from Microsoft

This is working as designed. It is a "feature" / "defect" of WSUS exposed by a select group of "updates" that are not in fact updates in the typical meaning of the term.

Certain WSUS updates including language packs are detected as applicable to a machine in the sense that they may optionally be installed manually by some mechanism outside of Windows Update. By approving the update you are making the update available to be downloaded from WSUS however this does not actually trigger any automatic download or installation. It is necessary to trigger the update through another tool such as the Control Panel language settings.

In addition to language packs various dynamic installers have similar functionality for similar reasons. The dynamic installers are downloaded from WSUS at the time that an installation is run, but are not in fact updates for the system upon which the installation is being run (they update the installer, not the system). They will not register as installed because they do not get installed onto the system, and may be downloaded multiple times if the installer is run multiple times.

This is working as designed, so it is a "feature" that WSUS is able to provide the files from a content delivery system under administrative control and presumably caching/delivering the content closer to the client.

This is fundamentally different from the typical expected behaviour of WSUS, so it is arguably a design "defect" that WSUS handles optional components including language packs in a completely different manor from the vast majority of updates which will automatically be installed by Windows Update.

To install on server core the DISM or LPKSETUP commands can be used. https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh825679.aspx https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh825178.aspx