Re: Big Update Problem

Tech-Archive recommends: Repair Windows Errors & Optimize Windows Performance

Rick Sparks wrote:

Updates DO freeze..... all the time.

Usually when I go to Windows Update (now MS Update) for my monthly batch of updates, at some point it freezes .... and just sits there.

Are you, by any chance, talking about the download phase rather than the installation phase? The former is normal - or at least not unusual - but the latter suggests a problem with your machine. (Oh, the progress bar may stop for a minute or two on occasion, or longer if the machine is busy with some other demanding task at the same time, but that should be about it.)

Harry.


If I cancel, and restart, it will pick up where it left off and go just fine.

So..... is your attitude appropriate here???

"MowGreen" wrote:

Updates do NOT freeze here at any time on any edition of Windows whether they are done via the update sites or automatic updates.
Since the MRT is typically run prior to the installation of the updates then it's best to determine if there's a conflict with the installed security software or if there's malware resident that is causing an issue with the MRT.

When an XP system is installing 35 updates that's a good indication that something is amiss. Either the OS has been Repaired, malware is resident, there's interference from 3rd party software, or the updating components are damaged.
A Clean boot eliminates 3rd party software as the culprit but will not eliminate malware. Safe Mode can migitate interference from resident malware, but not always.

The update sites are not 'quirky' if the system is functioning properly, are malware free, and the installed security software is not interfering with the code being run.
There have been reports from some geographic regions that the update sites are taking quite a while to access and that the scans take more time than they usually do.

Tell you what, Rick ... I'll bet you a beer that Dad's system has some malware resident. Are you game ?


MowGreen
===============
*-343-* FDNY
Never Forgotten
===============



Rick Sparks wrote:

This strikes me as WAY overkill before he simply tries to restart the updates.
Updates freeze all the time.... just cancel and restart and it will probably work fine.

Why is the assumption always that there's a problem with the Users' computer when the MS Update site is regularly quirky??


"MowGreen" wrote:


choccy wrote:


My dad shut down his xp laptop at 9 this morning and said it was doing
windows update etc but this was at 9am and now at 3.30 it's still stuck
on 1 of 35!

Can anyone help at all, as I'm sure when I get home about 8 tonight it
will still be the same!


Is Dad's system still stuck ? If yes, then turn the laptop off by pressing the power button and holding it for around 10 seconds.
Power it back on, it should bring up the Boot Menu since it was not shutdown properly, and then boot to Safe Mode. If the Boot Menu does not appear, use the F8 key to boot to Safe Mode:

A description of the Safe Mode Boot options in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315222

Once in Safe Mode click Start > Run [if Run is not available then *right* click on the Start button, choose Properties. Now click the Customize button next to Start menu or Classic Start menu.
Under 'Advanced Start menu options' scroll down to Display Run, put a mark next to it, click OK, Apply, then OK once more.]

In the Open: line type in the below and then press Enter or click OK

mrt

The MS Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool (MRT)should now be open
Click the Next button and put a mark next to Full scan.
Click the Next button. The scan should take a while to complete.

IF no infected files were detected then close the MRT.
*If* infected files were detected click the 'View detailed results of the scan' link. If malware was detected it will now show to the right of the malware that is listed.

The scan log, mrt.log, is located in
WINDOWS\Debug

Please post back with any malware that was detected.

IF no infected files were detected then suggest you configure the system to boot to a Clean boot state. It is possible that the installed antivirus software is conflicting with the run of the MRT, thus causing the updates installation to hang.

*Please read this prior* to booting to Safe Mode, then boot the system to a clean boot state IF nothing was detected during the MRT scan:

How to configure Windows XP to start in a "clean boot" state
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310353

Restart the system to a clean boot state and see if the updates install successfully now.


MowGreen
===============
*-343-* FDNY
Never Forgotten
===============

.

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