Win7 "Checking for updates" for 1.5hrs and counting?

[VirtualLarry]

What's going on with Windows Update for Win7 64-bit these days? More MS mischief to get us to upgrade? Seems like it. I don't think that I've ever had it take this long. CPU is pinned at 50% (dual-core), occasionally spiking to 70%. Memory usage is around 2.5GB (3GB physical memory).

C'mon, why no SP2? Does MS hate their customers?

 

[Berryracer]

See this thread I created on NBR forums, it's not just j00:

Microsoft Crippling Windows Updates on Windows 7

 

[Dahak]

While I do agree that the time it takes to find the windows updates now have been taking a long time now, I do not believe they are "intentionally" crippling it as berryracer suggests.

The same thing happens with Vista and XP after a fresh install, is just that there is alot of updates.

But 1.5hrs is usually too long, the longest I have seen is about 30 min

Usually what I do with a fresh install is
1 - Set it to download and manually install or never check.
2 - Click on the link to install updates for other ms software
3 - Keep it at current settings when install the ms other software component.
4 - manually check for updates.

Or a way of getting around having to download and install them if you are doing multiple machines, is get something like WSUSOffline and have them downloaded to a external drive

 

[ShintaiDK]

See this thread I created on NBR forums, it's not just j00:

Microsoft Crippling Windows Updates on Windows 7

Textbook example taken from the smartphone segment. I did some testing and get the same results.

And as expected, MS didnt dare to cripple the same OSes running as server versions. No issues there.

 

[ronbo613]

This is happening to my laptop with Win7 Pro. I thought my laptop had been screwed up beyond saving by GWX like my desktop was(thank goodness for that cloned boot drive), so I put in the original hard drive that had not been used since 2012 and working perfectly, never had GWX, and the Windows Update does not work. It's pretty clear Microsoft is blocking it on their end. Oddly enough, the Windows Update on the desktop works fine.

I don't know wtf Microsoft is doing here, pretty low, even for them. I had a feeling I was being punished for not installing and removing Windows 10, now I'm pretty sure of it.

 

[Underclocked]

I've ran into that seemingly never-ending "checking for updates" crap a few times. It seems to help to just reboot and then try again. After the reboot, the update check generally works in fairly short order.

 

[tnt118]

Also, check that there aren't already pending/installed updates that require a reboot. I've run into that a number of times in the past couple of months. It doesn't actually check for updates and never tells you why.

 

[nakedfrog]

Yeah, if a reboot or two doesn't resolve it, I'd try downloading/running the System Update Readiness Tool.

 

[Whisper2]

Sometimes, Win Update just gets constipated. I had the problem several years ago and posted with MSFT. A MSFT Tech posted the following and it fixed my problem:

1) On the open Command Prompt window copy and paste the commands (all at once) –

net stop wuauserv

net stop cryptSvc

net stop bits

net stop msiserver

ren C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution SoftwareDistribution.old

ren C:\Windows\System32\catroot2 catroot2.old

net start wuauserv

net start cryptSvc

net start bits

net start msiserver

2) Wait for the process to complete.

3) Close the Command Prompt.


Now, try to install the updates.

 

[Whisper2]

ren CWindows\SoftwareDistribution SoftwareDistribution.old

ren CWindows\System32\catroot2 catroot2.old

Are colons prohibited in posts? Smiley faces replaced the colons and backslashes I entered.

 

[nakedfrog]

Are colons prohibited in posts? Smiley faces replaced the colons and backslashes I entered.

They're allowed, it's just that : \ is converted to :\ here.

 

[Gonad the Barbarian]

Windows Update is awful after a fresh install. Use autopatcher for the initial bulk of updates, then WU to fill in any gaps.
http://www.autopatcher.net/forum/

 

[Whisper2]

They're allowed, it's just that : \ is converted to here

Thanks!

 

[ronbo613]

Sometimes, Win Update just gets constipated. I had the problem several years ago and posted with MSFT. A MSFT Tech posted the following and it fixed my problem:

1) On the open Command Prompt window copy and paste the commands (all at once) –

net stop wuauserv

net stop cryptSvc

net stop bits

net stop msiserver

ren C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution SoftwareDistribution.old

ren C:\Windows\System32\catroot2 catroot2.old

net start wuauserv

net start cryptSvc

net start bits

net start msiserver

2) Wait for the process to complete.

3) Close the Command Prompt.


Now, try to install the updates.

Isn't that basically the Windows Update history reset?


Left Windows Update searching overnight last night, canceled this morning; still searching. Ran Windows Update again and after about four hours, the updates came up, but the links and button were dead. Frustration plus. Running Windows Update again, about four hours in; still nothing. So Windows Update is kind of working, but not enough to actually download and install Windows Updates.

 

[Whisper2]

Isn't that basically the Windows Update history reset?

It does reset Win Update -- I do not know the which specific part of Update but it did fix my install when it kept searching & searching & searching. As I mentioned, MSFT provided it.

You have a lot more patience than I have. I contacted MSFT after it had churned for about a half hour.

 

[ronbo613]

It does reset Win Update -- I do not know the which specific part of Update but it did fix my install when it kept searching & searching & searching. As I mentioned, MSFT provided it.

You have a lot more patience than I have. I contacted MSFT after it had churned for about a half hour.

I called Windows yesterday; they told me the product code, attached to the bottom of the laptop that has been working perfectly until a couple days ago, was invalid. What if Microsoft decides to delete the product registration for a few million customers to save money? What are you going to do?

I have a computer running Ubuntu, if I didn't need programs like Adobe creative software and other Windows only programs, I would leave Windows in a heartbeat.

 

[SparkyJJO]

I manage a lot of computers for work, 99.9% are Windows 7. Have run into this kind of thing in the past a few times. It is nothing new, it is not some conspiracy from Microsoft

Fix usually ranges from a reboot to just resetting the update database. Usually something in there got screwed up. It'll take some time to rebuild when you first check for updates after clearing it (I've had it take a good 20-30 min on a slower system), but that typically corrects it.