Why are Windows updates so slow (and long) with VISTA

Try these two things

System Update Readiness Tool

Try a reboot. Before rebooting set the trustedInstaller service (DisplayName Windows Modules Installer) startup to automatic. Normally it's manual unless an operation such as windows update requires boot time install.

Ensures the consistancy of the WinSxS (Side by Side) folder. 

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-AU/windows7/What-is-the-System-Update-Readiness-Tool

For 32 bit Windows

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=504

For 64 bit Windows

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=1540

To see results click Start - All Programs - Accessories - Right click Command Prompt and choose Run As Administrator. Type (or copy the below line and one blank line underneath and right click in the command prompt window and choose Paste).

notepad %SYSTEMROOT%\Logs\CBS\CheckSUR.log

Afterwards delete this folder to reclaim 100 MB.

del "C:\Windows\CheckSur" /s

You can force a scavenging operation (to remove unneeded files) by adding or removing a windows feature in Control Panel - Programs and Features.

Compact the Various Databases Windows Uses

You can compact the various databases Windows uses. These are Windows Update, Windows Search, Windows Mail, Windows Contacts, Windows Calandar, some Windows  Live apps, and Internet Explorer ver 10.

Close Windows Mail and Internet Explorer. Wait a minute for Internet Explorer to release it's file locks.

To see how much space it taking up type what's below and note the total size (because it will scroll away).

Start - All Programs - Accessories - Right click Command Prompt and choose Run As Administrator. Type (or copy and paste by right clicking in the Command Prompt window and choosing Paste).

dir c:\.edb c:\.msmessagestore c:\WebCacheV*.dat /a /s

Then to compact

sc stop wsearch

for /r c:\ %A in (*.edb *.msmessagestore WebCacheV*.dat*) do esentutl.exe /p "%A" /o*

for /r c:\ %A in (*.edb *.msmessagestore WebCacheV*.dat*) do esentutl.exe /d "%A"*

sc start wsearch

Then to see the new size and compare to the old size

dir c:\.edb c:\*.msmessagestore c:*WebCacheV*.dat /a /s.

Then to delete some temporary files.

del c:\.integ.raw /s*

.

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Well well. A knowledgeable response!  At last.  Many thanks indeed, David.  Your post certainly seems to directly address some of the points raised in "Anonymuos" (sic) post 18 months ago, for which there were no apparent answers.  Where have you been hiding???

I will give both your ideas a go and post back if I see an improvement as a result.

Thanks again,

Dave-ww

even on windows 7 my 4600+ with 4gigs ram takes about 4 hours to install 32 updates that average size about 0.2mb-5mb. its just painful to look at whenever I do a fresh install.

One thing I dont get is a game with size of over 30gb can install within a few minutes but Microsoft updates with size less than 1 mb will take just as long....

Well David, some progress.  The update readiness tool ran (took well over half an hour to install) and found 2 errors.  Oddly the corresponding service reverts to manual startup?  I repeated it to make sure.  36 minutes this time, no errors, but service reverted to manual again. Is this important?

Your second suggestion... compacting directories and files, had no effect... in fact the sum total file size increased by about 5%!

The first reboot after these activities was protracted (about 3 minutes including 2 of of dormant black screen.   But after a CCleaner run, repeat boots are now back to a normal sub 1 minute.

The real test will come after the next significant auto updates!  Fingers crossed.

Thanks for the tips.

dave-ww

That service - Windows Update changes it to automatic when it needs to run at startup then changes it back to Manual.