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

In continuation of this thread, I now have experience with updates for Windows 7.  It is also quite slow compared to WinXP and as slow as with Vista.  Are they any plan to improve this ?  Improvements could be brought at two levels: (i) the speed at which the server replies and delivers the updates; (ii) trying to avoid the long processes of configuring during shut down and configuring during starting up ...

Since I do not seem to be the only one to complain about that, what is the channel to send these suggestions for improvement to Microsoft ?

I'm watching a vista machine downloading a 5.7 mb update over a fast cable connection, sitting on 98% for 15 minutes.

No net activity at all. Been trying to get a new install of vista updated for 12 hours now and there are stioll 76 updates waiting.

Ridiculuous

I feel your pain. I'm doing a Vista reinstall and of course it is painfully slow. I don't want to know the technical reasons why it takes so long. I want to know why the worlds largest supplier of operating systems cannot manage to streamline the process. With a quad core computer, 4 gigs of ram and a 10 meg connection it's an all day process. Ridiculous. What I would like to know is why Microsoft doesn't offer a complete updated image that can be downloaded and activated with existing key? I wish they would be more concerned with customer satisfaction than piracy. I'd love to hear from an MS engineer why this is not possible. I think my first set of updates was 169 the second set is 80. Nice job guys!

Interesting !  This post triggered only vague replies from Microsoft Support Moderator and Engineer, who eventually suggested that the problem either did not exist or that we we had only bad connections.

But your post and my experience is that this is all wrong.  The update process IS much slower with Vista than with XP.

Like you, I had to reinstall Vista and, as you mention, it too me more than one day ! ...  I have done the same with XP several times, and it was MUCH faster.

I wish someone from Microsoft can give us not only a reasonable explanation but also suggest a solution.

Same here. This is truly beyond unacceptable. It should not take 24+ hours to download and install updates after a clean install of Windows Vista.  It's gotten to the point that one can't even help a neighbor install a new Vista OS without devoting a whole weekend to the process. That sucks.  I have to say, Windows 7 is nowhere near that slow, albeit its not as fast as Windows XP was. But this Vista update is quite literally slower than overnight snailmail.