wuaudt.exe is really bogging down my computer

Anonymous
2010-08-03T18:57:06+00:00

Recently, when I first start my computer for the day, wuaudt.exe runs and really bogs down my computer.  In Task Manager it shows it is using a lot of memory along with one of the many svchost.exe's that are running.  I had my computer set up to notify me when updates are available.  I have investigated this problem and found about the only thing to do is disable automatic updates altogether.  I have turned off Automatic Updates, unchecked Automatic Updates under the Services tab in msconfig and in services.msc I have set Automatic Updates to manual.  This seems to keep wuaudt.exe from running.  I read in one place that Microsoft issues updates on the first and third Tuesday's of each month so I plan on doing manual updates at those times.  Does anyone know why wuaudt.exe is suddenly such a memory hog? It only seems to be a problem the first time I time turn my computer on (I turn it off when not in use to save electricity).  If I shut it off and restart it later in the day, there is not a performance problem.  I have a Dell Dimension 5100C, Windows XP Pro SP3, 512 MB RAM, Pentium 4 3.00 Ghz processor. 

 I would like to be able to be notified of critical updates when they are issued but I don't want wuaudt.exe running every day if it is going to  bog me down.  Any ideas?

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Performance and system failures

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Anonymous
2010-08-22T19:22:13+00:00

Thanks for the info!  I've opted out of Microsoft Updates as you and PA Bear have suggested.  Keeping my fingers crossed that everything works normally tomorrow!

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Anonymous
2010-08-20T19:29:09+00:00

Update: Due primarily to exchanges with several MS MVPS on the behalf of users like you, Microsoft is aware of and has acknowledged the issue:

"We have gotten reports from multiple sources and consider this to be a live service issue and we are investigating it as a Priority 1."

~Robear Dyer (PA Bear) ~ MS MVP (IE, Mail, Security, Windows & Update Services) since 2002 ~ Disclaimer: MS MVPs neither represent nor work for Microsoft

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  1. Anonymous
    2010-08-19T21:01:01+00:00

    Opting out of Microsoft Update does solve the problem, but I must say I have a notebook with XP SP3, 512 MB of RAM, and lots of software running, where there is absolutely no problem!

    If it's Microsoft Update related, perhaps it depends on which versions of Microsoft software you are running?

    In any case, on one computer where I saw the problem I did a complete reïnstall with original XP SP2, installed spefcific video/audio drivers, AVG free, updated to SP3 manually, then IE8, Word and PowerPoint viewers, then enabled Auto Update...and the damn problem was already back!

    Microsoft, if you are reading this, should really investigate and fix this issue ASAP.

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  2. Anonymous
    2010-08-19T12:13:34+00:00

    I can verify that the issue is occurring on XP systems with 512 MB of RAM or less that have opted into Microsoft Update. Currently working on such a system that was so unresponsive it behaved as if it were running Windows 95. Still haven't found a way to resolve it that does not involve opting out of Microsoft Update  via the Change settings link in the left pane of the Microsoft Update site.

    .....

    For now the only feasible workaround is opting out of Microsoft Update.

     

    MowGreen Update Services - Consumer Security

    been there done that ... i run a lean system (minimal softwares) in our computers and it does slow down if you have 512mb of ram or less but doesn't affect our computers with at least 1gig of ram.  we have an old toshiba laptop with 512 mb and it does slow down. i upgraded it to 768 mb from my spare modules, problem solved. so, in my case the other work around is to increase ram size plus you would really benefit more from the increased ram if your computer /mb allows. just my 2 cents.

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  3. Anonymous
    2010-08-18T19:33:34+00:00

    I have now switched from Microsoft Update to Windows Update and things seem to work nicely. MSE updates itself automatically, triggers WU and the process now takes no more than 2-3 minutes without messing up the system. However, I do have Office 2003 installed. Is there a way to get the updates for Office 2003 without switching back to Microsoft Update?

    See my post a little further down this page or click on this link: http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/vistawu/thread/ef18ff87-db7f-4705-8105-33dcf9a9a03b/#44e80262-9a91-4ddb-9770-63810962cb8c 

    ~Robear Dyer (PA Bear) ~ MS MVP (IE, Mail, Security, Windows & Update Services) since 2002 ~ Disclaimer: MS MVPs neither represent nor work for Microsoft

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