Unable to uninstall update KB2952664

@bjr27511 & anyone else with a similar problem: To avoid confusion & duplication of effort, please begin your own, new thread in the appropriate forum. State your current IE version (e.g., IE8; IE9; IE10; IE11) and full Windows version (e.g., Vista 32-bit SP1; Vista 64-bit SP2; Win7 32-bit; Win7 64-bit SP1; Win8 32-bit; Win8.1 64-bit; WinRT; WinRT 8.1; Surface Pro; Surface 2; Surface Pro 3; Win10 TP) in your first post. Thank you.

If you upgraded a (e.g., Win7) computer to Win8 (or Win8.1), please state that and your previous Windows version (e.g., Win7 SP1 64-bit) in your first post, too.  Ditto if you installed Win8.1 on or after 08 April 2014.

See...

    • HOW TO begin your own, new thread

       http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/Page/faq#faqAskQuestion1

    • What information to post in the Windows Update forum

       http://answers.microsoft.com/thread/1467f44b-ee27-4f7d-98d7-f1c4b35b3395

I am having the same problem. Can anyone come up with a way to get rid of this bad update so that the new clean update can be installed?

What's going on? I think there is simple detection problem with this update.

This update is one of updates (annoyingly) notifying that Windows 10 will be available soon.

Microsoft has re-released this particular update many times - I think that today we are on version 11.

Version 10 has been released in April 2015. When you look at the update it consist of two parts:

1. Windows6.1-KB2952664-v10-x64.cab - cca 5 MB
2. EnableTask.exe - cca 25 KB

First part contains binary files and second one a simple utility which enables scheduled task.

If you install this update for first time (it is marked currently as optional), it will download full package with cca 5 MB of binary files and install them to system. As first step it will execute EnableTask.exe, which do only two things:

a) checks for registry key Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\AppcompatFlags\ClientTelemetry\IsCensusDisabled

b) enable scheduled task  \Microsoft\Windows\Application Experience\Microsoft Compatibility Appraiser

If you launch again WU redetection, it will complain that you need to install KB2952664 again.

But now it will show you only 25KB size. WU think that you need to execute again EnableTask.exe

You can simple check this out, clear SoftwareDistribution\Download, disable the mentioned scheduled task, and execute again installation of the update. In download folder you will then spot EnableTask.exe and the scheduled task will be enabled. Afterwards the process terminates itself with errorlevel 0, so that WU will show message "Installation successful". But then it will go again over.

So if it was working correctly in version 10 from April 2015 - whas has changed in the update?

The answer is NOTHING. The EnableTask.exe is binary the same in version 10 and version 11.

So I think that this problem lies only in detection signatures, that WU uses today.

You have few choices to overcome the problem:

1. Uninstall KB2952664, then the system will detect the update as optional and will not try to install it automatically and just wait for new WU detection signatures (if I am right)
2. Just leave it there - it will "install" itself few times, until MS corrects it, but it is only 25KB download and nothing is really installed, just one registry check and schedule task will be enabled. You can see from WU that the installation is instant.
3. If you don't want Windows 10 upgrade, you can (uninstall it and) hide it.
4. If you want Windows 10 upgrade, you can install the update after 29/July, when Windows 10 will be available, and when you upgrade to Windows 10 the problem will be gone - Windows 10 does not need the update, of course (if Microsoft will not fix the issue)

I can follow almost all of your reply but not the very intricate parts. I don't have the choices you mention, since I CANNOT uninstall this update. That is the problem. I can't uninstall it and I've tried numerous ways including dropping into the command prompt (DOS) and going in as administrator. It fails. Every night when I shut down the PC, the MS update tries to update this file and it fails. Yes, I would like to upgrade to Windows 10 but I cannot do this unless I fix this KB2952664 problem.

I've tried hiding it but this is not a long term solution. Also it seems that the MS update software unhides this file and I have to re-hide it to stop the daily failures.

Thank you for trying to help but I think I am still stuck not knowing how to fix this problem.

Sorry to hear that.

I can say that here on two PCs the update can be uninstalled without problems.After uninstallation, of course, it appears again, but it came back in full strength (shows 6MB size).

Unfortunately, you have two different problems:

1. common to many people - reoffering the update over and over
2. your specific problem - unable to uninstall it.

You have these choices:

1. Use system restore to restore system back before 7.7.2015 - before the update was published
2. Try to clear the situation - error message showing up when uninstalling? CBS log? etc...
3. Change Windows Update to "check for updates but let me choose ..."

    Then the update will show up of course again but it will not install automatically.

    Wait until Microsoft makes a new detection signatures for WU

    (I assume that after this fix the update simply disappears from WU - because it is already installed)

    July packs of updates should be released at 14.7.2015 - then you can manually install all other updates

    Windows 10 should be released 29.7.2015 - then you can simply install Windows 10 through WU.

Just to make it clear for sure:

The update IS installed correctly, so you should be able to install Windows 10 without problems.

The problem is that Windows Update thinks, that you do not have enabled mentioned scheduled task.

But you can check in Computer Management - Task Scheduler that the task is enabled, so you don't need to worry.