Updates not working, it has been searching for updates for hours

Anonymous

My PC is quite old and I have tried the microsoft fix it tool. The fix it tool never works.

I have been trying to check for new updates from since yesterday (Tuesday 14th June) in the afternoon. It is now Wednesday morning (12 hours approx) and it is still checking. There is no error code, it is just checking for the updates.

I have no technical skills so please do not ask me any technical questions. I would just like a solution to this problem.

Thank you.

It is August now and my pc has been searching for updates for 1 week now. This is****ridiculous

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments

Answer accepted by question author

lmacri 2,505

My PC is quite old and I have tried the microsoft fix it tool. The fix it tool never works.

I have been trying to check for new updates from since yesterday (Tuesday 14th June) in the afternoon. It is now Wednesday morning (12 hours approx) and it is still checking. There is no error code, it is just checking for the updates...

***** IMPORTANT NOTICE as of August 3, 2020 *****

Microsoft has announced they will be deactivating Windows Update on August 3, 2020 for computers with unsupported Windows operating systems that do not support SHA-2 code signing - see the 24-Jun-2020 Microsoft support article Windows Update SHA-1 Based Endpoints Discontinued for Older Windows Devices for more information. Win XP and Vista users will likely see one of the following error codes when Windows Update is run after this date.

Error code 80072ee2 or 80244019: The device cannot connect to Windows Update.
Error code 8024402c: The device is unable to locate Windows Update.

Unfortunately, this means that the instructions below to fix slow Windows Updates and automatically patch a Vista SP2 OS to end of extended support (11-Apr-2017) will no longer work. After 03-Aug-2020, Vista SP2 users who are still missing security updates released prior to 11-Apr-2017 should read post # 9 in the VistaForums thread WinVista HomePremium-X86 (SP1) Reinstallation Question about using the **** Dism++ utility to patch Vista SP2 back to end of support.
___________________________________________________________________________

**** INSTRUCTIONS BELOW WILL NOT FIX WINDOWS UPDATES AS OF 03-AUG-2020 ****

Hi m#l:

There is a known issue on Vista SP2 computers where Windows Update can hang on "Checking for updates..." for several hours (or even days) without throwing an error message. This problem was first reported in August 2015 and these slow Windows Updates have become progressively worse over time. In June 2016, IT expert Dalai began posting lists of "speed up" patches (a small number of security updates for the Win32K.sys kernel mode driver, graphics components, and IE9) at http://wu.krelay.de/en/ that could be manually installed each month to fix this problem. Here are step-by-step instructions for Dalai's solution:

REVISED for the JUNE 2017 Patch Tuesday (valid as of July 2020):

Disable automatic Windows Updates [Windows Update | Change settings | Important updates | Never check for updates (not recommended)] and re-boot to terminate any Windows Update sessions currently running in the background on your system.
Search your installed updates at Control Panel | Programs and Features | View Installed Updates to see if any of the following "speed up" patches are missing from your system: KB3205638 (rel. 13-Dec-2016); KB4012583 (rel. 14-Mar-2017); KB4015380 (rel. 11-Apr-2017); KB4019204 (rel. 09-May-2017). If IE9 is installed then KB4018271 (the 09-May-2017 cumulative security update for IE9) is also required. When searching, enter the full KB number in the search box (e.g., "KB3205638" and not a partial string like "3205638".
Download the standalone installers (.msu files) for any missing "speed up" patches from the the Microsoft Update Catalog and save them to your Windows desktop using the download links in Note 1. Use the Vista x86 installer if you have a 32-bit OS; use the Vista x64 installer if you have a 64-bit OS. See Note 2 if you have problems downloading the .msu installers.
Double-click to run each .msu standalone installer. Re-boot after all .msu installers have run to completion unless the installation wizard for one of the installers specifically requests a re-boot to finish the installation. See Notes 3 and 4 if you have problems running the .msu installers.
Once all missing "speed up" patches are pre-installed, run a manual Windows Update [Windows Update | Check for updates] to detect and install any available updates released as of 11-Apr-2017. It might take a few re-boots and manual Windows Updates to get everything patched, depending on how many months or years your Vista SP2 OS is out of date. See Note 5 if Windows Update continues to hang at "Checking for updates...". [WARNING*: If you following these instructions after July 2020 and Windows Update throws an error see the IMPORTANT NOTICE at the top of this post.]*

**** EDIT as of June 2017: Microsoft released five out-of-band emergency security updates for Vista SP2 in June 2017 were posted on the Microsoft Update Catalog but will not be delivered via Windows Update. See the thread More Shadow Brokers Exploits Patched June 2017 for Win XP and Vista for instructions on how to install these emergency updates if they are still missing from your system. ****

**** EDIT as of April 2020: Since March 2020 multiple users performing a clean reinstall of their Vista SP2 OS have reported that Windows Update can throw an error 800B0109 ("A certificate chain processed, but terminated in a root certificate which is not trusted by the trust provider") while trying to install KB4014984 (Security and Quality Rollup for NET. Framework 2.0, 3.0, 4.5.2, 4.6 on Windows Vista SP2 and Server 2008 SP2: April 11, 2017). To fix this error, download the MicrosoftRootCertificateAuthority2011.cer file from http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=747875&clcid=0x409 and save it to the root C:\ directory of your computer (i.e.., so the location is C:\MicrosoftRootCertificateAuthority2011.cer), open anelevated command prompt with Administrator rights, and enter the command certutil -addstore "Root" "C:\MicrosoftRootCertificateAuthority2011.cer" to apply the required trust certificate. Kudos to greenhillmaniac for posting about this fix in his 06-Apr-2020 post in the MSFN threadCertificate Trust Provider Error Installing Updates. ****
______________________

Note 1: Download 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) .msu installers from the Microsoft Update Catalog at the following links:

REQUIRED:

KB3205638: https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=KB3205638 Vista

KB4012583: https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=KB4012583 Vista
KB4015380: https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=KB4015380 Vista

KB4019204: https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=KB4019204 Vista

OPTIONAL (if Internet Explorer 9 is installed):

KB4018271: https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=KB4018271 Internet Explorer 9 Vista

OPTIONAL (if MS Office 2007, MS Office 2010 or the MS Office Compatibility Pack SP3 is installed):

See Note 5 below.

Note 2: If you have problems downloading the .msu installers using Internet Explorer 9 then try an alternate browser like Firefox ESR v52.9.0 (the legacy extended support release for Win XP and Vista, last updated 26-Jun-2018). You can also download the .msu installers to a USB thumb drive from another computer and copy the .msu installers to your Vista desktop.

Note 3: If you try to install a speed up patch that is already installed on your computer, download an installer that does not match the bit architecture of your OS (e.g., you try to run a 64-bit .msu installer on a 32-bit Vista machine), or try to install a speed up patch that has been superseded (replaced) by a newer update you will see a "The update is not applicable to your computer" error - see the MS support article Windows Update Troubleshooting for other common causes of this error.

Note 4: The standalone update packages (.msu files) will get stuck at "Checking for updates..." if there is a Windows Update session already running in the background on your computer. Most users find that disabling automatic Windows Updates and re-booting is sufficient (STEP # 1), but if your .msu installer still gets stuck you can temporarily disconnect from the internet or stop your Windows Update service (wuauserv) at Control Panel | System and Maintenance | Administrative Tools | Services while running these installers. Unlike Windows Update, these standalone update packages (.msu files) are associated with the Windows Update Standalone Installer (C:\Windows\System32\wusa.exe) and can be installed on computers without an internet connection.

Note 5: This issue has not been prevalent since 2018, but if you have MS Office 2007 SP3, MS Office 2010 SP2 and/or the MS Office Compatibility Pack SP3 (an add-on that allows older MS Office products like MS Office 2000/2003/2007 to work with files with newer Open XML formats like .docx, .xlsx, etc.) and find that Windows Update is still running slowly after completing the instructions above then links for additional "speed up" patches (.exe self-extracting installers) for these MS Office products are posted below.

If MS Office 2007 SP3 installed:
KB4018355: for Word 2007 (rel. Apr 2018)

 [KB4018353](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=56780): for Excel 2007 (rel. Apr 2018)

If MS Office Compatibility Pack SP3 (MS Office 2000/2003/2007 add-on) installed:

 [KB4018354](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=56800): Word converter file (wordconv; rel. Apr 2018)

 [KB4461607](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=57877): Excel converter file (xlconv; rel. Feb 2019)

If 32-bit MS Office 2010 SP2 installed:

 [KB4493218](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=102981 "https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=102981"): for 32-bit MS Word 2010 (rel. Apr 2021)

 [KB3017810](https://www.microsoft.com/download/details.aspx?familyid=dbf63fea-6134-43ed-8960-a5e6822b494a "https://www.microsoft.com/download/details.aspx?familyid=dbf63fea-6134-43ed-8960-a5e6822b494a"): for 32-bit MS Excel 2010 (rel. Apr 2021)

If 64-bit MS Office 2010 SP2 installed:

 [KB4493218](https://www.microsoft.com/download/details.aspx?familyid=0ad9421d-1f16-4ed2-bc3c-59c293c11ad5 "https://www.microsoft.com/download/details.aspx?familyid=0ad9421d-1f16-4ed2-bc3c-59c293c11ad5"): for 64-bit MS Word 2010 (rel. Apr 2021)

[KB3017810](https://www.microsoft.com/download/details.aspx?familyid=0d5a97be-08a4-485f-aba0-9fa27f072a93 "https://www.microsoft.com/download/details.aspx?familyid=0d5a97be-08a4-485f-aba0-9fa27f072a93"): for 64-bit MS Excel 2010 (rel. Apr 2021)

If you have performed a clean reinstall of your MS Office product and are missing the final Service Pack then links to MS Office 2007 Service Pack 3 (KB2526086) and MS Office 2010 Service Pack 2 (KB2687455) are posted in the Lifewire article Latest Microsoft Office Service Packs. These Service Packs should be installed before applying the above "speed up" patches for your Office product(s).

32-bit Vista Home Premium SP2 * FF ESR v52.9.0 * Malwarebytes Premium v3.5.1 * MS Office 2003 Pro SP3
HP Pavilion dv6835ca, Intel Core2Duo T5550 @ 1.83 GHz, 3 GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS

0 comments

703 additional answers

Anonymous

2016-10-22T21:31:16+00:00

Hello everyone,

In case anyone is wondering why I have NOT responded with an update on how my particular problem is doing, and why I have NOT done of the fixes listed. Well I am going to be building a new computer very soon. probably in the next month to month and a half. I am in the process of deciding on what particular parts I want to use and then once that is all settled, then I will buy them and build the computer. I was going to wait until about between January to March, But my my one web-browser is no longer receiving updates, another web-browser keeps freezing and crashing, my one email account keeps going haywire when I use my one web-browser (ever since they updated/changed over the email platform), Windows update does not work properly and now Microsoft Security Essentials does not want to update!! So That has basically forced me to quicken my time-frame to start building the new computer.

So hopefully when I build my new computer and install everything NEW I will not have any problems! LOL Knock on wood! LOL
Was this answer helpful?

0 comments No comments
lmacri 2,505 Reputation points

2016-10-22T13:59:14+00:00

....I am sure that step 1 under "If Windows Update failed to install your September 2016 Patch Tuesday updates" **"1. Disable automatic Windows Updates [Windows Update | Change settings | Important updates | Never check for updates (not recommended)] and re-boot to terminate any Windows Update sessions currently running in the background on your system."**got rid of the endless "Checking for updates".

Hi JTEEEZN:

Thanks for your feedback. I've added a comment in my 16-Jun-2016 instructions on page 1 to remind users who were fully patches as of September 2016 that they also need to terminate Windows Update before installing this month's KB3191203 Win32K.sys speed up patch.

32-bit Vista Home Premium SP2 * Firefox v49.0.2 * NIS v22.8.0.50 * MBAM v2.2.1
Was this answer helpful?

0 comments No comments
Anonymous

2016-10-22T07:56:52+00:00
My PC is quite old and I have tried the microsoft fix it tool. The fix it tool never works.

I have been trying to check for new updates from since yesterday (Tuesday 14th June) in the afternoon. It is now Wednesday morning (12 hours approx) and it is still checking. There is no error code, it is just checking for the updates.

Hi m#l:

If the initial "Checking for updates..." phase of Windows Update hangs for several hours on Patch Tuesdays (the second Tuesday of the month) without throwing an error, this is a widespread problem that currently affects many Vista SP2 users. Some users find that Windows Update will eventually run to completion if you let it run for several hours, but there is also a workaround posted on Dalai's webpage Search for Windows Updates takes forever? - A possible solution at http://wu.krelay.de/en/ that speeds up Windows Update for most affected users. If you'd like to try Dalai's workaround, I'd suggest the following:

Updated for the October 2016 Patch Tuesday (valid 11-Oct-2016 to 07-Nov-2016):

If you were fully patched as of September 2016, the latest Windows kernel-mode driver (Win32K.sys) update that must be installed to speed up Windows Update on Vista SP2 machine is KB3191203 (MS16-123: Description of the security update for kernel-mode drivers: October 11, 2016). Links for the KB3191203 installers are currently posted on Dalai'a webpage at http://wu.krelay.de/en/ but you can also use the direct links below:

     32-bit (x86) Vista SP2: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=53972

     64-bit (x64) Vista SP2: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=53952

If Windows Update failed to install your September 2016 Patch Tuesday updates (or you have rolled back your Vista SP2 OS and can't get Windows Update to run to completion), please follow these steps:

Disable automatic Windows Updates [Windows Update | Change settings | Important updates | Never check for updates (not recommended)] and re-boot to terminate any Windows Update sessions currently running in the background on your system.

As of 11-Oct-2016, the current list of Win32K.sys updates that need to be installed on your system to speed up Windows Update is: KB3078601 (rel. 18-Aug-2015); KB3109094 (rel. 07-Dec-2015); KB3164033 (rel. 14-Jun-2016); KB3185911 (rel. 13-Sep-2016); KB3191203 (rel. 11-Oct-2016). See Note 1.

Search your installed updates at Control Panel | Programs and Features | View Installed Updates to see if any of these Win32K.sys updates is already installed your system. When searching, enter the full KB number in the search box (e.g., "KB3078601" and not a partial string like "3078601").

Download the standalone update packages (.msu files) for any missing Win32K.sys updates from the Microsoft Download Center and save them to your Windows desktop - see Note 2 for download links on Dalai's site.   Use the Vista x86 links if you have a 32-bit OS; use the Vista x64 links if you have a 64-bit OS. See Note 3 if you have problems downloading the .msu installers.

Install any missing updates in chronological order, from oldest (lowest KB) to newest (highest KB). Double-click the .msu file on your desktop to start each installer - you will be prompted to restart your computer after each update is installed. See Notes 4 and 5 if you have problems running the .msu installers.

Once all missing Win32K.sys updates are pre-installed, run a manual Windows Update [Windows Update | Check for updates] to install your remaining updates. See Note 6.

This "solution" is only a temporary workaround and a new Win32K.sys update will be posted on Dalai's webpage on 08-Nov-2016 that will have to be pre-installed before you run Windows Update to install your November 2016 Patch Tuesday updates.

______________________

Note 1: KB3145739 and KB3168965 have been removed from the previous list for September 2016 because they have been replaced (superseded) by the latest KB3191203.

Note 2: Download links for the standalone .msu installers are archived on Dalai's webpage as follows:

For KB3078601 to KB3185911 links are archived at http://wu.krelay.de/en/2016-09.htm

For KB3191203 links are on the current home page at http://wu.krelay.de/en/

Note 3: Some users have reported problems downloading the .msu installers from the Microsoft Download Center with Internet Explorer 9 (e.g., the user is directed to a "Thank you for downloading" page without seeing the pop-up to Run/Save the file). If this happens use an alternate browser (I recommend Firefox - Chrome is no longer supported for XP and Vista) or download the .msu installers to a USB stick from another (non-Vista) computer and copy the .msu installers to your Vista desktop.

Note 4: If you try to install a Win32K.sys update that is already installed on your computer or use an installer with the wrong bitness (e.g., you try to run a 64-bit .msu installer on a 32-bit Vista machine) you will see a "not applicable" error - see the MS support article "The update is not applicable to your computer" error when you install Windows updates.

Note 5: The standalone update packages (.msu files) will get stuck at "Checking for updates..." if there is a Windows Update session already running in the background on your computer. Most users find that disabling automatic Windows Updates and re-booting is sufficient (STEP # 1), but if your .msu installer still gets stuck you can temporarily disconnect from the internet or stop your Windows Update service (wuauserv) as instructed in E-Chen's thread Vista Updates just keeps "Checking" while running these installers. Unlike Windows Update, these standalone update packages (.msu files) are associated with the Windows Update Standalone Installer (C:\Windows\System32\wusu.exe) and can be installed on computers without an internet connection.

Note 6: Note: Please be patient when running your Windows Update. A few Vista SP2 users have reported that Windows Update required around 3 hours to find and install their October 2016 Patch Tuesday updates, even after installing the Win32K.sys speed up patch(es) listed above. October 2016 is the first month that Microsoft has delivered a Monthly Rollup for the .NET Framework for Vista SP2 as one large combined update (see the MSDN blog entry Introducing the .NET Framework Monthly Rollup) and Windows might run extra slow this month.

32-bit Vista Home Premium SP2 * Firefox v49.0.2 * NIS v22.8.0.50 * MBAM v2.2.1

HP Pavilion dv6835ca, Intel Core2Duo T5550 @ 1.83 GHz, 3 GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS
Thank you. Last May I had a similar problem - very frustrating, eventually fixing it by installing one particular update manually. This time was worse I could not get a manual update to install. I found your detailed advice very helpful right from the beginning starting at "Hi m#l:" all the way through "Note 6". I am sure that step 1 under "If Windows Update failed to install your September 2016 Patch Tuesday updates" **"1. Disable automatic Windows Updates [Windows Update | Change settings | Important updates | Never check for updates (not recommended)] and re-boot to terminate any Windows Update sessions currently running in the background on your system."**got rid of the endless "Checking for updates".

Please note that I also unchecked each of the four options in the Windows Update Change Settings screen, especially Microsoft Update and Software Notifications, (which disables updates from other Microsoft products and checking for optional Microsoft software. After installing each update according to step 2 (where six manual updates are listed), I re-enabled each of the four Windows Update Change Settings screen options, allowing for all updates from MS not just Windows updates. **It is important to note that at this step the user is taken to a MS website where they have to agree to MS Windows Update Terms of Agreement where afterwards it says Windows Updates are now enabled.**It seems that it might be wise to also refresh this setting at the Microsoft website however I have not isolated this as a standalone fix.

After leaving for a few hours were the pc began searching for updates; upon my return Windows Updates were found and the installation of then worked fine.
Was this answer helpful?

0 comments No comments
lmacri 2,505 Reputation points

2016-10-21T20:31:48+00:00

For all users following this thread:

Just an FYI that I've updated my 16-Jun-2016 step-by-step instructions on page 1 for the October 2016 Patch Tuesday updates and added some extra tips and tricks based on all the excellent feedback I've received in this thread. Going forward, I plan on revising this post after each Patch Tuesday (the second Tuesday of the month) - but only after I test Dalai's recommended monthly speed up patch on my own 32-bit Vista SP2 machine.

I contacted Dalai and he's confirmed that he will continue to post his "best guess" for a suggested Win32K.sys speed up patch for Vista SP2 users on his website at http://wu.krelay.de/en/ every Patch Tuesday. As of October 2016 he is unable to test individual security updates on his Win 7 machine (see the MS TechNet blog More on Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 servicing changes) so he's going to stop posting download links for the full list of five or six Win32K.sys updates for Vista SP2 (i.e., dating back to August 2015) on his home page. I'll try to keep that full list up-to-date in my 16-Jun-2016 post.

32-bit Vista Home Premium SP2 * Firefox v49.0.2 * NIS v22.8.0.50 * MBAM v2.2.1
Was this answer helpful?

0 comments No comments