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

Anonymous
2016-06-15T04:54:11+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.

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

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Windows update

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lmacri 2,505 Reputation points
2016-06-16T12:03:51+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...

***** 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.

Image

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):

  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.
  2. 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".
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.

Image

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

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  1. lmacri 2,505 Reputation points
    2016-09-08T14:48:07+00:00

    I tried an online repair app found in the banner ad on this page: http://kbupdate.info/windows-vista-2016-04.php that claimed to repair Windows Update problems to try to fix it. (Try to leave the page without buying and it may give you a reduced price if you stay. Probably a warning sign that the product is not of the best quality.) It found several registry problems and even some viri that Windows Defender did not find, so it helped clean up the machine. But it also "fixed" the Windows Updates. What happened was that it erased all the 150+ updates I finally got to work after hours of effort. Windows Update was back to its old habit of not being able to complete the search for updates...

    ...So I uninstalled all the http://wu.krelay.de/en/ updates that were previously installed (Windows Update/Installed Updates), then reinstalled them. That fixed the Windows Update inability to complete the search. But I had to then reinstall ALL the 150+ updates that I had installed previously via Windows Update. Even then, the two updates (at the top of this posting) still failed to install. I'll probably give up on those.

    Hi SLV333:

    A Whois search for http://kbupdate.info/ shows that this site is owned by a Tomas Zalesak in the Czech Republic, and from what I understand that site itself is just an automated monitoring system that scans the entire Microsoft Knowledge Base every night and creates links to new KB articles.  I have the Adblock Plus extension installed on my browser to block adware so I'm not sure what "online repair app" the banner ad on that website recommended, but I would agree with your comment that what you experienced was "Probably a warning sign that the product is not of the best quality".  Many of these so-called repair tools (Enigma's SpyHunter comes to mind) display false messages about registry errors and malware infections and deliberately create new issues on your computer (i.e., like the way it wiped the 150+ updates from your system) to scam you into buying the paid version of their product or paying for expensive online technical support to fix the very problems their free "diagnostic scan" creates.

    Dalai's workaround at http://wu.krelay.de/en/ to install missing Windows kernel-mode driver (Win32K.sys) updates each month is only a temporary solution, and he notes on that page that "most likely the issue will appear again with the next Patchday".  The "Checking for updates...." hangs and slow Windows Updates only occur on Patch Tuesdays (the second Tuesday of the month) when Microsoft releases a large batch of security updates for Vista, and I wouldn't be surprised if your slow Windows Updates return on 13-Sep-2016 when the 2016 September Patch Tuesday updates are released.  Be sure to post back after 13-Sep-2016 and let us know if your next batch of Patch Tuesday updates installs normally.

    _______________________

    This is a bit off-topic, but is your system protected by antivirus software?  From Eve Blakemore's Microsoft Secure Blog entry Do I need anything besides Windows Defender?:

    "If your computer is running Windows 7, Windows Vista, or Windows XP, Windows Defender removes spyware, but to protect yourself from viruses, you’ll need to download antivirus software. You can purchase it from a third party, or you can download Microsoft Security Essentials for free."

    32-bit Vista Home Premium SP2 * Firefox v48.0.2 * NIS v22.7.1.32 * MBAM Premium v2.2.1

    HP Pavilion dv6835ca, Intel Core2Duo T5550 @ 1.83 GHz, 3 GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS

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  2. Anonymous
    2016-09-08T04:10:36+00:00

    I could never get https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/968930 (Windows Powershell 2.0 and WinRM 2.0) and https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/2957189 to install. I tried an online repair app found in the banner ad on this page: http://kbupdate.info/windows-vista-2016-04.php that claimed to repair Windows Update problems to try to fix it. (Try to leave the page without buying and it may give you a reduced price if you stay. Probably a warning sign that the product is not of the best quality.) It found several registry problems and even some viri that Windows Defender did not find, so it helped clean up the machine. But it also "fixed" the Windows Updates. What happened was that it erased all the 150+ updates I finally got to work after hours of effort. Windows Update was back to its old habit of not being able to complete the search for updates. So I tried to reinstall the http://wu.krelay.de/en/ core updates (Vista x86), but now when running the .msu files, it said they were not applicable. These did install originally (some of the original updates also said not applicable, but the ones that previously installed now reported themselves to be not applicable also.) I suspected corrupted updates. So I uninstalled all the http://wu.krelay.de/en/ updates that were previously installed (Windows Update/Installed Updates), then reinstalled them. That fixed the Windows Update inability to complete the search. But I had to then reinstall ALL the 150+ updates that I had installed previously via Windows Update. Even then, the two updates (at the top of this posting) still failed to install. I'll probably give up on those.

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  3. Anonymous
    2016-09-08T01:48:29+00:00

    My computer is marked on internet options connections tab-never dial a connection. This has only happened on IE-9 when I get that error message that your currently offline, waiting on your internet to reconnect. I close out of internet explorer and go to another browser to get that webpage that I wanted and it displays perfectly.

    I do remember on older versions of Microsoft windows that there was a switch that would pop up on your domain email and it would say your currently working offline do you want to go online and connect to the internet. You would either click yes or no. Those older versions that I do remember are windows ME, windows 95 and earlier.

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  4. lmacri 2,505 Reputation points
    2016-09-07T04:16:24+00:00

    I also think it has something to do with some of IE-9 webpages giving me this error message. Your currently offline, waiting on your internet to reconnect. Then I look at my status icon on the task bar at the clock and it says your connected to network 4 local and internet access. So I think is it possible that can be the reason for my computer's windows update not working.

    Hi DarlingDell:

    If you have a dial-up modem in your computer, go to Tools | Internet Options | Connections and ensure that your dial-up connection is set to Never dial a connection.  There are several reasons why your internet connection might be intermittently disconnecting - see the MS support article How to troubleshoot network connectivity problems in Internet Explorer - but the problem you've described can occur in older Win XP and Vista machines where a wired (Ethernet) or wireless (Wi-Fi) connection is constantly disrupted if the dial-up modem is set to auto-dial.

    ![](http://fud.community.services.support.microsoft.com/Fud/FileDownloadHandler.ashx?fid=39507721-8fcf-4f65-b4c1-e0137199c98d)

    If you are using a wireless (Wi-Fi) connection, a simple reboot of your router (unplug your router’s power cable, wait 30 seconds, and then plug it back in) can solve many connection problems - see the HowTo Geek article *How To Troubleshoot Wireless Router Problems*.

    If neither of those suggestions help, start a new thread in the Vista Network and Internet board at http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_vista-networking and ask for assistance there so that you don't take this thread off-topic.

    EDIT:

    I was reviewing my earlier posts in this thread and was reminded that I posted on August 28, 2016 about a separate thread you started in the MS Answers forum titled Backup and restore about a system restore you ran two weeks ago that failed with an error.  MS MVP and community moderator Bill Smithers has offered his assistance in that thread and can help you determine if your incomplete system restore damaged your Vista OS and/or Norton Antivirus installation.  Post back after Bill Smithers has confirmed that your Vista OS and Norton Antivirus have been repaired and your internet connection is working again and I'll be happy to help you with your Windows Update problems then.

    32-bit Vista Home Premium SP2 * Firefox v48.0.2 * NIS v22.7.1.32 * MBAM Premium v2.2.1

    HP Pavilion dv6835ca, Intel Core2Duo T5550 @ 1.83 GHz, 3 GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS

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