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

Considering that it was all over the computer sites for a while, and the experiences people had with XP would have hopefully taught them to look up "End Of Life" dates for their support on other MS software (even Wikipedia has an article on this) there isn't much to hold up that theory. If your machine is too old to run 8.1 then 7 is probably the best alternative, or Linux. Linux won't run your MS software but it does run similar programs and apps and you can keep an older computer running well a while longer.

Windows 7 is still available to download as an ISO at https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows7, you will need a key or I don't know if you can update from Vista using that, never had to do it.

Burn that to a DVD and go from there.

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 on 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 (or even days), 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:

REVISED for the March 2017 Patch Tuesday (valid 14-Mar-2017 to 10-Apr-2017):

****IMPORTANT:  Extended support for Vista SP2 is ending on 11-Apr-2017 and there will be no further security updates released for Vista SP2 after this date.  Please see Microsoft's Windows Life Cycle Fact Sheet for more information.****

If you were fully patched as of January 2017, the latest Windows updates that must be pre-installed to speed up Windows Update on Vista SP2 computers is KB4012497 (MS17-018 Security Update for Windows Kernel-Mode Drivers and for Microsoft Graphics Component: March 14, 2017).  Some early testers are reporting that KB4012583 (MS17-013 Security Update for Microsoft Graphics Component: March 14, 2017) and/or KB4012204 (MS17-006 Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer 9 for Windows Vista: March 14, 2017) also helped to reduce their "Checking for updates..." hang this month.  See Note 2 below for download links for both the 32-bit (x86) and 64-bit (x64) standalone .msu installers.

Terminate any Windows Update sessions running in the background [Windows Update | Change settings | Important updates | Never check for updates (not recommended) and then re-boot - the re-boot is critical] before running your .msu installer to prevent the installer from getting stuck at "Checking for updates..." (see STEP # 1 and Note 5 below).  I normally save my .msu installer to my Windows desktop and then double-click to run.

I pre-installed KB4012497, KB4012583 and KB4012204 this month and my Windows Update ran to completion in 3 hours 15 min (Checking for updates... required 3 hours), which is the slowest that Windows Update has run since I started using Dalai's workaround in June 2016.  Windows Update found 12 additional Important updates, including 3 related to my MS Office Compatibility Pack.  Please read Note 6 if you have MS Office or a MS Office Compatibility Pack installed on your system since this can add a significant amount of time to your "Checking for updates..." hang.

If Windows Update failed to install your January 2017 Patch Tuesday updates (or you have reinstalled / restored your Vista SP2 OS to an earlier date and can't get Windows Update to run to completion), please follow these steps:

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. As of 14-Mar-2017, the updates that must be installed on your system to speed up Windows Update are: KB3191203 (rel. 11-Oct-2016); KB3203859 (rel. 08-Nov-2016); KB3205638 (rel. 13-Dec-2016); KB4012497 (rel. 14-Mar-2017); KB4012583 (rel. 14-Mar-2017). If IE9 is installed then KB4012204 (March 2017 cumulative update for IE9 for Vista) could also help.  See Note 1.
3. 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., "KB3191203" and not a partial string like "3191203").
4. Download the standalone update packages (.msu files) for any missing Win32K.sys updates from the Microsoft Update Catalog and save them to your Windows desktop - see Note 2 for download links.   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 3 if you have problems downloading the .msu installers.
5. 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 - restart your computer when prompted after each update is installed.  See Notes 4 and 5 if you have problems running the .msu installers.
6. 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(s) will be posted on Dalai's webpage on 11-Apr-2017 that will have to be pre-installed before you run Windows Update to install your April 2017 Patch Tuesday updates.

______________________

Note 1:  KB3203859 (rel. 08-Nov-2016) has replaced KB3164033.  KB3204723 (rel. 13-Dec-2016) has replaced KB3198234.  The combination of KB319203/KB3203859/KB3205638 has replaced KB3078601/KB3109094.  KB4012497 (rel. 14-Mar-2017) has replaced KB3204723.

Note 2:  Users can find download links for all the 32-bit (x86) and 64-bit (x64) installers by searching for the KB number in the Microsoft Update Catalog (e.g., search for the string "KBxxxxxxx Vista" where xxxxxxx is the 7-digit KB number) or just click the following links:

     KB3191203:  http://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=KB3191203 Vista

     KB3203859:  http://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=KB3203859 Vista

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

     KB4012497:  http://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=KB4012497 Vista

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

        

OPTIONAL (if IE9 installed):

    KB4012204:  http://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=KB4012204 Vista Internet Explorer 9

        

Note 3:  Some users have reported problems downloading the .msu installers from the Microsoft.com site with Internet Explorer 9 (e.g., the user never sees a 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 thumb drive from another (non-Vista) computer and copy the .msu installers to your Vista desktop.

Note 4: If you try to install a Win32K.sys speed up patch that is already installed on your computer, download an installer with the wrong bitness for 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 was recently superseded (replaced) by a newer update 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.  If one of the speed up patches listed in STEP # 2 throws a "not applicable" error and you are sure you have downloaded the correct installer (32-bit or 64-bit) for your system then move on to the next update in the list.

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" before 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 6: If Windows Update has not successfully installed updates for a few months please be patient when running your Windows Update in March 2017.  It is not unusual for Windows Update to run for several hours before it finds all available updates when a 32-bit Vista SP2 OS is several months out-of-date, even after missing speed up patches are installed.

If you have a supported version of MS Office or an MS Office Compatibility Pack that still receives security updates via Windows Update (Windows Update | Change settings | Microsoft Update | Give me updates for Microsoft products and check for new optional Microsoft software when I update Windows) this can significantly increase your "Checking for updates..." hang.  User Volume Z maintains a list of additional speed up patches for MS Office-related products in peggybeggs' thread why has vista stopped automatic updates? that could help speed up Windows Update.

If you followed STEPS # 1 to # 5 and your manual Windows Update (STEP # 6) is still stuck on "Checking f

or updates..." after running overnight, I would suggest you try using Torsten Wittrock's WSUS Offline Update tool.  I haven't tried this tool but vista134's recent feedback in the bleepingcomputer thread How I got clean install of Vista Ultimate SP2 to install updates... indicates that WSUS Offline Update tool can be used to download and install important security updates for Vista SP2 (see the Legacy tab of the interface) and other Microsoft products like MS Office.  Dalai is an active contributor in the WSUS Offline Update forum.

---

32-bit Vista Home Premium SP2 * Firefox ESR v52.0 * NIS v22.9.0.71 * MBAM v2.2.1

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

The "Updates not working, it has been searching for updates for hours" has been a very unfortunate experience for so many.  When support for Microsoft Windows XP ended, the Operating System provided an early warning pop up to users of the PC.  It is disappointing that, from my experience, that Microsoft provided very little official guidance during the final year of Windows Vista update support and it seems there isn't even an internal warning in the Vista operating system to warn that support is ending within days of this posting.

My thanks go out to Great White North and a few others for being so talented, dedicated to resolve the issue, and for being so helpful.

It isn't over yet.

All of a sudden I know how to make sense of "The update is not applicable to your computer" reports about KB3078601 from before Patch Day October 2016.

KB3109094 + KB3087039 supersedes KB3078601.

At least 7...it's much better in my opinion and you can take it farther than you would take Vista. You will have to do something eventually. Even if you aren't fond of 10 or simply cannot use it on your machine you still have better Windows options.

I came to 7 pretty late and like it. And at some point everybody has had the Windows Update problems. You need to look to non-OS specific questions about that.