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.

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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. Anonymous
    2017-01-02T20:24:15+00:00

     I'm maintaining the full list of Win32K.sys speed up patches dating back to August 2015

    You have two superseded updates on the list and at the same time fail to mention a critical one. Speedup patches actually are issues to be circumvented by manual treatment, and they're not restricted to Win32K.sys updates.

    I can't help going standalone.

    https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_vista-update/why-has-vista-stopped-automatic-updates/42c98c78-157b-44b7-858a-3ba92933cb90?msgId=9366cc04-59d6-4b37-bee9-dffcdc7c602a

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  2. lmacri 2,505 Reputation points
    2017-01-02T20:01:50+00:00

    Hi C. Ziel:

    Thanks for the feedback, and glad to hear that Windows Update was finally able to patch your fresh reinstall of Vista SP2.

    All credit goes to German blogger Dalai, who has been posting KB numbers for recommended Windows kernel-mode driver (Win32K.sys) speed up patches for Vista SP2 on his web page at http://wu.krelay.de/en/ since June 2016.  Unfortunately, Dalai has not been able to test his recommended speed up patches since October 2016 when Microsoft began delivering Patch Tuesday security updates for his Win 7 SP1 machine as one large Monthly Rollup (see Nathan Mercer's MS TechNet blog Further simplifying servicing models for Windows 7 and Windows 8.1), so I'm maintaining the full list of Win32K.sys speed up patches dating back to August 2015 (STEP # 2 of the step-by-step instructions on page 1 of this thread) once I've checked the supersedence chains and file manifests of Dalai's suggested speed up patch(es) and tested each month on my own 32-bit Vista SP2 machine.  Monthly feedback from early testers in ScousaJAY's thread windows update just seems to hang while checking in the VistaForums has been a great help as well.

    Dalai has posted background information on the cause of these "Checking for updates..." hangs at http://wu.krelay.de/en/info.htm and I've posted some additional information in post # 416 of ScousaJAY"s thread.  System configuration has a major impact on the speed of your Windows Update once all missing speed up patches are installed (as beginner64 noted <here>, updates will run significantly faster with a 64-bit Vista SP2 OS that can access higher amounts of RAM and use both RAM and CPU more efficiently than a 32-bit Vista SP2 OS) but on Microsoft's end the two main issues appear to be:

    • The Windows Update Agent (WUA) v7.6.7600.256 (C:\Windows\system32\wuaueng.dll) for Vista SP2 has not been updated since June 2012 and is not optimized for computers with slower CPUs and limited amounts of RAM
    • Microsoft has not performed regular purges of expired (superseded) updates in Vista's update catalog wsusscn2.cab since Win 10 was officially released on 29-Jul-2015

    32-bit Vista Home Premium SP2 * Firefox v50.1.0 * NIS v22.8.1.14 * MBAM v2.2.1

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

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  3. Anonymous
    2017-01-02T01:42:21+00:00

    Great White North,

    To all who are having the trouble listed in these series of posts:

    I performed a fresh re-installation of Windows Vista which came with my dV9500 machine over 9 years ago a couple weeks ago.  I ended up needing to manually install service pack 1, and was able to use windows update up until whatever updates exist after service pack 2.  I could never get past the "checking for updates" phase.

    After 1.5 days or so of continuous checking, I had to turn the computer off for travel during Christmas break.  The second attempt lasted nearly 4.5 days but I still did not receive known updates.  I found that checking the process itself and how much memory it consumed was the best way to track progress.  Once initially started, the memory consumed for windows update on my computer spiked to over 1 GIG of ram.  Eventually after a day it would dive down to 500 MEGs, and after 3.5 or 4 days it was hovering around 80 MEGs.  But I wasn't sure when it would finish (another computer showed 16 MEGs when no updates are needed).  I began to use microsoft support which was free because this was an installation problem.

    I don't believe any of the workers really helped, particularly the last employee which installed a registry cleaner from who knows where which I have yet to uninstall.  But the last gentleman took me to this page, and I followed the instructions.  Even with the last update previously installed (KB3204723 Vista), I installed the previous updates as instructed, UNINSTALLED the 723 update, REINSTALLED the 723 update, and after less than a few minutes of searching 191 updates were discovered and are currently downloading.

    Simply stunning.  I have used windows for 20 years and never encountered anything like this before.  I can't tell you how many installations I've done with windows XP, and even this specific computer.  The previous install was actually only 3.5 years old.

    So Microsoft must have reached some sort of limit with their update algorithm.  I don't know how to explain it.  Vista has, in my view, worked very well.

    Anyways, I wanted anybody who is witnessing this 'hanging' problem with windows update to give this set of instructions a try.  When I have time I am going to research what these updates are a little further to satisfy my curiosity.

    Also, I'd like to express my gratitude to those who have made this information available.  I could not have done this without you.

    Best Regards,

    -C. Ziel

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  4. Anonymous
    2017-01-01T23:35:37+00:00

    GWN: Note that KB3164033 (rel. 14-Jun-2016) also replaces the old MS Graphics Component update KB3087039 (rel. 08-Aug-2015) in Dalai's current list.

    VZ: Which leads to the conclusion neither is needed.

    I was led to drawing this false conclusion by not knowing 3087039/3164033/3203859 are also interchangeable with KB3140735. :/

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