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

Hi RonTFL:

KB3198218 / KB3196718 / KB3193418 were all delivered to my 32-bit Vista SP2 machine by Windows Update for my November 2016 Patch Tuesday updates - see the screenshot in my 08-Dec-2016 post on page 29 of this thread.   All three were rated as Important security updates, so if you uninstall them and it doesn't solve your stability issues I'd suggest you re-install them after you finish your testing.

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

Hope this isn't off topic, but I need some info about the Nov. 2016 updates for Vista SP2 64.

Prior to getting my Windows Update kick started I manually downloaded and installed updates listed as Critical for Vista in Microsoft's Security Bulletin.  The three I have questions about are-

KB3198218   https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3198218

-KB3196718 https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3199172

KB3193418 https://technet.microsoft.com/library/security/MS16-130?f=255&MSPPError=-2147217396

Does anyone else have these (downloaded for Nov. 2016 once Windows update got kick started) and are they really necessary?  Some system stability issues I have that could be related to these updates and I'd like to uninstall them if they are not necessary.

Got so confused in November trying to pick out updates myself from security bulletin.

Hi all this is the only one that seems to really understand what MS have done. However, the company frequently sends me in French rubbish about MS to a UK email address, yet why the wotsit have they not sent me an email saying they have screwed up windows. I have spent DAYS trying to sort MS foul ups, do I send them the bill. 

PS I used both Opera and Chrome and both DL perfectly. AND. The update is now running, for info I tried mr fixit, all it did was erased all information of updates so I have to look manually, and also it just said "updates do not work" That was almost as useful as a chocolate teapot, at least I could eat the chocolate teapot. The rubbish from mr fixit well frankly exactly that rubbish. The downloading of updates has now been about half an hour, that visible by the little screens at bottom of screen.

  Incidentally, this is the first time in about 6 years I have ever had problems with vista. Wish I could say that about 8.1 or 10! Update that machine, not if I can help it. I am also using office XP and also on 10 no problems. 

Now do not ask me how, after doing the many things on the net telling me what to do, I gave up and walked away and just left the machine on, guess what, suddenly some 12 hours later:- 22 updates of importance are awaiting installing" gawd knows about 131 Mb. about 1 hour installing and now she is sitting there looking all pristine sort of saying what was the fuss about.

OK here were the updates going from first installed to last:-

all kb     3204808  3196726  3128024 (office) 3203838  3208481   3205638   3196718   3200006   3193418   3194371   3198482   3205972   3128022   3203884   3128020   3210142   3198218   3203621   890830   (yes that is correct! )   3203859   3204724  3196348  and after all that an update for essentials came up however currently just the back to the usual updates hang! However all those listed installed correctly!

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:

REVISED for the DECEMBER 2016 Patch Tuesday (valid 13-Dec-2016 to 09-Jan-2017):

If you were fully patched as of November 2016, the latest Windows kernel-mode driver (Win32K.sys) update that must be installed to speed up Windows Update on Vista SP2 computers is KB3204723 (MS16-151: Security Update for Windows Kernel-Mode Drivers: December 13, 2016).  Download links for both the 32-bit (x86) and 64-bit (x64) standalone .msu installers for KB3204723 are available at http://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=KB3204723 Vista (see Note 2) or Dalai's webpage at http://wu.krelay.de/en/.

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.

Early testers are reporting that Windows Update required anywhere from 2 to 5 hours to run to completion after KB3204723 was installed on their 32-bit Vista SP2 computer (see Note 6).

If Windows Update failed to install your November 2016 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 13-Dec-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); KB3185911 (rel. 13-Sep-2016); KB3191203 (rel. 11-Oct-2016); KB3203859 (rel. 08-Nov-2016); KB3204723 (rel. 13-Dec-2016). 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., "KB3078601" and not a partial string like "3078601").
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 10-Jan-2017 that will have to be pre-installed before you run Windows Update to install your January 2017 Patch Tuesday updates.

______________________

Note 1:  KB3191203 (rel. 11-Oct-2016) has replaced (superseded) KB3145739 and KB3168965; KB3203859 (rel. 08-Nov-2016) has replaced KB3164033.  KB3204723 (rel. 13-Dec-2016) has replaced KB3198234.

Note 2: Standalone .msu installers for updates released after 01-Nov-2016 (i.e., KB3203859 and higher) can only be found on the Microsoft Update Catalog and are not available on the Microsoft Download Center.  Users can find download links for all the 32-bit (x86) and 64-bit (x64) installers by searching for the KB number on 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:

     KB3078601:  http://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=KB3078601 Vista

     KB3109094:  http://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=KB3109094 Vista

     KB3185911:  http://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=KB3185911 Vista

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

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

     KB3204723:  http://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=KB3204723 Vista  

Older standalone .msu installers can still be found on the Microsoft Download Center and download links are still archived on Dalai's website at http://wu.krelay.de/en/2016-09.htm (KB3078601/KB3109094/KB3185911) and http://wu.krelay.de/en/2016-10.htm (KB3191203).

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 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" before 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:  Please be patient when running your Windows Update this month.  I was fully patched as of November 2016 and my Windows Update required 1 hr 55 min (including 1 hr 35 min for the initial "Checking for updates..." phase) to find 14 important updates (including 3 updates for the Office Compatibility Pack) after I installed this month's Win32K.sys speed up patch KB3204723.  This is almost 30 min longer than in November 2016.  Having a supported version of MS Office 2007 or higher (and/or having Microsoft Update enabled at Windows Update | Change settings | Microsoft Update | Give me updates for Microsoft products and check for new optional Microsoft software when I update Windows) could significantly increase the amount of time it takes Windows Update to run to completion, so depending on your system configuration, Vista SP2 users who were fully patched last month could see Windows Update run for more than 5 hours to find and install their December 2016 Patch Tuesday updates after installing the KB3204723 speed up patch. 

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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

Thanks very much for posting this detailed fix.  Had tried numerous other online suggestions with no success.  After following your steps my old factory restored Dell Vista PC now finds the Microsoft updates relatively quickly and everything appears to be up to date. Still an old computer with Vista but as good as it's going to get.  You're great!