Windows Update just spins and spins, seemingly without end

Anonymous
2016-07-18T01:20:12+00:00

A week ago, Windows Update seemed to stop working on my laptop. It never seems to finish looking for updates for my Window Vista, but just spins and spins and spins. Before this, it always took 6 minutes or less to check for updates and let me know if there were any. If it was downloading an update, it would let me know its size and how long it would take. Anyone know what's going on?

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Windows update

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

62 answers

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2016-08-01T17:26:28+00:00

    Please open Internet Explorer (only!) to http://www.microsoft.com/genuine/validate/.  Don't TOUCH your computer or close the IE tab/window until the remote validator has finished its scan, then restart your computer. If you were not able to Validate, proceed as follows:

    1. Download the following diagnostic tool, saving it to your desktop, then right-click on the saved file & select Run as Administrator to run the utility: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=56062
    2. After the run completes, click on the Continue button then click on the Copy (to clipboard) button.

    Note: You may want to copy/paste the contents of your clipboard into Notepad & save for future reference.

    1. Copy/paste the contents of your clipboard into a reply to this post.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  2. Anonymous
    2016-08-01T06:48:41+00:00

    The answer is no. It just says "Service Desk Upgrade"

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  3. Anonymous
    2016-07-30T19:33:47+00:00

    OK, do the Vista Ultimate DVD labels say OEM or Retail?

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  4. Anonymous
    2016-07-30T08:18:47+00:00

    I tried this already, as I said in my July 27 post:

    "I did this and it didn't help. I turned off automatic updates in Windows Update, restarted computer, checked for updates, let spin for 13 minutes. Nothing. I tried the manual download again, it installed fine, and searched for 12 minutes. Nothing. Cancel button didn't work, so I had to close it in Task Manager."

    Since then, Windows Update has been set to "Never check for updates," and I do a cold reboot every day, yet Windows Update does not work.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  5. Anonymous
    2016-07-30T08:07:20+00:00

    Neither. Actually they're Windows Vista Ultimate DVDs (32-bit and 64-bit), not Windows 7.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments