Windows Update Hangs

We just experienced this issue this morning on several work systems we still have running Windows 7. Svchost.exe was consuming >95% CPU on the systems rendering them unusable making it impossible to get any work done on them, so we temporarily disabled Windows Updates on the systems and rebooted them and now Scvhost.exe is down to 0% and our users can work on them again. We'll continue to monitor this thread and other news sources until a fix has been announced by Microsoft and then we'll re-enable WU on the systems.

Cheers, Mitch

Canadian Tech

It may now be 'normal' but it is just not acceptable. Why should it take so long to just get the list of updates intended for Windows 7? And then take hours to download the data files?

My W8.1 installation updated in about 20 minutes total, that's acceptable. My W10 install took about 15 minutes for the last update cycle, That's OK too. Our W7 laptop has now been running 16 hours just looking for the list - that is unacceptable.

First time to ever post here as have never had any Windows issues that necessitated a post.

I had 8 Windows 7 machines but now have only 3 and 2 of those are going to get wiped and I'm installing Linux on them after setting and waiting for 3 hours and 50 minutes checking for this months updates. Only reason I'm not wiping all 3 is one is wife's computer, but I WILL be trying to persuade her to Linux. Wifes computer has now been checking for updates for 4 hours and 30 minutes! I can install AND update Linux in the time it takes to JUST check for updates now a days.

I've had this issue of checking for updates since about last November and can not tolerate it anymore. It has been taking longer each month to check for these stupid updates.

I know MS wants to try and force people to that miserable thing called Windows 10, but I despise that piece of garbage.

I see that about the only solution to this problem is patience, but that is an absurd solution. I think switching to Linux is a heck of a lot better solution!! :)

Edit:

Wife's computer finally finished checking for updates. 6 hours and 24 minutes! Ridiculous!!

17 minutes to download/install and reboot!

A far better setting is to inform you that updates are available. That will not start the download process but should inform you that updates are available. Sometimes there are 'out of sequence' security updates that really should be installed ASAP. The setting of 'never' means you will miss those until you next manually check, leaving the computer potentially vulnerable.

So I strongly recommend the setting being Inform instead of automatic or never.

I strongly recommend you set Windows Update settings to NEVER.  If you do that, that phenomena in which an update is pending (as demonstrated by the exclamation point on the shut down button) will not occur. 

Never setting is the only way you can gain complete control over Windows Update.

We didn't have to wait until "tomorrow."  Late the same night the symbol on the START button indicated updates were available.  Responding by executing Windows Update indicated that updates were downloaded and installed.

Apparently, SWAG, automatic updates were in progress when I was trying to check for updates manually.  I have to assume that this was making my manual check for updates hang.  Of course Win7 provided no clue visible to the user of the conflict.

Thanks.