Windows Update Hangs

I am afraid you do not completely understand how these settings work.  Never is the only setting that will give you control.  In my original post, I explained this.  You can test it for yourself to see it.

If you choose “check for updates, but let me choose whether to download and install them”, Microsoft will download “important” updates like KB3035583 to your computer.  It will be pre-checked — selected.  Unless you check Windows Update (WU) and discover this BEFORE you shut down, it will install it during the shut-down process.

So, inspite of your strong recommendation, I would insist on the Never setting. 

Never does not mean you will never check for updates.  I strongly recommend you do this once a month sometime shortly after the 2nd Tuesday.  Never means Microsoft is never allowed control and only you have that control.

I have ALWAYS had my settings set for never checking, as I have ALWAYS done this manually.

Should not make a lick of difference f it's set to check for them but let me decide.

I would be very interested in your Linux conversion.  I have tried it myself and concluded that the average user could not manage it.  I'd like to know if your wife can?

This problem should only be experienced once per month. Then it can be done on an over-night basis. 

Check to see if KB3102810 is installed.  If not, download it directly and install it.

The WU process does not use more than 25 to 50% if CPU.  When you see 100% it is because someone has rebooted and re-started the process, thereby creating two processes.

I am afraid you do not completely understand how these settings work.  Never is the only setting that will give you control.  In my original post, I explained this.  You can test it for yourself to see it.

If you choose “check for updates, but let me choose whether to download and install them”, Microsoft will download “important” updates like KB3035583 to your computer.  It will be pre-checked — selected.  Unless you check Windows Update (WU) and discover this BEFORE you shut down, it will install it during the shut-down process.

So, inspite of your strong recommendation, I would insist on the Never setting. 

Never does not mean you will never check for updates.  I strongly recommend you do this once a month sometime shortly after the 2nd Tuesday.  Never means Microsoft is never allowed control and only you have that control.

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