Vista: The update does not apply to your system

Hi JL3008:

I don't know of any obvious reason why the .msu installer for KB3185911 (rel. 13-Sep-2016) would not install if Windows Update has not run successfully since March 2016, unless there is some deeper problem we haven't uncovered yet (e.g., corrupted permissions in your Windows registry that prevent correct tracking of installed updates).  I re-checked the supersedence chains of both KB3185911 and KB3191203 in the Microsoft Update Catalog and neither has been replaced by a newer update.  The most common reasons for a "not applicable" warning are listed in the support article "The update is not applicable to your computer" error when you install Windows updates, and I don't think any of those reasons apply as long as you're using the correct 32-bit installer.

As one last experiment, open your IE9 browser, go to Tools | About Internet Explorer, and check if you have the latest Update Version 9.0.57 (KB3203613).  If you have an older version, save the latest 32-bit Vista SP2 .msu installer for KB3203613 (MS16-144: Security Update for Internet Explorer: December 13, 2016) from http://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=KB3203621 vista to your desktop and run it as previously instructed.

If you get another "not applicable" warning, just an FYI that there is an alternate way to search for KB3203613 if you can't find it when you search your installed updates at Control Panel | Programs | Programs and Features | View Installed Updates.  You can open an elevated command prompt (click on the Windows Start button, enter cmd in the search box, right-click on cmd.exe, and select Run as Administrator) and enter the command wmic qfe | find "KB3203621" (with quotes around the KB number) as instructed in the article Get Hotfix Information Quickly with WMIC.

I've done a bit of research on error code 8000FFFF and will post that information for you along with a further suggestion if the KB3203613 update for IE9 won't install.

32-bit Vista Home Premium SP2 * Firefox v51.0.1 * NIS v22.8.1.14 * Speccy 1.30.728

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

Hello GWN,

I've checked my installed updates and I definitely don't have kb3185911. That patch was issued in September, 2016, but my last successful update was on the 8th May 2016 (which was just Office updates), and my last Windows update was on 10th March. I've also checked my user32.dll. KB3185911 should install version 6.3.9600.18439, dated 14th August, 2016. I have version 6.0.6002.19535, dated 6th November, 2015.

Any suggestions?

Thanks.

OK. I've downloaded the two updates you referred to, and they both failed with the "update does not apply to your system" error....

Another thought has just struck me. Another suggested solution to the original problem (i.e. the slow Windows Update) that I found some months ago was to rename the SoftwareDistribution folder. I tried this and it had no effect, so I changed it back. This couldn't be the cause of the "Updates do not apply to your system" problem could it?

Hi JL3008:

You're going off in two completely different directions.  The Windows Update Standalone Installer (C:\Windows\System32\wusa.exe) that is responsible for installing the standalone .msu installers is separate from your Windows Update components.  That is why .msu files can be still be installed if you temporarily disconnect from the internet or stop your Windows Update service (wuauserv).

See my comments about MS CheckSUR (a.k.a. the System Update Readiness Tool or DISM/SURT) in moxol's thread Microsoft Fix It Windows Update Troubleshooter in the VistaForums, and please note the warning in the 2nd paragraph if you want to pursue this line of troubleshooting with PA Bear to determine the cause of your error code 8000FFFF when you run a manual Windows Update .  If the Windows Update Agent gets stuck searching the update catalog (wsusscn2.cab) before you have installed your required speed up patches then MS CheckSUR will likely time out and throw a generic error message before it is able to check the status of all your Windows Update components.

And yes, you might have caused problems when you tried to rename your C:\Windows*SoftwareDistribution* folder, especially if you failed to stop your Windows Update service (wuauserv) and the Background Intelligent Transfer service (BITS) before renaming the folder.

Before you go any further, please confirm that you followed STEP # 3 of the instructions in m#l's thread Updates not working, it has been searching for updates for hours and searched your installed updates (Control Panel | Programs | Programs and Features | View Installed Updates) for the exact string KB3185911 (and not a partial string like 3185911) as shown below.  You might need to wait a few minutes for all your 500 to 600+ installed updates to populate the window before you can start the search.

It's your choice, but until you can confirm that all your missing .msu speed up patches are installed I don't think it would be worthwhile running another Windows Update, even with Microsoft Updates temporarily disabled.

32-bit Vista Home Premium SP2 * Firefox v51.0.1 * NIS v22.8.1.14 * Speccy 1.30.728

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

Hello PA,

The first link starts a download of a digicab file. Isn't that Win7 and beyond?

The second link doesn't seem to be available to me. I get diverted to the British Microsoft home page. Strange.

I've tried searching for Fixit #50202, and the first few links I've found all refer me back to the manual steps you've linked to. However....

The third link is to the instructions I started following the other day, but stopped when appidsvc failed to deinstall. As GWN says above, this is a Win7 service, so it looks like the instructions for Vista have been hidden away somewhere.

I think tomorrow, I'll follow those instructions anyway (unless GWN comes up with something better) and just disregard the appidsvc part.

Thanks

Hello GWN,

OK. I've downloaded the two updates you referred to, and they both failed with the "update does not apply to your system" error.

For your other points:

Disk space: yeh, I know. There's a lot of stuff (music mostly, which I've already backed up on a remote drive) I can get rid of when it becomes critical.

MSOffice: I've now disabled that option in WU. Is it worth having another go at doing an update? If so, that will probably be a task for tomorrow.

Java: strange one that. The Java deinstaller identified v8 build 121. It also finds a few old versions, as you say, so I've removed them.

GeForce driver: Prior to this Windows Update problem, I kept on top of the graphics driver. I'm surprised it's reporting such an old version. I think the last update I did would have been around the time the Windows Update stopped working.

Download speed: 13.75 Mbps. Certainly a bit better than what Speccy reported!

Another thought has just struck me. Another suggested solution to the original problem (i.e. the slow Windows Update) that I found some months ago was to rename the SoftwareDistribution folder. I tried this and it had no effect, so I changed it back. This couldn't be the cause of the "Updates do not apply to your system" problem could it?

Thanks