Vista: The update does not apply to your system

Hi JL3008:

Your main concern at the moment isn't that Vista SP2 will stop receiving security updates when extended support ends on 11-Apr-2017.  Your main concern is that your system hasn't received a security update for Vista SP2 or your IE9 browser since March 2016, so your system is already insecure and has been for almost a year.

If your BSODs are caused by faulty hardware that wasn't red-flagged in your Speccy profile, that still would not explain why System File Checker throws an error when you try to check the integrity of your system files, or why standalone .msu installers for important security updates that are missing from your system (including the latest cumulative security update for your IE9 browser) will not install.

Your Norton Security scan did not detect any malware, but that does not exclude the possibility that you are infected by a hidden rootkit or bootkit or some other malware [I run the occasional on-demand scan with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware to see if it can detect any potentially unwanted programs (PUPs) or malware missed by Norton].

Since you don't want to have the dump files from your BSODs analyzed, my only other suggestion is that you start a new topic in the bleepingcomputer Virus, Trojan, Spyware, and Malware Removal Logs board and have a trained malware removal specialist work with you one-on-one to see if you have any undetected malware on your computer.  Follow the Preparation Guide pinned at the top of that board that includes instructions on how to post a detailed diagnostic log generated with the Farbar Recovery Scan Tool (FRST). If the FRST diagnostic doesn't show any signs of a malware infection, it might still uncover the reason why System File Checker will not run on your system.  Once the malware removal specialist assigned to your case has confirmed that your system is clean you can come back to this thread and let us know their findings.

32-bit Vista Home Premium SP2 * Firefox v51.0.1 * NIS v22.9.0.68 * MBAM v2.2.1

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

57 days & counting...

Thanks for all your help with this problem. Next time I get a BSOD, I'll start a new topic on bleepingcomputer...

I've tried running the WSUS Offline Update tool, just to see what happened. It claimed to have installed a few things (kb3191203, for example), but I can't see any evidence for it.

Hi JL3008:

Just an FYI that you don't have to wait for a new BSOD before you post in bleepingcomputer.  They can analyze the dump files for your past BSODs and see if there is one particular driver or file that is causing the BSODs.

I haven't tried Torsten Wittrock's **WSUS Offline Update** tool, but it's a two-step process (i.e., download first with UpdateGenerator.exe, then run UpdateInstaller.exe from the Client folder to finish the installation) that seems to confuse most first-time users.  If any updates are installed I assume they'd be listed at Control Panel | Programs | Programs and Features | View Installed Updates after a re-boot.  I'm not certain, but I recall reading somewhere that you have to run the tool more than once on a Vista SP2 machine before you're fully up-to-date.

Read through vista134's thread How I got clean install of Vista Ultimate SP2 to install updates... and post there if you aren't sure if you're using this tool correctly.  You should also be able to find help in the Installation / Updating board of the WSUS Offline Update forum - Dalai works closely with Torsten and is a regular contributor in that forum.

32-bit Vista Home Premium SP2 * Firefox v51.0.1 * NIS v22.9.0.68 * MBAM v2.2.1

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

if it's having trouble powering up without BSOD after an extended period of being off

another place to look, is the PSU

PSU also have caps and have been known to go poof (especially from that vintage when bad caps were common)

depending on the model PSU you may or may not be able to see inside without actually opening it

if it's not providing the necessary startup voltage because the caps in the PSU aren't performing correctly

this can cause BSOD

Vista is really grumpy about power requirements

slight deviations can cause all sorts of problems