Windows 10 Feature Update 2004 taking too long to install

May I suggest that if you don't want to be perceived as being hostile, you don't characterize someone's responses to other people as you did, and you certainly don't compare them to the son of a controversial politician? You definitely came across negatively.

Are vehicle companies required to train mechanics or even just owners? No.

When you buy a microwave/convection/air fryer or other oven, do you get a training class? No.

Are new homebuyers provided with classes by the architects, contractors, and other people involved in the creation of that home? No.

Do Cessna and other small airplane manufacturers provide training classes? No.

I cannot think of an example where a company that makes a product teaches people how to use it, although the exception would be when there is a small market for the product because people don't know how to use it at all, are resistant to change, or the marketplace otherwise need that initial push to make a product successful. Services are more likely to have some sort of class but, again, this is not common and is more likely to be to get a certification that the maker requires than for any other reason.

I agree that Microsoft, as the maker and vendor of a GUI, should be doing its best to make the experience an easy one. However, I would suggest that bad experiences are memorable, so we might want to expect MS to provide a GUI that has few, if any, problems for the average user and leave the headaches to programmers. And yet, as a former programmer, I don't think that the way Apple does things is particularly fair to them, and they certainly charge too much. The truth of the matter, as we both know, is that (in all cases that I'm aware of) MS has been more interested in money than in providing high quality software, and they helped to create the deadline-based software development cycle - a cycle that forces companies to release their product even if it's not really fully ready. This has taught consumers to accept the fact that they're going to get substandard software and that they should just accept it. But, I digress.

I could easily argue that Microsoft does make their product easy to use for the majority of people. Remember using DOS? I grew up on Tandy, Commodore and Apple II, so I remember having to type in every single command. That was not really user friendly, was it, but it sure succeeded. Even now, Linux and Unix continue to exist even where GUIs aren't overlaid. Microsoft provides a fair amount of documentation, too.  SHOULD Microsoft provide training to everyone? Ideally, yes, because that lack of computer understanding is one of the main reasons so many people and companies fall prey to malware, hackers, phishers, etc. Yet, even that doesn't make sense because it shouldn't be JUST Microsoft. It should be ALL computer manufacturers, OS makers, software makers, peripheral makers, etc. working together to provide the public with training to help fight the criminal invasions that constantly happen online. An expert once said: "Here's the solution if you don't want your computer to be compromised: Never plug it into the Internet." A more extreme response I've heard is: "Never turn it on." The former is increasingly not viable in an Internet-turned-storage-and-service space (I cringe at the cloud because of my understanding of security) - making it like the old days of LANs and terminals, and the latter is just a joke, but is actually accurate. The only way to avoid many of the problems of computing is to not use  a computer (but that doesn't exempt you from problems, because computers are omnipresent and we're constantly being monitored in so many ways).

I'm not quite sure why you placed Vista as being before '98, but I'm guessing you didn't realize you did that.

I've never been happy with Microsoft. I used to edit the MS Windows load screen to say "Microsloth" because I was so tired of all the problems.

I'm not saying that this isn't MS's fault - I'm just saying that for SOME people, it is NOT MS's fault because they can't set up their software for every possible configuration, a nearly infinite number for practical purposes, and never will be until an AI of sufficient capability is doing the work. To suggest otherwise is, for me, not realistic. For some users, the problems are because of their lack of understanding - not just of how to maintain their computer but that they NEED to maintain it. Since the advent of plastic, the world has moved more and more towards a disposable economy. Entire sectors are driven by disposability, planned obsolescence and other things that increase sales at the cost of wasting natural resources and increasing garbage. Broken TV? It may be cheaper to buy a new one - toss it! Did your child's favorite toy break? That's ok - a replacement is cheap! Many people don't even consider the true cost of what they're throwing away, attempt to recycle it, or even donate it. I am sure that "sanitation engineers" (what you and I used to call garbagemen) constantly see perfectly good stuff dumped in the garbage. Thus, with this throw-it-away mentality, people don't generally try to learn much, especially with something that is more challenging and the documentation doesn't guide you to maintain it. How many people know that they should periodically defrag an HDD? Or that they should run software to get rid of trash, temp files, the Internet cache, old update files and other "garbage" BEFORE that? Or, that you don't need to defrag an SSD? Does Windows come with documentation that explains that when you start using it? Is it presented when you boot up? Do you get a notification that it's time? Nope. Windows, I agree, is woefully full of shortcomings like that. Nevertheless, that doesn't mean that Microsoft is obliged to train every user, as I already stated. The world doesn't work that way. In almost all situations, if people want to know how to use something correctly, they read a manual, observe others doing it, watch a video, ask an expert, do research and/or take classes.

I don't think you're going to agree with what I've written any more than you did the first time. MS doesn't get a pass - but users need to educate themselves. The fact that they don't know that they should make sure that their system is ready for an update is something that should be addressed by the update service prior to offering to install. The update service should verify that there is sufficient space on the drive and that hardware and software specs are met. I can't even begin to remember how many times I installed something only to discover, after the fact, that it wasn't compatible. Heck, buying software is fraught with that risk. I have a few video games I can't play because I forgot that my video RAM isn't sufficient. There have been a FEW times when the installer refused to finish an install because of a problem. When Windows 10 started being pushed, the software that checked for compatibility told me that my old laptop couldn't use it because of hardware incompatibility. Why doesn't the WUAU run a compatibility/readiness check every time? This would make sense and would certainly spare many users problems, and yet....We run into the problem, again, that software cannot predict/discover every possible problem. If WUAU did this check, how long do you think it might take to check for every possible problem? Just checking hardware shouldn't take much time, assuming that ALL hardware manufacturers have registered with MS (which is not the case), but then there's all the software, the glitches, the problems created by software, hardware and users, and so on...It would certainly take more than an hour, possibly several, and some users would get tired of waiting because there's no way for the software to accurately predict how long it would take to find things the software hasn't found yet. I used to make jokes about how Microsoft "time" during installs and such was from an alternate reality or whatever but the truth is that there are so many variables that cannot be found ahead of looking. So, sure, MS bears responsibility, but you're expecting something that is not currently possible. A doctor cannot figure out someone's ailment without examining them, possibly running tests, doing x-rays/CT scans/MRs, can they? Can a doctor accurately predict how long it'll take? Not usually. Does the doctor always get it right? No. I have a friend who has been struggling for MANY years now with health problems and doctors STILL don't know what it is beyond a very vague term, or how to treat it.

Since installing 2004, I've been having problems, especially with Chrome using huge amounts of memory and hogging the CPU. I don't know what the problem is but it's frustrating me. Did MS create the problem, or is there an incompatibility created by something else in my laptop? I don't know. Could it be malware? Maybe. Antimalware software can't catch every bug.

In a marriage, the problems are never one-sided, although sometimes they are awfully close to it. The blame cannot be put fully on MS. Hardware manufacturers, software develops and users are also culpable. To say otherwise is to mislead and enable users to continue to operate in darkness as if the computer is a magical box. I am not blaming users, but I've done enough customer support to know that a lot of users know next to nothing about computers and create a lot of problems. Are the 2004 update issues because of users? Sometimes, but my guess is that MS dropped the ball on this. It's been how many months since it was released and I only just got it, some people haven't been able to install it, and some people require 3-4 days to install it.

I absolutely understand your frustration, and your irritation with MS. I've been using Windows since 3.1, and computers since before that, and there've been times when I've wanted to blow my computer up or shove it **** of Gates, or Apple, or whoever...Once upon a time, backing away from computers was still a possibility, but now it's almost impossible to avoid them. So, we must adapt. We must become smarter users and learn to understand how to take care of the hardware and software we rely on. To fail to do so is not the failure of who makes it - it is our own failure.

Now that is way too much information. I'm gonna go back and finish reading it, but "because they can't set up their software for every possible configuration" is my problem with what you are saying. This thread isn't about setting up, and/or, configuring a system. IT IS ABOUT INSTALLING AN UPDATE ON AN ALREADY CONFIGURED SYSTEM!!!! Do you work for MS? That gibborish makes as much sense as that idiot politician's son does! I don't wanna be insulting, but Glenn, really? This ain't about toasters, or cars, or steamships. It's an update! One of my customers, a pure novice, started the update with me on Teamviewer, and it got to 70% and stayed there. I had seen that exact same issue, so I told him, give it time, and it'll finish. It did. Another customer, the one I mentioned earlier, I told him last night to unplug the computer to stop the update that got to 84% at 6:00 yesterday morning, and was still there at 6:30 PM last evening. The computer restarted, I told him not to do anything with the update, I'll do it when I can see him Friday afternoon. I am gonna run it with the MCT and be done with it. There are apparently some corruption in the WU files that blocked the feature update.

Look, I get your passion, but you were wrong to intimate that there was orthodoxy in the way this update is acting. This is on MS..., PERIOD. Now, I'm done with this conversation.

May I suggest that if you don't want to be perceived as being hostile, you don't characterize someone's responses to other people as you did, and you certainly don't compare them to the son of a controversial politician? You definitely came across negatively.

Are vehicle companies required to train mechanics or even just owners? No.

When you buy a microwave/convection/air fryer or other oven, do you get a training class? No.

Are new homebuyers provided with classes by the architects, contractors, and other people involved in the creation of that home? No.

Do Cessna and other small airplane manufacturers provide training classes? No.

I cannot think of an example where a company that makes a product teaches people how to use it, although the exception would be when there is a small market for the product because people don't know how to use it at all, are resistant to change, or the marketplace otherwise need that initial push to make a product successful. Services are more likely to have some sort of class but, again, this is not common and is more likely to be to get a certification that the maker requires than for any other reason.

I agree that Microsoft, as the maker and vendor of a GUI, should be doing its best to make the experience an easy one. However, I would suggest that bad experiences are memorable, so we might want to expect MS to provide a GUI that has few, if any, problems for the average user and leave the headaches to programmers. And yet, as a former programmer, I don't think that the way Apple does things is particularly fair to them, and they certainly charge too much. The truth of the matter, as we both know, is that (in all cases that I'm aware of) MS has been more interested in money than in providing high quality software, and they helped to create the deadline-based software development cycle - a cycle that forces companies to release their product even if it's not really fully ready. This has taught consumers to accept the fact that they're going to get substandard software and that they should just accept it. But, I digress.

I could easily argue that Microsoft does make their product easy to use for the majority of people. Remember using DOS? I grew up on Tandy, Commodore and Apple II, so I remember having to type in every single command. That was not really user friendly, was it, but it sure succeeded. Even now, Linux and Unix continue to exist even where GUIs aren't overlaid. Microsoft provides a fair amount of documentation, too.  SHOULD Microsoft provide training to everyone? Ideally, yes, because that lack of computer understanding is one of the main reasons so many people and companies fall prey to malware, hackers, phishers, etc. Yet, even that doesn't make sense because it shouldn't be JUST Microsoft. It should be ALL computer manufacturers, OS makers, software makers, peripheral makers, etc. working together to provide the public with training to help fight the criminal invasions that constantly happen online. An expert once said: "Here's the solution if you don't want your computer to be compromised: Never plug it into the Internet." A more extreme response I've heard is: "Never turn it on." The former is increasingly not viable in an Internet-turned-storage-and-service space (I cringe at the cloud because of my understanding of security) - making it like the old days of LANs and terminals, and the latter is just a joke, but is actually accurate. The only way to avoid many of the problems of computing is to not use  a computer (but that doesn't exempt you from problems, because computers are omnipresent and we're constantly being monitored in so many ways).

I'm not quite sure why you placed Vista as being before '98, but I'm guessing you didn't realize you did that.

I've never been happy with Microsoft. I used to edit the MS Windows load screen to say "Microsloth" because I was so tired of all the problems.

I'm not saying that this isn't MS's fault - I'm just saying that for SOME people, it is NOT MS's fault because they can't set up their software for every possible configuration, a nearly infinite number for practical purposes, and never will be until an AI of sufficient capability is doing the work. To suggest otherwise is, for me, not realistic. For some users, the problems are because of their lack of understanding - not just of how to maintain their computer but that they NEED to maintain it. Since the advent of plastic, the world has moved more and more towards a disposable economy. Entire sectors are driven by disposability, planned obsolescence and other things that increase sales at the cost of wasting natural resources and increasing garbage. Broken TV? It may be cheaper to buy a new one - toss it! Did your child's favorite toy break? That's ok - a replacement is cheap! Many people don't even consider the true cost of what they're throwing away, attempt to recycle it, or even donate it. I am sure that "sanitation engineers" (what you and I used to call garbagemen) constantly see perfectly good stuff dumped in the garbage. Thus, with this throw-it-away mentality, people don't generally try to learn much, especially with something that is more challenging and the documentation doesn't guide you to maintain it. How many people know that they should periodically defrag an HDD? Or that they should run software to get rid of trash, temp files, the Internet cache, old update files and other "garbage" BEFORE that? Or, that you don't need to defrag an SSD? Does Windows come with documentation that explains that when you start using it? Is it presented when you boot up? Do you get a notification that it's time? Nope. Windows, I agree, is woefully full of shortcomings like that. Nevertheless, that doesn't mean that Microsoft is obliged to train every user, as I already stated. The world doesn't work that way. In almost all situations, if people want to know how to use something correctly, they read a manual, observe others doing it, watch a video, ask an expert, do research and/or take classes.

I don't think you're going to agree with what I've written any more than you did the first time. MS doesn't get a pass - but users need to educate themselves. The fact that they don't know that they should make sure that their system is ready for an update is something that should be addressed by the update service prior to offering to install. The update service should verify that there is sufficient space on the drive and that hardware and software specs are met. I can't even begin to remember how many times I installed something only to discover, after the fact, that it wasn't compatible. Heck, buying software is fraught with that risk. I have a few video games I can't play because I forgot that my video RAM isn't sufficient. There have been a FEW times when the installer refused to finish an install because of a problem. When Windows 10 started being pushed, the software that checked for compatibility told me that my old laptop couldn't use it because of hardware incompatibility. Why doesn't the WUAU run a compatibility/readiness check every time? This would make sense and would certainly spare many users problems, and yet....We run into the problem, again, that software cannot predict/discover every possible problem. If WUAU did this check, how long do you think it might take to check for every possible problem? Just checking hardware shouldn't take much time, assuming that ALL hardware manufacturers have registered with MS (which is not the case), but then there's all the software, the glitches, the problems created by software, hardware and users, and so on...It would certainly take more than an hour, possibly several, and some users would get tired of waiting because there's no way for the software to accurately predict how long it would take to find things the software hasn't found yet. I used to make jokes about how Microsoft "time" during installs and such was from an alternate reality or whatever but the truth is that there are so many variables that cannot be found ahead of looking. So, sure, MS bears responsibility, but you're expecting something that is not currently possible. A doctor cannot figure out someone's ailment without examining them, possibly running tests, doing x-rays/CT scans/MRs, can they? Can a doctor accurately predict how long it'll take? Not usually. Does the doctor always get it right? No. I have a friend who has been struggling for MANY years now with health problems and doctors STILL don't know what it is beyond a very vague term, or how to treat it.

Since installing 2004, I've been having problems, especially with Chrome using huge amounts of memory and hogging the CPU. I don't know what the problem is but it's frustrating me. Did MS create the problem, or is there an incompatibility created by something else in my laptop? I don't know. Could it be malware? Maybe. Antimalware software can't catch every bug.

In a marriage, the problems are never one-sided, although sometimes they are awfully close to it. The blame cannot be put fully on MS. Hardware manufacturers, software develops and users are also culpable. To say otherwise is to mislead and enable users to continue to operate in darkness as if the computer is a magical box. I am not blaming users, but I've done enough customer support to know that a lot of users know next to nothing about computers and create a lot of problems. Are the 2004 update issues because of users? Sometimes, but my guess is that MS dropped the ball on this. It's been how many months since it was released and I only just got it, some people haven't been able to install it, and some people require 3-4 days to install it.

I absolutely understand your frustration, and your irritation with MS. I've been using Windows since 3.1, and computers since before that, and there've been times when I've wanted to blow my computer up or shove it **** of Gates, or Apple, or whoever...Once upon a time, backing away from computers was still a possibility, but now it's almost impossible to avoid them. So, we must adapt. We must become smarter users and learn to understand how to take care of the hardware and software we rely on. To fail to do so is not the failure of who makes it - it is our own failure.

Please see my comment to Lance above this one regarding the unorthodoxy of my procedure. :)

Yeah, I saw that, and I think, well, you should have just let that one slide. You are trying to help, and you believe that we should just buy this, lock, stock, and barrel, and just sell ourselves out. Yeah, there are as many configurations, as there are users, but isn't that what MS is supposed to address? As an "Insider" both Windows and Office 365 (Microsoft), I can attest to many, many, MANY, issues with updates, installs, 3rd party software, drivers, et al. But I do what I do so that maybe something I learned can help someone on this forum, or others. MS pays big money to people who are supposed to address our concerns. To tell someone to just stick it isn't an amicable solution. You sound like Donald Trump, Jr! 

This update issue is not unique, but it certainly isn't the norm. My system updated Sunday morning, in about 1.5 hours. It restarted several times, but I have the latest build. I have a friend, whose system I maintain, that started this morning at 6, and he called me at 12:30 saying it was stuck on 84%. I told him to just let it run, and if it is still running in an hour, I'll come to him to see what I can do. But I wouldn't tell him that this is normal, because it's not.

Ok, I don't get your hostility. I'm writing as a former IT guy, and I'm neither telling people to selling themselves out, nor am I telling anyone to stick it. I don't know where you got that from, but you have clearly misinferred something I wrote. I figured out a way to get 2004 to install, I shared that info in the hopes that it would help others, and I explained - especially for those who are NOT IT skilled - why there's no way MS can produce a solution that will work for every computer. As an IT professional, you know that what I wrote is correct. That you're trying to help others is wonderful and I applaud that effort - I'm trying to do the same thing.

But, please, reread what I wrote and tell me where it was that I told people "sell out", "stick it" or that I behaved like Donnie Jr, because I cannot fathom where such a vitriolic series of claims came from.

OK, let's back this train up. There's no hostility, first. Second, YOU said "However, it's not the responsibility of computer and OS manufacturers to train each user - its their own responsibility and, with all the free and paid resources online and offline, there really aren't a lot of excuses that can be leveraged once someone has been online long enough aside from low IQ, a lack of confidence to explore and learn, fear of tech, having been mollycoddled to the point that they always rely on others to do things for them, etc. Of them all, only low IQ can form a permanent barrier to proper computer use, and millions, if not billions, have malware secretly installed on their computers because they don't know that the Internet is full of hidden nasties, especially on websites that provide gray and black market items." 

That, to me, is throwing in the towel and telling everybody to sink, or swim. Fact is, it IS MS responsibility to assure that every customer's experience is a memorable one, not a nightmare. And we are still talking about "updates". As an IT person, you have, no doubt, seen the lion's share of issues caused BY updates. But this is a problem WITH the update. Do you remember why Windows 8 was such a short-lived experience? Or go back to Win 2000, Win Millennium. Total nightmares! After Vista, no one thought the experience could be so cumbersome, and then along came '98. All of these were busts, and MS knew it. They took note of the customers dismay, and they fixed the problem. They did not send everybody a "This is the only way you can use this OS", notification. And you know that. I'm not trying to drag you down, but don't make excuses for a system that is clearly failing. Tell the respondents to install this update with the MCT tool. Something other than "it ain't MS fault". It IS MS fault! You know this, and THEY know this. I have confidence that they will address this issue, but no one should feel that they are dumba$$es because of a screwed up update stream from MS. That's all I am saying. This isn't against you, but don't make it about you. I've been in telecommunications/IT for 51 years, and I've seen many iterations of buck passing, and MS doesn't get a pass. Like I said, I'm an Insider and my feedback is not gonna blame anyone's computer!

Please see my comment to Lance above this one regarding the unorthodoxy of my procedure. :)

Yeah, I saw that, and I think, well, you should have just let that one slide. You are trying to help, and you believe that we should just buy this, lock, stock, and barrel, and just sell ourselves out. Yeah, there are as many configurations, as there are users, but isn't that what MS is supposed to address? As an "Insider" both Windows and Office 365 (Microsoft), I can attest to many, many, MANY, issues with updates, installs, 3rd party software, drivers, et al. But I do what I do so that maybe something I learned can help someone on this forum, or others. MS pays big money to people who are supposed to address our concerns. To tell someone to just stick it isn't an amicable solution. You sound like Donald Trump, Jr! 

This update issue is not unique, but it certainly isn't the norm. My system updated Sunday morning, in about 1.5 hours. It restarted several times, but I have the latest build. I have a friend, whose system I maintain, that started this morning at 6, and he called me at 12:30 saying it was stuck on 84%. I told him to just let it run, and if it is still running in an hour, I'll come to him to see what I can do. But I wouldn't tell him that this is normal, because it's not.

Ok, I don't get your hostility. I'm writing as a former IT guy, and I'm neither telling people to selling themselves out, nor am I telling anyone to stick it. I don't know where you got that from, but you have clearly misinferred something I wrote. I figured out a way to get 2004 to install, I shared that info in the hopes that it would help others, and I explained - especially for those who are NOT IT skilled - why there's no way MS can produce a solution that will work for every computer. As an IT professional, you know that what I wrote is correct. That you're trying to help others is wonderful and I applaud that effort - I'm trying to do the same thing.

But, please, reread what I wrote and tell me where it was that I told people "sell out", "stick it" or that I behaved like Donnie Jr, because I cannot fathom where such a vitriolic series of claims came from.

Oh, I didn't realize that the computer you're trying to update is the one with all the tools of your trade. That REALLY sucks and I sure hope you manage to figure out the problem. I also understand your frustration 100% - I used to do IT (I've given up because my memory is getting too flaky) and I always hated struggling with problems with Windows. I still hate it, so I really sympathize with you.