Windows Updates hanging and not downloading?

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Hi guys,

As you know Win7 is crappy with Windows Updates, yesterday i installed it and it can't even updates itself (unlike with Win10 which was flawless)

So after long searches , i found a way , follow this guide and it "should" solve the issue:

Search for Windows Updates takes forever? - A possible solution

so i downloaded and installed the march 2016 KB and after 30mn WU finally decided to download those needed updates...
 

JakeXPMan

Level 17
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Well-known
Oct 20, 2014
804
My Windows 7 update fix is needed every month, happends only during the patch security updates, not windows defender etc.

1. First disable screensaver and switch powers saving settings to NEVER. (Fix only works with no screensaver or standby)

2. Go to services and disable or set to manual "background transfer" and "windows update".

3. Head to windows folder on your drive, locate software distribution folder rename it as (old) or send to recycle bin.

4. Then download the windows update tool fix, (run as administrator) fix whatever it finds. After running the tool it should start to rebuild folder and files (check CPU in task manager)

If CPU is 1-2% Go to windows updates and click check updates. The CPU should spike after 10-30 mins and wait... wait for 45 mins, or up to 4 hours. CPU staying high is normal wait it out.

Bam!
FIXED at least until a month or two... then repeat and fix again.

Shouldn't take more then 4 hours I think.

Then after the updates are done, you can put your screensaver and power saver back on its usual settings. Delete old distribution folder if you dont want it.
 

FrankS

Level 3
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Well-known
Dec 22, 2015
148
Have I understood that correctly? You couldn't get Windows Updates for Windows after a clean/fresh installation of it?
If I remember Windows Update worked well on Windows 7. After the passage of time many updates have been installed, I reset Windows Update by using the Windows Update Restore Tool from MSHelper (was originally for Windows XP but worked also for Vista and 7).
 

Vipersd

Level 6
Verified
Dec 14, 2014
285
Mine took 14 hours yesterday and CPU was around 95-100%, disabled everything except Avast and closed all programs.

Damn Microsoft.
 
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jelson

Level 2
Jun 14, 2011
54
Before Patch Tuesday (Aug 13) a "Check for updates" took less than 5 minutes. BUT that changed... as it has many times these last 6+ months. Today, the update scan was "active" (churning CPU cycles) for over 4 hrs before I aborted it. As before, the fix is simple... (also mentioned in another MT post which contains reference URLs)

For a Win7 machine that was fully patched the previous month, there's 1 security update that needs to be installed first* to keeping Windows Update from spinning its wheels for hours:

  • Sep, it is KB3185911 - MS Graphics Component update.
  • Aug, it was KB3177725 - Windows kernel-mode driver update.
  • July, it was KB3168965 - Windows kernel-mode driver update.
  • June, it was KB3161664 - Windows kernel-mode driver update.
  • May, it was KB3153199 - Windows kernel-mode driver update.
  • April, it was KB3145739 - MS Graphics Component update.
  • March, it was KB3138612 - March WU Client update.
It seems like the problem appears whenever there an update in the current crop that replaces Win32k.sys (from what I've been reading, the problem's likely with WU supersedence chain.)

NOTE: to avoid the long initial wait:
  1. Download the needed update manually either via MS Update Catalog (uses IE) or via the links on page Umbra mentioned in post #1
  2. Stop the Windows Update service.*
  3. Disable internet access (unplug ethernet cable or turn off WIFI)*
  4. Manually install the needed update.
  5. Re-enable internet access and reboot.
* If Windows Update service is running or there is internet access, any manual install of an update will result in your being greeting with a "Checking for updates" dialog that takes hours and hours to complete.

For a fresh install of Win7 SP1 -- or machines which haven't been updated for awhile, there's another bit to the story: the Windows Update Agent in place with a fresh Win7 SP1 install has become broken.

You can check wuaueng.dll in your "Windows\system32" folder: ver. 7.6.7600.320 is the broken one. The basic fix is to first install KB3020369 - April 2015 servicing stack update - followed by KB3138612 - March WU Client update. (More information & reference URLs in another MT post.)

Update: today on InfoWorld, "KB 3185911 speeds up the Windows 7 scan for updates"
 
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jelson

Level 2
Jun 14, 2011
54
Just an update on the bottleneck in the Windows Updates as well as details on its mechanisms: Why is checking Windows Update so slow? In the first Answer, we learn:
Windows 7 uses Component-Based Servicing, which means Windows Update has to work ridiculously hard to determine file and component dependencies/inter-dependencies, maintain side-by-side versions of older files/components, while still making it possible to uninstall individual updates/components but without breaking any other updates/components, all the while taking into account supercedence and god knows what else. The code that does all this must be hellishly complex.
Of particular interest, in a latter Answer, is this:

When you use ETW/WPR/WPA to check for the CPU usage during the scan you see that the CPU usage comes from wuaueng.dll!CUpdatesToPruneList::AddSupersedenceInfoIfNeeded which is called from wuaueng.dll!CAgentUpdateManager::FindUpdates.

The AddSupersedenceInfoIfNeeded method is the slowest thing. This does what the name indicates and looks if the offered/installed Windows 7 updates are still needed or superseded (outdated/replaced by newer ones). This is very slow.
 
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