Strange behavior of Updates during recent installs

I've started noticing this recently and I don't know whether it has to do with an Update that was pushed through which changed the way Updates are delivered into new installs, or whether the slipstreaming method used in Update 7 installation media is fouling out Updates actual delivery. Let me describe what happens to see if anyone else recognizes it:

Updates are set to Automatic choosing "Use Recommended Settings" or "Install Important Updates" during the OS install so are presumably downloading in the background as soon as the new install gets online.



Then doing a Check For Updates begins an endless loop that may not resolve at all until one notices that there is a yellow ! on the Shutdown button which begins install of a large group of Updates. Today it was 189. So I shutdown and these tick through the entire 189 but at restart quite a few are logged Failed. So I again Check for Updates and this time it says 72 available, but when I select them and start their download, it again stalls at 0% - the tray icon agrees. Soon the yellow ! appears on Shutdown button again and I shut down to see 72 Updates appear to be installing.

The past few installs where this has happened it was a daylong struggle to get them all in. But they eventually all were installed and I could then choose the Optional - which tells me that Important are self-installing without regard to User input. If I had have waited they may have all installed at once queued by the Shutdown button. In the past the Checking for Updates process wasn't as overridden by the Shutdown button "queue."

I wonder if this can be remedied by setting Updates to "Ask Me Later" during the WIn7 install?

I also wonder if this is caused by the slipstreaming of recent Updates using Update 7 installation media since I did all of them up through April in the most recent ISO, yet there are at least 189 trying to install. What's weird is that the ISO for 32 bit Home Premium I slipstreamed is 3gb while the bare ISO is 2.38gb so the updates appear to be slipped in but must have fouled out - so I gotta wonder if something about the slipstreaming process (it is modded) is also fouling their install later too. What do you think?

I get a strange feeling they dropped in a contolljng Update that puts Important Updates into the background like 8 and 10. If set to Auto then just wait them out and Shutdown. Later you get to Check and do Optional.

The only disks I have are simply slipstreamed SP1, but I've encountered a similar scenario though the SP1 took. I've also had enough problems with failed massive updates requiring reversion, even after doing a lot of the updating with WSUS Offline, that I decided never to set auto updating until the system was topped off. The Automatic setting running in the b/g seems to interfere with manual updating, so Windows runs both processes concurrently. Instead I "Check but don't Install". Then I will install the updates in two or three passes, to minimize errors and reversions. In fact, with the number of problematic MS updates lately, now including the preps for Win X, I have been permanently leaving it on "Check but don't Install", and check on it weekly.

Strange that after the second batch queued on Shutdown button I turned off Auto Updates and then at reboot thought I was going to get to Check for Updates, which found 62 including the elusive 6 optional I never get to choose yet. But again these sat at 0% until I notice the Yellow ! on SHutdown button which installed them all. So much for turning off Auto Updating.

Alas, after that 62 I check for Updates and there is only 1 Important and the 6 Optional so I choose them all and they finally install having apparently already downloaded somewhere in between. Here endeth the latest episode some 6 hours later.

I also notice that a requested restart for touchpad driver didn't install the Updates queued on the Shutdown button. They really want Shutdown, probably not to inconvenience user with long waits.

This is some kind of change since it only began happening in the last year that I noticed. Am I wrong to rely on the screen shown in my OP to deselect AUto updating going forward. I actually need to jump into Update settings as soon as I get to desktop to set to Download but Let me Choose?

Thanks.

I've had reliable results with the Ask Me Later option, but I definitely have had plenty of instances where subsequent installation of some MS stuff will mess with the settings. MSE does this without fail, which is no longer a problem since I stopped using it.

I also noticed three months ago that the size of the downloads jumped. I used to have only ~120MB to download. Now it's closer to 280.

SP2 is not going to happen IMV, because MS is clearly putting the squeeze on W7 in several ways.

If others are experiencing this I wonder if I need to change the Updates instructions in Clean Reinstall Windows 7 to add more than just the existing warning to always check Shutdown button for queued Updates, and if they get bunched up to Shutdown to clear them. I am hesitant to instruct others to turn off Automatic Updates since they eventually catch up if allowed to work in background and Shutdown notification is heeded. Any suggestions for wording changes would be appreciated.

When updates are installing you can View Update History to see what is and has been installed for the "current running update".
You will see a status of Successful, Pending, or Failed for all the updates that have been processed.
Updates with a status of Pending require a restart to complete the update.
Refresh the window to update the History list periodically to get the latest view.

I don't know if this helps, but that's how i keep on eye on status when i run WU.