It's time for Microsoft to fix the Windows 7 update slowdowns

[Lady Fitzgerald]

I haven't had any of the huge slowdowns many people have been reporting but that may be because I wait until the weekend, after most people have already done their downloads (although they do seem a bit slower but I haven't been timing them since I just start the process, then ignore it until it is done).

Yeah, I've considered it could be the time you choose also. But when I got up @ 7 AM on Sun & tried to d/l them, same problem all the live long day. I've experimented with various times & it's basically turning into a crapshoot from what I see. This is the first time I've seen them take this long. I've seen them in the past take as long as 3 hours to finish d/l ing for my 7 OS's.

Oh well, 'twas but a theory.

 

[Borg 386]

Oh well, 'twas but a theory.

It's still a valid one. There's no denying there are times when the updater works good, far & few between as those times are getting. So maybe it'll end up like the gas shortage in the 70's where Win 7 users are only allowed to update on certain days/hours. :sarc:

Well, time to upgrade the 7 32 & 64 on this PC. Oy Vey Thanks you for the help/suggestions everyone. Not sure what is going on with the update situation when it comes to 7, but it's becoming a bigger problem as time goes on. I'm afraid to see what it'll be like 2 or 3 months from now unless MS decides to fix it.

 

[Borg 386]

BTW, I noticed that on both the 7 32 & the 7 64, the update KB3146706 is unchecked. Couldn't confirm it on the 64 till I got the updater to work, but it is unchecked there also.

I saw someone mentioned in a post it added to the boot times.

 

[ThrashZone]

Yes that one was also unchecked from the others on the list that came up for me as well

I loaded it after the first round though it just restarted twice is all.

 

[ThrashZone]

I didn't notice any boot time issues ?

 

[ThrashZone]

Should work
I did have to get net 4.5.2 on my 32 bit machine before it did work
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=42642

The problem I'm having is not just on the 7 32, but the 7 64 as well. Anything 7 just doesn't want to update well anymore.

I will note I have seen rare occasions where I go to check for updates & I get them within 5 or 10 mins. Like someone decided to throw a switch & open the door to the update section for 7. But those moments have faded to less & less instances as the months have gone by.

Hate to say it but from the looks of it, didn't do anything for me. Thank you for the suggestion though. Much appreciated.

Edit: I take that back Thrash. I just rebooted the machine for the 3rd time since applying your fix, checked the update history & launched the updater again & I'm seeing some d/l's presented now. Thank you, I believe that may have helped. This was on the 64 machine, I applied the patch but didn't change the net since it wasn't on the 32. Now I'll see how long it takes me to get the actual updates.

EDIT: Well, up to 66% in about 5 mins, so far, so good. Thanks again for the suggestion. Now well see what happens on my 32 OS machine when I try that next.

Looking at MSE def updates on my 64 machine, I see they successfully updated on April 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10 & 12. They Failed on the 16th & the 8th.

Ha missed your edit
Dump windows defender mate asap

 

[ThrashZone]

Avoid checking for updates manually

Finally found the original source of the workaround culling through a bunch of quotes......

Source

Reports coming from users running Windows 7 reveal that Windows Update hangs when checking for updates or when downloading them, and the svchost.exe process CPU usage skyrockets to 100 percent.
Avoid checking for updates manually At this point, it’s not yet clear why this is happening, but after trying the common workarounds, some users have decided to disable Windows Update and wait for a fix to be provided. Most likely, this is a server-side issue that’s going to be addressed soon, but for the moment, it blocks users from installing updates that would patch critical vulnerabilities in their software.
“Having same exact issue. Last month it took the most 10 minutes to show my updates. It has been 4 hours now and it is still ‘checking for updates.’ The service is running my CPU 50 %,” one user explained.

From Chooky in the comments and s/he links to another website I'm not going to link too seems a weird one

Hello

To resolve this issue : first install KB3145739.
Next you should restart and then you can check for updates in manual mode.
It takes between 5 or 10 minutes.

It worked for me on Windows 7 x86 and x64.

Just to add a tad more detail you need to change the update setting to Never check for updates first and restart
Then run the kb suggested from here and restart when prompted too,
Then you can switch back to what ever update settings you had prior and manually check for updates
https://technet.microsoft.com/library/security/MS16-039?f=255&MSPPError=-2147217396

 

[UsernameIssues]

Installing KB3145739 did not help me on a fresh install. WU was set to never check for updates and then the computer was restarted. The KB was installed and a manual check for updates requested an update to the WU agent. After that update, the high CPU/RAM usage and long search time problems happened (as expected).

BTW, a fresh W7 SP1 installation has IE8 and IE8 will not let you download that KB.

 

[ThrashZone]

You'd have to go through this process first for a clean install
Sticking with Windows 7? The forecast calls for pain | ZDNet

A tad cleaned up would be this
http://www.sevenforums.com/windows-...ut-windows-still-wont-update.html#post3237782

 

[UsernameIssues]

You'd have to go through this process first for a clean install
Sticking with Windows 7? The forecast calls for pain | ZDNet
~~~

Ok, so I installed that old WU client update (KB3083710) and then installed one of its replacements (KB3102810). I got the list of 161 updates in a few minutes without installing KB3145739 [and there were no high CPU/RAM usage issues]. It makes no sense to install KB3145739.

I repeated the test without installing KB3083710 (I only installed KB3102810). I got the list of 161 updates in a few minutes without installing KB3145739 [and there were no high CPU/RAM usage issues].

I repeated the test yet a 3rd time installing only the latest WU client (KB3138612). I got the list of 161 updates in a few minutes without installing KB3145739 [and there were no high CPU/RAM usage issues].

Each test took about 15 minutes total.

For those that wonder, disconnecting for the Internet while installing an update to the WU client makes the install give up on a scan for updates.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

You'd have to go through this process first for a clean install
Sticking with Windows 7? The forecast calls for pain | ZDNet...

Ohhh...kaaay. ZDNet suggests doing the following—

There is a workaround, as I discovered. Download two updates before starting the installation process, KB3083710 and KB3102810, and copy them to a USB flash drive. Install Windows 7 with SP1 and leave the network cable disconnected. Install those two updates from the flash drive before connecting to the network and running Windows Update for the first time, and you can cut that horrendous delay down to a matter of a few minutes.—

but doesn't tell HOW to do it. I couldn't see anywhere on the linked web pages where there was a download link. How does one download the updates, then put them on a USB stick? Once on the stick, how does one install the updates?

One pet peeve of mine is many geeks assume everyone knows every little detail and gloss over or leave out critical details not everyone will know.

 

[UsernameIssues]

Lady Fitzgerald,
I could give you step by step instructions on how to do the steps that ZDNet suggested, but it would be a waste of time. The updates do not need to be on a USB flash drive. It just speeds things along if you disconnect from the Internet during the installation of the update to the WU client.

That said, I figured that you would avoid these WU client updates since they facilitate the installation of W10.

 

[ThrashZone]

Use save as instead save & run
Point the save as to the flash drive or drag and drop from your downloads folder either one will work they are both stand alone installers.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Lady Fitzgerald,
I could give you step by step instructions on how to do the steps that ZDNet suggested, but it would be a waste of time. The updates do not need to be on a USB flash drive. It just speeds things along if you disconnect from the Internet during the installation of the update to the WU client.

That said, I figured that you would avoid these WU client updates since they facilitate the installation of W10.

As anal as I am about checking MS updates, first against my Specialized High Intensity Hit List, then individually checking the descriptions of any that survive the initial cull, I still managed to miss that those two are on my List. Mayhap I should have "stood" in bed?

I will keep in mind to disconnect from the internet before installing that massive update load after I build my new machine (assuming that Newegg actually sends me the ASUS X99-E WS/USB 3.1 MOBO I ordered last Wednesday; so far, all Newegg has done is take my money).

Thanks! I'd rep you if I could!

 

[ThrashZone]

Those updates are innocent just take a deep breath and relax

 

[Callender]

Lady Fitzgerald,
I could give you step by step instructions on how to do the steps that ZDNet suggested, but it would be a waste of time. The updates do not need to be on a USB flash drive. It just speeds things along if you disconnect from the Internet during the installation of the update to the WU client.

That said, I figured that you would avoid these WU client updates since they facilitate the installation of W10.

I'd agree. Not having an internet connection is important. It should only be restored once fixes have been applied - Ideally after reconfiguring Windows update settings and rebooting.

 

[UsernameIssues]

Those updates are innocent just take a deep breath and relax

GEWB, Brds7t7 and other forum members disagree with your assessment of those WU client updates.


In April of 2015, the WU clients started installing Wu.upgrade.ps.dll. That facilitates the installation of W10 (and I'm fine with that).

 

[Callender]

BTW, I noticed that on both the 7 32 & the 7 64, the update KB3146706 is unchecked. Couldn't confirm it on the 64 till I got the updater to work, but it is unchecked there also.

I saw someone mentioned in a post it added to the boot times.

I had installed KB3146706 and got a couple of BSOD's on shutdown. Apparently if EMET is used it can cause application hangs especially if KB3147071 is also installed.

Actually I removed both updates - rebooted - and reinstalled KB3146706.

There have been no more problems.

http://www.sevenforums.com/windows-...s-reboot-process-post3239525.html#post3239525

 

[Borg 386]

I had installed KB3146706 and got a couple of BSOD's on shutdown. Apparently if EMET is used it can cause application hangs especially if KB3147071 is also installed.

Actually I removed both updates - rebooted - and reinstalled KB3146706.

There have been no more problems.

http://www.sevenforums.com/windows-...s-reboot-process-post3239525.html#post3239525

I saw it was unchecked & decided to leave it be for now, saw your post on it & EMET, which I am running on this OS. Thanks for the info on that. I'll get to checking for the other update & uninstall/reinstall both at a later time.

You know, when it comes down to everything, why are we being forced to jump though hoops just to get security updates? MS apparently doesn't care about it's 7 customers anymore or just hopes they'll switch to Ten.

The fix suggested by Thrash worked on the 7 64 lappy, I have yet to address the 7 64 on this PC, but I'm seriously investigating some of the tools in the link I posted (4 tools to update windows offline) to see about getting my updates another way.

 

[ThrashZone]

I haven't seen any win-10 stuff getting installed with those two.
I've only had to use the process with my little laptop.
My asus build's install went without any rasel-dasel but that was in a earlier/ simpler day long long ago 6 months now