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Clean install of Windows 7 x86 on Asus laptop hangs on Windows Update
I've been attempting to get Windows 7 up and running on my Asus F8Sp-X1 laptop for a couple of days now. It came with Vista, which only lasted as long as it took to take the disk image with True Image, after which XP was installed. It's been that way ever since, and it runs perfectly... but everyone knows the limits of XP now since the security updates have stopped.
Since I have an unused product key for 7, I thought that would be a better choice than the Vista the laptop came with. I've never used Vista, but it is widely held that 7 is leaner and faster, and on a 3gb laptop, that seems the better choice.
The DVD that corresponds with the product key I have is of the 64-bit edition (OEM), so I plugged that product key into the MS web site and downloaded the 32 bit Win 7 SP1 DVD ISO, then created the disc.
I had already restored the original Vista setup from the image I made all those years ago, and had allowed it to update up to SP2. I started the CD and selected an in-place upgrade, which (though painfully slow) worked without any errors.
After fooling around with the fingerprint sensor for a while (finally I did get it working), I went to Windows Update to download all of the fixes that came after SP1. It never finished searching for updates... just goes on and on, with no errors and no results.
I went to the MS support site and tried the fix it tool. It claimed to have fixed things, but the problem persisted. I did a lot of reading... I tried the WURT, but it just got stuck on "searching for installed updates" forever (I took a nap and let it go; it was still doing it when I got up). I downloaded a few updates manually and tried to install them, and it did the same thing as the WURT tool.
I went back to the MS site, and tried all of the things they suggested. I tried setting updates to "off", rebooting, set to "always," rebooting; that did nothing. I tried stopping the four services listed (BITS, windows updates, cryptography, and one that is not on my PC), renaming the data stores, reregistering a ton of .DLLs, and restarting... no change.
I tried exporting the BITS and Windows Update registry data on my desktop and importing that. No change. I then tried setting the IE security to its lowest setting for the trusted zone, where I added the three Windows Update URLs... again, just endless searching for updates.
Frustrated, I imaged the faulty install and tried the nuclear option: Format the HDD and reinstall clean.
I formatted the HDD (in an external enclosure attached to my desktop), then put the HDD back into the laptop and booted it from the Win 7 CD I had burned. It ran fine, installing Win 7 with no errors listed. When I went to Windows Update, it immediately said it had to update the updater first; I allowed this. It then began to search for updates and... never finished. I let it go a very long time, but it never did anything. No errors, no results.
Still just the same as before.
I tried most of the above stuff yet again, and it was all the same. Nothing helped. So I tried a "repair" install, which is really an in place upgrade with itself. After that was finally done... STILL THE SAME!
Did another SFC /scannow, and it found no integrity errors. I scanned the laptop HDD with scandisk; no issues found, and SMART data indicate no issues.
This laptop can browse the internet just fine. Other than not being able to update, Win 7 runs really well on it... but not being able to get updates puts me pretty much where I was with XP, so that's no good at all. I even tried connecting the laptop to the router with an ethernet cable instead of wirelessly... still no change.
On the same network, my other PC (the desktop, which I am using to write this) is able to contact MS and download updates without a problem. There is no reason to believe that there is some issue with my ISP, router, or anything like that. I just checked it now to make sure... it works.
Here is the requested log file CBS.log... any and all help appreciated!
Last edited by Ascaris; 13 Sep 2015 at 04:45. Reason: Clarification