Why are Windows Updates NOT Straightforward?

Just replaced a dead mechanical HDD with a solid state. It's for a Dell Inspiron W7 Pro 64 bit and I have a Dell W7 Pro 64 SP1 DVD.Armed with that why do these reinstalls never, ever, EVER go smoothly? When it's finished I have IE8 as my browser. I restart the laptop multiple times waiting for the automatic updates to kick in. They never do. I go to the Control Panel and click Windows Updates. I get an 80244019 error. Why? I have to research the error, but IE8 doesn't want to cooperate.So I manage to somehow install Chrome and find that the error can be corrected by unchecking a box in Windows Updates about how updates are installed. Why wasn't the computer smart enough to uncheck that box itself instead to popping up the 80244019?So I uncheck the box and ask it to look for updates and 45 minutes later I get a failure message without an error code. So now I have to download the System Update Readiness Tool and run that. Why? Instead of just giving me a general, useless error msg, why didn't the computer incorporate the SURT tool and run it?This isn't just a one time thing with me. There's always some fly in the ointment. Why is it always an incredible pain in the butt to get a new install up to speed? Wouldn't you think after 7 operating systems and a horde of minions working for them, that Microsoft would've had all the kinks worked out of this whole process?

Callender said:

Because windows 7 is old and the way updates work has been changed since it was released plus there have been some patches released that are not included in fresh install media but are needed to make windows updates work.

How about this for 'common sense' - if there are patches required, make those patches run as the first wave of updates on a fresh install.

boweasel said:

How about this for 'common sense' - if there are patches required, make those patches run as the first wave of updates on a fresh install.

Bow, I feel the pain. My recent issues with windows update and acquiring service pack 1 have driven me to lose hope in microsoft. It would seem they either dont care or dont know what they're doing. At least you've gotten one response for your query; I am still awaiting one of these fine chaps here to poke their head into my thread and hopefully enlighten me. I just think microsoft owes these guys, it's a little sickening this whole digial age market. Just not okay to sell stuff that ultimately doesn't work, and then rely on these fine people to close the gap in regards to support.

Although I have no technical advice, in my 30+ hour escapade into figuring out my own problem I've at least managed to find out that these guys seem to know what they're doing, even if they can't answer every post immediately. They will surely help you figure it out.

Cheers

boweasel said:

Just replaced a dead mechanical HDD with a solid state. It's for a Dell Inspiron W7 Pro 64 bit and I have a Dell W7 Pro 64 SP1 DVD.Armed with that why do these reinstalls never, ever, EVER go smoothly? When it's finished I have IE8 as my browser. I restart the laptop multiple times waiting for the automatic updates to kick in. They never do. I go to the Control Panel and click Windows Updates. I get an 80244019 error. Why? I have to research the error, but IE8 doesn't want to cooperate.So I manage to somehow install Chrome and find that the error can be corrected by unchecking a box in Windows Updates about how updates are installed. Why wasn't the computer smart enough to uncheck that box itself instead to popping up the 80244019?So I uncheck the box and ask it to look for updates and 45 minutes later I get a failure message without an error code. So now I have to download the System Update Readiness Tool and run that. Why? Instead of just giving me a general, useless error msg, why didn't the computer incorporate the SURT tool and run it?This isn't just a one time thing with me. There's always some fly in the ointment. Why is it always an incredible pain in the butt to get a new install up to speed? Wouldn't you think after 7 operating systems and a horde of minions working for them, that Microsoft would've had all the kinks worked out of this whole process?

Wait Bo i think I see your issue actually. You're trying to install an OS that is Windows 7 WITH SP1? To a machine that didn't have service pack 1 initially? I believe that's the issue right there. From what I understand you can never ever repair or replace files from say, Windows 7 SP1 DVD to a computer running JUST Windows 7; it will just mess it up (sorry I'm not extremely well read in this BUT it was something I came across during my arduous journey for my own answer to my thread...)

Im not sure if that applies here since it sounds like you totally removed 1 HD and replaced it with another, but I do think that the original OS is associated with your motherboard, therefore that could be causing some kind of issue now that you're introducing a new OS that not only has a different product key and whatnot, but it had different supplements (SP1)

Okay, Figgy....My post was more in the nature of a rant than a quest for real solutions. I resent the hoops that Microsoft makes people jump through when reinstalling an OS, whether it be doing a clean install on the original drive or a fresh install on a new one. There's always multiple snags, and they're not always the same snags. Sometimes I've had to run several tools to get Windows to update, The SURT tool mentioned earlier, a DISM command line tool, a Reimage Repair tool, a Windows Fix-it Tool, etc.

But no, there's no problem using a Windows disk with SP1 (or SP2 or 3 on older operating systems) to install on a new (or reformatted) hard drive. I muddled through my problems and have now installed over 200 updates on the new SSD. I'm just appalled that a process that should take a couple hours now consumes the better part of a day with most of that time being spent looking up error codes for errors that should not occur..

Glad you muddled through ok! It IS messy.

I suspect part of the 'why?' is very much that MS want us all on Windows 10 now, and the aggressive and sneaky way they tried to get us all on Windows 10 highlights what is probably an attitude shift at MS and how they view their customer now.

Keep in mind Windows 7 is nearing the end of it's life also, but certainly in the past MS never treated it's older OS users as bad as us current Windows 7 users. It's a large part of why i've shifted half the households PC's to Linux Mint over the last year. I need Windows for some things, but not 'everything' and the new shift in attitude at MS is not one i like, so it might be that Windows 7 ends up being my last MS OS.

Updating a fresh install of Win 7 SP1 is simple and "fairly" quick considering the amount of updates since the last Official ISO using the Simplix Pack. No superseded or telemetry updates are included. https://translate.google.com/transla...o/&prev=search

ZakGordon7 said:

Glad you muddled through ok! It IS messy.

I suspect part of the 'why?' is very much that MS want us all on Windows 10 now, and the aggressive and sneaky way they tried to get us all on Windows 10 highlights what is probably an attitude shift at MS and how they view their customer now.

Keep in mind Windows 7 is nearing the end of it's life also, but certainly in the past MS never treated it's older OS users as bad as us current Windows 7 users. It's a large part of why i've shifted half the households PC's to Linux Mint over the last year. I need Windows for some things, but not 'everything' and the new shift in attitude at MS is not one i like, so it might be that Windows 7 ends up being my last MS OS.

Agreed. It makes zero sense that MS changed the update models for Windows 8.1 and especially 7, since 7 is not even in mainstream support. It seems to have only created more headaches and problems compared to if they just stuck with the individual patches instead of doing rollups.

Of course, if MS didn't use rollups for 7 and 8.1 they wouldn't be able to sneak in those unwanted telemetry patches or things like the update blocker for Win 7 systems running on Kaby Lake or Ryzen.