Checking for updates forever??

I got automatic updates disabled cuz I only got 28.8 dialup.
I go and get updates manually once in a while, worked fine that way for years.

And now........
So like I go to windoze update and it sez "checking for updates for your computer" and the green bar goes back and forth like a Cylon forever & a day, till not even a byte is coming down the pipe. Never gets farther than that.

Whats up with that?

 

PM me, and I'll send you a 56k or an RJ-45 card no charge.

Do you have an Android cell phone?

I've abandoned updating XP on my old reliable laptop. In tandem, I believe MS has abandoned updating my old reliable laptop.

 

There aint no cell way out here in the bush.
56K card wont help. My modem is 56K, the phone line is only 28.8, so even if I had a kazillion K modem I would still get 28.8.

I got it to work once, "custom" "additional software" got a bunch of .net4 updates, took a coons age to finally come up so I could get then tho...
THEN I went "custom" for essential updates and didnt get farther than green bar, then I tried "express" and same thing. Been trying allnite, nowhere fast.

 

Ok.......

Last time I tried it took about an hour and was finally able to get updates, there was only 3 kinda small ones so that was good. Musta been problem with the server overloaded I spoze, but I never seen it that bad B4.

 

Since late September there has been a problem with some XP computers updating. To fix the "apparent freeze" where you can watch the green bar go back and forth for hours, you need to download and manually update Internet Explorer. Even if you never use IE, you do have to keep it updated. Once you update IE manually by downloading Decemeber's update and rebooting, the update procedure will no longer freeze.

I was hit with this freeze on 2 of the 3 XP computers in the house in December. I manually downloaded the IE update, rebooted and both computers are now okay. I'm on high speed broadband and left the computers running for more than an hour. It did not help. Only updating IE solved the problem.

Post what version of IE is installed and I will post the link to the download for your version of December's update.

 

I have IE 7.0.5730.13

 

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=41442
download instructions
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/confirmation.aspx?id=41442
it is 8.3MB so it will take awhile on a 28.8k connection. Maybe over night so you don't tie up your phone line.

 

AOK
IE7-WindowsXP-KB2898785-x86-ENU.exe
thanks
I download at 1O Megs an hour so it will take about an hour.

 

Ka-Pla !!!

Installed IE7-WindowsXP-KB2898785-x86-ENU
Rebooted
Went to windoze update
Success!!! Everything went fine as frogs hair !!!

Thanks so much plodr.

 

Glad it worked for you. MS is aware of the problem and said they are working on a fix. If it happens in January, do the same thing if there seems to be a freeze and there is another patch for IE again.

 

Hope the connection doesn't "time out".

 

I have a couple different downloaders I can use, if I loose connection they pickup where it left off.

 

There are still plenty of parts of non-urbanized North America where dial-up remains the most viable option. This thread reminds me of that. There's a small town SE of Dallas 80 miles where the residents refuse to purchase the digital switches so they remain having 1,000 landlines. Not 1,001. Not 1,0002. Only 1,000. The pharmacy either has a landline OR the fax hooked up to it. The town's doctor's secretary calls them and says, "I have a fax for the prescription. How long do I need to wait before you can make the switch?" Half a minute. She calls back, sends the fax, and the pharmacist then switches the line back to the phone.

For them, it's obstinancy and a refusal to be "alway on'd" to death. Kinda cool. I've halfway expected to see the nearest cell tower toppled as a high-school grad prank.