Windows Update Is Hanging...big Time

I understand this problem is hitting Windows 7 as well as Vista, and I've been researching like crazy. Apparently something in the September update has messed up the kernel of both systems. There's a fix, too--KB3153199. However I still need some help.

I'm using an HP Pavilion a6414f desktop, running Vista(32 bit) SP2.
That means my IE is out of date and Chrome* is no longer providing security updates for Vista.
I _was_ able to go to the Microsoft Update site using Opera and down-load a standalone updater--but that is also hanging when I try to install the patch.

So.... 1) how can I actually get a copy of the patch file--and then
2) how do I manually install it without a working updater? (Someone has posted a script, but I don't know how to get a script to run without some coaching.)

From what I hear, once the patch is in, WU will work fine again.

(I'm looking at updating to Windows 7--but I'll want a working Windows Update before I do that, too.)

Advice will be much appreciated.

*Chrome DOES have a security hole! There's something out there that grabs the browser and freezes it. If I can switch to other windows, I'll generally stop Chrome with Task Manager. Otherwise I do a hard shut-down and reboot. First thing after that is I run ccleaner and clear all the Chrome temp files. Now that _might_ have left me infected with something that could damage my system, but I've since run every virus-checker in your cleaning list--plus a few others--and every last one has come up clean. (If I can use Opera with my Legacy genealogy software, Chrome is going altogether!)

 

I guess I need to add a bit. The Opera download did pick up the KB3153199 files--they were in one of those oddly named files that show up in the C drive on occasion. The folder contains the cab, xml, and pkgProperties.txt files, plus WSUSSCAN.cab

So I guess the question remaining is: how do I install the patch?

 

You could try using the Windows Update Offline Program:
http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/wsus_offline_update.html

 

KB3153199 is a security update for Windows 7 SP1 64-bit.

There is just 1 file - Windows6.1-KB3153199-x64.msu - which you just double-click. But not in Windows Vista.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=52232

 

And since you're running x86 Windows, the x64 version of the update won't work.

 

There's also Windows6.0-KB3153199-x86.msu
Which is supposedly for my version of Vista. Unfortunately, I can't make it run online--and when I save the file and run it, it tells me I have the wrong system.

 

You're correct.
Did you download the file from here?
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=52238

 

yes.

 

I can get the downloads. How do I install them? I don't have a server.

 

Don't get them yourself. Install WSUS and run it - that's it. I've just updated a Vista VM with it that hasn't been touched for six months. Took about an hour and a half. Also, just like when I used it on Win 7, it has kicked WU into action and that is now finding and installing further Vista updates.

 

how can I install wsus?

 

Download HERE

Instructions HERE

Google is your friend, despite what they say

 

Thanks.... BUT.
THIS (from the instructions)
"On the target computer, start UpdateInstaller.exe and select update installation options:"
was not part of the download.
And that's what I'm missing. I already downloaded the zip file and did the first part.
(D'you think that including the instructions and the second file in the download might save a few questions in the future?)

 

If you use the first download link (tagged 'author's site') it is a ZIP file. Just save that to a new folder, say on desktop, then open the folder and double click on the zip file to extract all, then open it (updategenerator.exe), it will extract more files, then right-click on the new 'updategenerator.exe' and 'run as administrator' and everything is there. It opens up a window that is self-explanatory.
Here is the window that opens:

 

Just type updateinstaller.exe into Vista's Start

 

Then burn the ISO file (in the ISO folder) to DVD and run UpdateInstaller from there. Select Automatic Restart and Recall because it will install updates that require restart before things can continue. I'm using WSUS right now to update a fresh install of Windows 7.

 

There was no "update installer" in the zip file. Only the one labeled "update generator."

And I can't use Windows update installer because it's hanging.
And I don't think I have an ISO file, either. My Vista only has the manufacturers' recovery partition.

For what it's worth, my Vista seems to be working fine, otherwise.

 

You can watch this tutorial:

 

Open your zip file and you should see something like this -



Open the Client folder and you will find updateinstaller.exe. If you opted to create an iso it will be in the iso folder but the update generator works ok for me without an iso.

 

The Update Generator will create an ISO file for you. On that ISO (which you'll burn to DVD) will be the Update Installer. After burning the DVD, leave it in your optical drive, open "Computer" and double click on the optical drive to either open the ISO in Windows Explorer or launch Update Installer.

 

Only if you choose that option. WSUS works fine, and far faster, without creating an iso. An iso would be good for system administrators who have multiple machines to update. It is has no benefits at all for updating a single system.

 

How do you run Update Installer if you don't create an ISO (to run from the Desktop or optical media) or USB?

In my case, this time, WSUS 10.8 didn't work properly on Win 7. I've got to use an earlier version of WSUS because it produced a log-in box for WOUTempAdmin along with my username log in box. It, also, never came up with the list of missing updates.

 

I gave that in #19 (or #15)

I couldn't get 10.8 to run at all today in Win 7 - error connecting to MS SysInternals. Yet it did run in Vista.

 

Must have been a server issue, it's running now.

 

Aha!! THAT was my missing bit of information. I'll try it and get back to you in a couple of days with my results.

 

Yeah, the instructions do need some improvement. Probably written with professional users in mind, but as WSUS is proving to be the best answer to WU problems, particularly in Win 7, and as its use is spreading through user forums such as this, they should be clearer.

 

OK--

I finally have a free day to work on this again. Thanks for your patience and help so far....

So let me see if I understand this program correctly. From coverage.txt:
"The main goal of WSUS Offline Update is to quickly and safely bring freshly installed Windows systems to a patch level which allows them to be safely connected to the Internet."

My goal is to set this thing up so I can reinstall KB3153199 on my Vista every month before I run Windows Update. Hopefully other people with my level of expertise can do the same for their older computers.

Since I want ONLY to install KB3153199, I have some changes to make. I believe the two relevant questions in the FAQ are these:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q: Can I skip the dynamic update determination during downloading/installation in order to use my static definitions only?
A: Yes.
To avoid dynamic update URL determination during download, add "skipdynamicEnabled" to the [Miscellaneous] section of your UpdateGenerator.ini file.
To avoid dynamic update ID determination during installation, set "skipdynamicEnabled" in the [Installation] section of your UpdateInstaller.ini file.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q: Can I download/install additional patches?
A: Yes, you can adjust how the download and update scripts behave by excluding or adding patches from download or installation. For adding updates proceed as follows:

1. Adding updates to download routines

For adding an update to be downloaded, insert its download URL into the matching "StaticDownloadLinks-<platform>[-architecture>]-<language>.txt file, found in the "...\static\custom" directory. Please don't forget a trailing <CR><LF>.

2. Adding updates to installation routines

Add an update to installation by inserting its knowledge base ID (KBxxxxxx or simply xxxxxx) into the matching "StaticUpdateIds-<platform>[-<architecture>].txt file (directory "...\client\static\custom"). Please don't forget a trailing <CR><LF>.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'd guess from these two that there are two separate processes that will run. However, I already ran UpdateGenerator once. I'm thinking I need to run it again.

This time I want to
add "skipdynamicEnabled" to the [Miscellaneous] section of the UpdateGenerator.ini file.
and
insert the download URL for KB3153199 into the [appropriate].txt" file, found in the "...\static\custom" directory.

* Is the url https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=52238 given in #7 above?

* For "StaticDownloadLinks-w60-x86-<language>.txt" I have two choices: 5lg and glb which one do I want?

* And what is meant by "trailing <CR><LF>" Just make sure to hit "enter" after the line?

* Will running UpdateGenerator with these changes over-write files and folders I won't be using? Or will I need to delete some (which ones) myself? Or doesn't it matter because of the next step?
---
Once that is done, I'll
set "skipdynamicEnabled" in the [Installation] section of the UpdateInstaller.ini file
and
insert "KB3153199" into the [appropriate] .txt file (directory "...\client\static\custom").

Uh. At the moment, there is nothing at all in (directory "...\client\static\custom")
I'm guessing that re-running UpdateGenerator will fix that--but if not, I'd sure like to see something I could simply copy/paste.

 

You are making life unnecessarily difficult for yourself. Run WSUS to completion and it will install KB3153199 and all other updates you are presently missing which are included in the version you download. I downloaded it and ran it this morning and it installed all updates to Sep 16. I then put WU on automatic and it immediately found and installed two further October updates. Vista is nearing end of life of course so this WU problem will soon become irrelevant.

 

As Earthling said, you're making life unnecessarily difficult for yourself. And I think the things you're talking about doing are reserved for the $299US WSUS anyway.

 

Actually, I don't think I was. I tried your suggestion--I can't get the update past "locating IDs of missing updates."
Of course, it's using windows update to do this--and windows update won't work until I get KB3153199 re-installed. (Yes, it's already there. But I need to install it OVER the September MS patch.

Suggestions?

 

KB3153199 gets installed once. Any updates to that are delivered under different KB numbers. On my system for Windows 7, it took wsus over 3 hours to list the IDs of missing updates (164 of them) and wsus installed them all.

After wsus was completed, I ran Windows Update itself and on the first run, there were 81 more updates. I kept running Windows update 3 more times because prerequisites had been installed on the previous runs. Win 7 was then fully patched and ready for the October Updates which downloaded and installed.

 

You missed the key part of my research. KB3153199 needs to be re-installed after each monthly update--or Windows Update hangs.

 

That has not happened on either of my computers.

 

This has not happened on either of my computers.

 

All I want to do is install one single update. OVER more recent updates. Can someone help me do that? Just one single update?
mdona--I believe you are running Win 7, not Vista?

 

I'm trying to find out where it says you need that for Vista.
This seems to apply:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=52238
you can download it from that link.

 

Nowhere does it say that KB3153199 needs to be re-installed every month. Yes, I am running Windows 7 — along with 8.1 and 10. I had Vista Ultimate SP2 x64 but had to dump it because I couldn't read the file titles in high contrast mode.

 

Whether the OP tries to install or not doesn't matter. If they try to install it, it will ONLY install if the system recognises it as needed and it's not there already. If the system recognises it as installed already and/OR not needed, it wont install it. It's as simple as that.