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3172605: Solving Windows 7 update scan slowdowns
Posted on Comment on the AskWoody Lounge- This topic has 49 replies, 7 voices, and was last updated 3 months ago.
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AKB3172605: Solving Windows 7 update scan slowdowns
By @CanadianTech
Published 2 Feb 2017 rev 2.0 on 4 Feb 2017
Windows Update has become quite problematic for Windows 7 users, for the past year and a half. We have a solution that has worked for likely hundreds of thousands of people.
Follow Woody’s MS-Defcon status to decide when to update. (http://www.askwoody.com)
For this to work, you must follow exactly as this describes.
If you have already installed KB3172605, it would be pointless to try to install it again.
Before you begin updating, please go towards the bottom of this Knowledge Base Item and read the section that begins: From October 11, 2016 onwards…
There are two main types of Windows 7 installations: 32 bit or 64 bit. You need to know what is installed in your computer. Click the Start globe, type
systemin the box. Click on System information in the list. The techie shorthand for 32 bit is x86 and for 64 bit is x64. While you are looking at the System information to verify whether yours is 32 or 64 bit, check to see if SP1 (Service Pack 1) has been installed. If you do not see SP1 there, yours has not been updated and the following instructions will not work.1. Start Windows Update and change the Setting to Never check for updates. Close the Windows Update window. Windows Update will no longer be automatic. From this point onwards, you are responsible for starting and installing updates. Follow Woody’s MS-Defcon status to decide when to update.
2. Restart your computer.
3. You are now going to download and install either one or two updates manually. In most cases only the first (KB3172605) of these is needed. If that produces a result that says the “update is not appropriate for your computer”, you need to first install the 2nd of these (KB3020369), then install the first (KB3172605). Choose the one that is for your machine — 32 bit (X86) or 64 bit (X64).
KB3172605:
32 bit
http://download.windowsupdate.com/d/msdownload/update/software/updt/2016/09/windows6.1-kb3172605-x86_ae03ccbd299e434ea2239f1ad86f164e5f4deeda.msuKB3020369:
32 bit
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=46827
64 bit
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=468174. After restarting your computer, wait about 10 minutes until Windows Update completes its tasks. Do not use the computer for any other purpose during this wait period.
5. Start Windows Update. It will take only a few minutes (unless, of course it has been many months since the last update) to come up with a list and download the updates you select. The process is quite normal as it always was from this point onward.
If updates have not been presented to you in less than 30 minutes, then you have a bigger problem. Likely Windows Update needs to be “reset.”
This is a bit technical, but if you can follow, It will work for you. For this to work, you must follow exactly as this describes.
At this point, Windows update is still running in the background. You need to stop it. Click the Start globe (bottom left), type
servicesinto the text box that pops up, Click on Services. Find Windows Update in the alphabetic list of services, right-click (left-click if your mouse is set for left-handers) and choose Stop. Close the windowNow, you are going to reset Windows Update components:
Start, All Programs, Accessories, Right-click on Command prompt, Choose Run as administrator,
Y. Type the following in the black box:Tip: Instead of typing each line, you can select the text in each line in the list by high-lighting it, right-click, choose Copy from the pop-up menu. In the black window, Right-click anywhere, choose Paste from the pop-up menu, Enter.
net stop wuauserv
net stop cryptSvc
net stop bits
net stop msiserver
ren C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution SoftwareDistribution.old
ren C:\Windows\System32\catroot2 catroot2.old
net start wuauserv
net start cryptSvc
net start bits
net start msiserver
ExitIf steps 5 or 6 do not allow the operation, go back and click on the Start globe and type
servicesinto the text box. Click on Services in the list that pops up. In the window that then pops up (its alphabetic), find Windows Update. Right-click on it (left-click if your mouse is set for left-handers) and choose Stop. It may have re-started itself.If steps 5 and 6 report that the file already exists, then substitute
SoftwareDistribution.old3forSoftwareDistribution.old, andcatroot2 catroot2.old3forcatroot2 catroot2.old. It is possible, that you may have to use 4 instead of 3 if this has been done repeatedly before.This procedure will erase the list you would see in “View Update history” that you access in the Windows Update window. It will NOT erase the “View Installed Updates” you access through the Control Panel.
Now go back to the beginning of this presentation and try the installation of KB3172605 and KB3020369 again.
From October 11, 2016 onwards, there was a very significant change in the way Windows Update works. Some may like it a lot. Some may dislike it intensely.
You need to make a decision about what will become of your Windows 7 system.
Woody Leonhard has described the situation something like this. Note, I am using my own words here and describing it from my own perspective.
This is Woody’s article: http://www.infoworld.com/article/3128983/microsoft-windows/how-to-prepare-for-the-windows-781-patchocalypse.html
Group A: Just let MS install whatever they wish on your computer and just don’t worry about privacy and the spyware they will install. This is the easiest choice.
Group B: Refuse to accept any except Security updates. You get the Security-only updates from the “catalog”. There is risk here in B. You are trusting that Microsoft will not put anything in that group that does things you do not want done. A sort of level of trust in MS that I am not sure they deserve. Keep in mind that they have done the same thing with this set of updates they did in the main one. It is all one agglomeration of whatever number of security updates they decide to put in it. Being in Group B entails some very disciplined work. You must stay tuned to Woody’s advice and be aware of any twists and turns that may be coming.
Group C (AKA W): Shut down WU permanently and never again accept a Windows Update. This group feels that the risk of Microsoft changing their machine in unacceptable ways or even bricking it, is greater than the risk of a hacker breaking in because some security patch was not installed. I suspect that most people who even think about this topic will opt for this. However since most people think of their computer like a potato peeler, they will not even think about this and things will just happen without them even knowing. They will be Group A and won’t even know it.
Note that this may not apply to NON-Windows updates such as Office. I am not sure how you can be in group B or W and do this, but I am working on it.
In all cases for all groups, change the Windows Update setting to Never check for updates, and refer to Woody’s MS-Defcon ratings to decide when and what to update.
The new rollup style of updates that Microsoft is now providing to what we would call Group A, which includes all kinds of updates (security and non-security), are cumulative. That means if you miss a month or even more, it will not matter because by installing the latest month’s rollup, you would be up to date.
NOTE well, that Security-only updates are NOT cumulative. This means if you miss a month, you may never get the missed updates.
So one strategy that you may wish to consider is following Group C, but still updating .net and Microsoft Office through Windows Update, but installing no Windows updates at all. It would be advisable in this case that you stop using Internet Explorer because you would not be getting those updates, but instead use an alternative browser.
Then, after following this strategy for some time, if things take a turn for the worse, and you decide you made the wrong choice (Group C with .net an Office updates), you can easily shift to A by simply using the latest offered Rollup offered in Windows Update.
So, as things have evolved, it looks like the vast majority really only have two choices: A as described above or C (modified as described above). The good news is that if you follow the modified C strategy, you have a way back to the Microsoft way, that is easy to implement.
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Woody & Canadian Tech
Very good and useful reference article and excellent idea to publish it!
Very well written too.
Well done. 😀Note: You may wish to edit the section related to Group A style of updating.
My understanding and I think we all agree here is that this is not meant to be working “like Windows 10”. The user should still have the WU configured on one of the other settings, other than Auto. My recommendation for the setting is the same like for the other groups of users/updaters, i.e. ‘Never check for updates’.
From here, the users should follow Woody’s MS-DEFCON recommendations for Group A.The privacy and spyware considerations are hyped too much in importance. Windows implementation is among the least harmful and there is other software infinitely more ‘dangerous’ from this perspective and antivirus software (third-party in particular) is among them. Antivirus software has a lot more default access to anything on the system without further authorisation, while Windows Update in itself does not.
The best approach for most people is to follow Group A if they wish to have reliable computers and use their computers for anything useful.
Group B style of updating is correct, but require a lot of effort to do it properly and ideally should not be performed by anyone who is not an IT Professional. Group B style of updating also involves reduced functionality because it skips functional enhancements, most of them released in the past.
Sometimes only the instructions to follow Group B are just not enough for correctly implementing this style of patching without having further understanding of what is involved and probably Group C/W (not updating at all) makes Windows more reliable overall for most users than Group B.3 users thanked author for this post.
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If 3172605 won’t finish install after a few minutes, this might be worth a try…
The KB3020369 / KB3172605 method from http://www.infoworld.com/article/3136677/microsoft-windows/how-to-speed-up-windows-7-update-scans-forever.html worked for me a couple of times. However, in one case when I tried to install 3172605 it never finished installing. I accidentally SOLVED IT by doing the following…
If 3172605 won’t finish install after a few minutes, try booting into Safe Mode via F8 at PC Start. Then try to run that update. It will say it can’t run in safe mode. Reboot into normal Windows then try installing again.
I am not sure if just booting into Safe Mode fixed it or if the attempt to install 3172605 while there cleared something out. I have not had an occasion to try it again.
2 users thanked author for this post.
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Despite having wuaueng.dll version 7.6.7601.23453 (KB3172605), Windows Update today tells me I need to install KB3138612, which came up as an Important Update (no, I didn’t).
I take it the advice is to ignore this “important update”?
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It was installed, prior to installing KB3172605. I can’t understand why it would need to be installed, to give an earlier version of wuaueng.dll, as it takes it from 7.6.7601.23453 to 7.6.7601.19161. It doesn’t sound logical…
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Clear as mud?
Precisely!
Ok, I’ll install it… but I’ll be interested to see if it reverts the wuaueng.dll version, and being aware that KB3172605 may possibly need to be reinstalled afterwards…
Thank you. 🙂 -
You’re right – I was pleasantly surprised to see the wuaueng.dll version did not change. So much better than the info on MS’s own website.
The other thing that was a huge help was your earlier tip to run Windows Update when logged in as Administrator, instead of running it as administrator in a User Account. Thanks.Also, a huge thank you to @Woody, for providing this platform for such speedy help in addressing issues which might otherwise cause baldness – I’ve come very close to pulling my hair out, more than once. Thanks!
1 user thanked author for this post.
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PPS I turned that off deliberately, so no-one accidentally installed WX on my W7 computer, when they were using it. I know I’m being paranoid still guarding against the likes of that, but I feel safer that way 🙂
1 user thanked author for this post.
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@Kirsty
It is only cosmetic. The supersedence is handled by Microsoft in a certain way for those 2 patches, probably because one is flagged Important and as such mandatory for all categories (A or B) and the other Recommended/Optional. KB3138612 is completely included in KB3172605 at component level, but not at the metadata level and this is what WU takes in consideration.
You don’t have to install KB3138612 after KB3172605, but as @PKCano says, just install it to keep Windows Update happy and have one less patch to keep track on.1 user thanked author for this post.
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Do the above instructions in post # 83019 still work if someone is performing a clean reinstall of Win 7 SP1 in 2021? As far As I know the Windows Update Agent for Windows 7 (wuaueng.dll) v7.6.7601.23453 included in KB3172605 has not been superseded/replaced by a newer version, but the Microsoft Update Catalog shows that KB3020369 (the April 2015 Servicing Stack Update for Win 7) has been superseded/replaced by newer SSUs – see attached image. Does that mean that the standalone .msu installer for KB3020369 will now throw an error (“The update is not applicable to your computer“) after a clean reinstall of Win 7 SP1?
Some of the newer Win 7 SP1 SSUs like the Dec 2020 SSU KB4592510 require prerequisites like the KB4474419 SHA-2 code signing support update of Sept 2019 to be installed first, so simply substituting the April 2015 SSU KB3020369 with the Dec 2020 SSU KB4592510 in the above instructions doesn’t seem like a viable option.
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Here is what I worked out if I ever have to reinstall Windows 7…
Reinstallation and Update Instructions for Windows 7
WINDOWS 7 OEM
1. Install KB2533552 before installing Windows 7 SP1 after reinstalling Windows 7 OEM. This is necessary in order to prevent a potential blue screen on reboot after installing SP1. You do not have to restart your computer after installing KB2533552. Here is the link:
https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=KB2533552
2. Install Windows 7 SP1. Then install the updates listed under WINDOWS 7 SP1 before trying to use Windows Update. Here is the link for Windows 7 SP1:
https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=KB976932
WINDOWS 7 SP1
You must install the following updates before trying to use Window Update after reinstalling Windows 7 SP1.
3. Install the following updates, in sequential order, on Win7 SP1 before using Windows Update. You do not have to reboot your computer until after installing all of the following updates. The updates which you need to install (and their direct download links) are:
2019-03-11 KB4490628 (WU servicing stack update):
https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=KB4490628
2019-09-09 KB4516655 (WU servicing stack update):
https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=KB4516655
2019-09-09 KB4474419-v3-x64 (SHA-2 code signing v3):
https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=KB4474419
4. Reboot your computer after installing the above updates. Windows Update will now work correctly.
1 user thanked author for this post.
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There are two threads that may help you with the sequence of installs as well. Read through them to see the methodology used. There were problems along the way, and the sequence of installations makes an attempt to avoid those pitfalls.
and
https://www.askwoody.com/forums/topic/asking-for-a-favor-about-updating-my-win-7/#post-1907521
1 user thanked author for this post.
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Does that mean that the standalone .msu installer for KB3020369 will now throw an error (“The update is not applicable to your computer“) after a clean reinstall of Win 7 SP1?
You are asking if any update will throw this error just by virtue of being superseded in general. The answer to this is NO. The superseding version must be installed for this to happen.
2 users thanked author for this post.
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so simply substituting the April 2015 SSU KB3020369 with the Dec 2020 SSU KB4592510 in the above instructions doesn’t seem like a viable option.
No, but it’s no necessity either. None of the post-April-2019 SSUs is an actual prerequisite to anything. In terms of replacing recommendations of KB3020369 your choice is KB4490628. This one is an actual prerequisite to all post-August-2019 updates including SSUs. It is an SSU requirement to any later SSU. Not to mention it’s MIA at Windows Update since the release of the August 2019 Security Monthly Quality Rollup. However KB4490628, like KB4474419, has not turned into a requirement for functionality of update search in August 2020 as falsely claimed by Microsoft.
1 user thanked author for this post.
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Please let me be clear. I still use that methodology exactly as originally written to this day. I do installs commonly. It still works.
Keep in mind that I do not install any updates issued after July 2017. If you choose to do that, this whole procedure is useless. Other updates that others tell you are required are not needed.
Update: Coming up on 4 years now, Not a single one of these 100 or so machines has had a single Microsoft update of any kind. They are all protected using Bit Defender Antivirus+. Not one instance of any kind of a problem has occurred. NOT ONE!! These machines are essentially final state unchanging machines and run day in day out.
However there is a change to the process if starting with an install disk that is NOT SP1 as well as a replacement for 3172605:
KB3138612
32 bit,
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=51208
64 bit
,https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=51212
Updating Windows using a PRE-SP1 DVD
It is best to install using an install disk that is SP1 included. If you cannot find one, and must use a pre-SP1 installer……After the install is complete, you must install these two updates before proceeding to Windows Update. These are self-installing updates that you simply download and install.
KB2533552
32 bit
64 bit
KB976932
32 bit
CT
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it is a “fall back” update if the superseded SSUs are uninstalled
Which they won’t be.
Once a servicing stack update is installed, it cannot be removed or uninstalled from the machine.
1 user thanked author for this post.
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Search for Windows Updates takes forever? – A possible solution (krelay.de)
My goto post for the order of rebuilding.
Susan Bradley Patch Lady
1 user thanked author for this post.
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