Using IE 11 to promote Win10 upgrading

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PATCH WATCH

Using IE 11 to promote Win10 upgrading

By Susan Bradley It’s a downpour of Windows and Office patches this month, with many of the common threats reappearing. And Microsoft tries a new tactic for getting Win7 and Win8.1 users to upgrade to Windows 10.

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The full text of this column is posted at windowssecrets.com/patch-watch/using-ie-11-to-promote-win10-upgrading/ (opens in a new window/tab).

Columnists typically cannot reply to comments here, but do incorporate the best tips into future columns.

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I new (to me) trick in Windows Update makes it harder to control my, and my wife’s, updates. When running in notify mode, if there are updates queued, the shutdown button changes from your default (restart for me) to shutdown with an update icon. Shutdown and you’ve accepted all the updates!

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Is that when you have updates set to download but you choose when to install? If so, set them to notify but you choose when to download and install.

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Is that when you have updates set to download but you choose when to install? If so, set them to notify but you choose when to download and install.

Millwood,

Tandor’s suggestion works.

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Susan,
You show a compatibility upgrade update for Win 7. As someone who signed up for the CEIP but never got involved, I still received one for Win 8.1 this week, which I hid. Looking at my hidden list, the only one of that type showing today is KB2976978. But since that is listed as Feb 20 on MS’s website, maybe it’s not the one. In any case, would you please explain about these compatibility updates prepping for Win 10 and why you consider them acceptable. Thanks,

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Hi Susan,
I wanted to bring to your attention that update 3139940 caused a couple of my older VB6 apps to stop working. One app just immediately ended, with no messages or event log information. Another one gave me the “MSCOMCTL.OCX failed to load imagelist”. As soon as I removed the update, all back to normal. Interstingly, the imagelist error has been around for these older VB6 apps on Win8/8.1 and Win10. Seems the imagelist control doesn’t like images that are more than the 8bit images. When I lower the images from say 24bit back to 8bit, the app works on Win8/10.
Thanks for all your hard work in keeping us protected from Microsoft.

Cheers!!
Willie McClure
“We are trying to build a gentler, kinder society, and if we all pitch in just a little bit, we are going to get there.” Alex Trebek

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kb 3080446 and kb 3140410 are giving me a real headache. I’m unable to download them. Did someone else find a way to download these? (This is first time I’ve ever had this much trouble.)

Thanks in advance for your help. :confused:

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Any good to you?
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=49222
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=51352

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Satrow,

Thanks for your suggestion; however, they didn’t help. I did find a suggestion for kb 3140410: http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-update/some-updates-will-not-install/089f292e-860e-47a1-8745-16df3ce121e9?auth=1

The instructions are too advanced for me. If you or someone else could explain this in simpler language (or simplify it), that would be wonderful. :confused:

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You stated that you were unable to download them so I gave you download pages for them. Downloading is one thing, installing them is entirely different, not to mention frustrating sometimes, esp. with MS Updates.

If you were to give further details, logs, error messages, etc. then someone might be able to help (though update issues are somewhat off-topic here, this article is about upgrading or not).

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Satrow, that is an excellent question. After trying to find solutions online, I became confused.

I was unable to download them from the download pages. Then I tried to restore my computer using an image I made earlier. Now when I try to use Windows Update, I get one of two error messages: Windows Update Error message 80070003 or Windows Update error message 80072efe.

I’ve tried unsuccessfully to correct these problems using instructions from MS for the respective errors. There are no problems downloading updates for Java, Flash Player, Air, Acrobat Reader, and Shockwave.

Win 7 SP1, Office 2010 SP2, 4 gb ram, Intel duo core processor T7100.

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http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/windows-update-error-80070003#1TC=windows-7
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Windows-Update-error-80072efe-or-80072f76
If the above don’t help, your best bet is to ask the Sysnative team to investigate and help you get it sorted.

Do you really need Java, Air and Shockwave?

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I tried your suggestion, and I’m no longer getting error messages. Now Windows Update runs for 2 hours and then gives me the updates for February. (Somehow it’s gotten rid of my updates for February and is now telling me to install them.)

I’m going to try the suggestions at http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-update/windows-update-stuck-on-checking-for-updates/d9032a44-2364-4ac2-8c9a-ae475e6ce1e1 Then I’m going to contact the Sysnative team.

I’ll stay in touch and give you another installment in this continuing saga tomorrow. Thanks again.

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Thanks, Satrow, for your help.

Using your suggestions and the web sites I mentioned solved the problem. Windows Update now runs for two hours or more, but it does find updates. The updates then install.

Sysnative had an explanation for why Win Update runs so long. It’s located at http://www.zdnet.com/article/sticking-with-windows-7-the-forecast-calls-for-pain/:):)

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Thanks for the update, Charles, glad you have it sorted now. Also thanks to Aura for pointing out the article, I hadn’t seen that one.

KB3083710 and KB3102810 both contain elements directly related to upgrading to W10, so for those of you who do not wish to upgrade, check/block with GWX Control panel after installing them.

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Don’t know if anybody else noticed but Microsoft released KB3035583 on 23 March 2016. Make sure to hide it. It is another attempt to force the update to Windows 10. The link is https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3035583

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I’m looking for advice with a problem I’m having with KB3139929, and with reinstalling Google Chrome. I’m posting here because the issues seem related to updating after the March batch of patches.

Here’s the KB3139929 experience. I’ve updated the three Win7 Pro machines in my care with the March 2016 patches. The 32-bit machine and one of the x64 machines went fine, but the other x64 machine repeatedly fails on the cumulative update for IE11. This machine is usually the last of the three to get patched, and in this case, I’m about a week behind with getting it done.

After the restart, the “Configuring Windows updates” step got up to 93%, then the “Failure configuring Windows updates” screen appeared, and the changes are reverted.

I checked the list of installed updates, and all of the other March updates installed, apparently without diffculty, but 3139929 was in the list as “Failed”.

The cycle looks like thiss:

1) install the patch
2) start configuring on shutdown for restart
3) restart
4) continue configuring
5) announce that configuring failed
6) revert changes
7) auto-restart
8) revert changes some more
9) auto-restart
10) show the usual login screen

This keeps happening regardless of whether I attempt the update through Windows Update or by using the standalone installer for the patch.

I’ve run the Windows Update Diagnostic several times but nothing different happens when I try again to install the update.

I’ve also done a disk cleanup and standard registry clean using CCleaner, also without effect on this issue.

MSE quick scan and MalWareBytes say no malware.

This is the Chrome experience: before starting any of the Windows Update cycle for the March patches, I tried to update Chrome using it’s internal updater. It failed with the suggestion that I whitelist Google Update.exe in any firewall I might be using. I opted to uninstall and reinstall, but when the installation process fails with a message that the Chrome Installer requires an update to Windows.

Any suggestions of what to try next would be welcome.

Also, anyone having the sense that Secunia PSI 2.0 has fallen out of support for detecting missing Windows patches? In the January update cycles, it failed to detect missing patches for one of my machines, in the Februaury cycle it failed on two of my machines, and this cycle, it failed on all three. It still notes when other products (Adobe, Firefox, Chrome) need to be updated; just not Win7.

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On the subject of Secunia Personal Software Inspector (PSI), try version is 3.0.0.11005
You can safely download it via this page: http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/secunia_personal_software_inspector_(psi).html

Sorry but I don’t know the answer to your IE problem.

This is what Microsoft says about KB3139929:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3139929

Searching the web gave these views:
http://www.infoworld.com/article/3042155/microsoft-windows/windows-patch-kb-3139929-when-a-security-update-is-not-a-security-update.html
http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-update/kb3139929-would-break-my-pc/cbd97574-6030-43ce-9437-5f8789969fd9?auth=1

Image or Clone often! Backup, backup, backup, backup......
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Home Built: Windows 10 Home 64-bit, AMD Athlon II X3 435 CPU, 16GB RAM, ASUSTeK M4A89GTD-PRO/USB3 (AM3) motherboard, 512GB SanDisk SSD, 3 TB WD HDD, 1024MB ATI AMD RADEON HD 6450 video, ASUS VE278 (1920x1080) display, ATAPI iHAS224 Optical Drive, integrated Realtek HD Audio

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RockE,

Thanks for the reply. I always found PSI 2.0 adequate for my work-style, and had opted not to go to v3.0 based on the reviews I read when it was first released. Maybe time to reconsider, or look for an alternative.

in re KB3139929, I’m aware that this patch is somewhat controversial, but forewarmed with that knowledge, I went ahead and installed on my machines, figuring that Josh Mayfield’s GWX Control Panel would still be able to fend off an unintended upgrade, and hopefully the nagware as well. So far so good on the two machines where the patch took.

This third machine, which has always been a little bit of a problem child, has me thinking about turning it into my testbed for a Linux install.

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I select only Important Updates and never Recommended Updates. Still when I go to the list of downloaded Updates there are a number of Recommended Updates also installed.

Just how important are Recommended Updates to the efficient operation of Win 7 Prof?

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I select only Important Updates and never Recommended Updates. Still when I go to the list of downloaded Updates there are a number of Recommended Updates also installed.

Just how important are Recommended Updates to the efficient operation of Win 7 Prof?

You have to consider each Recommended Update on a case-by-case. If you look at the text, you will see that they are supposed to “resolve issues.” Read the article in the knowledge base that describes the fixes. You will have to decide on your own if you need the fix. Also, you should check Susan Bradley’s list at the end of her article. Normally, I try to wait 3 – 4 weeks before installing them. That way, if the update breaks something, Microsoft will withdraw it or fix the update.

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I also got the KB3035583 as an Important Update.
Hid it.

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