Windows 7 update scans taking forever? KB 3153199 may solve the problem

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Just like last month, with a different solution. Tip o’ the Baker Street Irregulars hat to EP. InfoWorld Woody on Windows UPDATE: Looks like there’s a
[See the full post at: Windows 7 update scans taking forever? KB 3153199 may solve the problem]

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Woody,

thanks for the tip on KB3153199. Windows Update was running for OVER 26 hours without completing. After shutting it down manually, I followed you link to manually download the above KB. After that, windows Update only took 10 minutes to complete, and it shows 12 updates available. My only question is “which of these is SAFE to install?

Thanks, again, for all the tips and help.

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Majority if not ALL of the updates mentioned on wu.krelay.de site are either fishy or are windows 10 upgrade preparations. Always research before taking someones word on something…

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So now we not only have to check each update for traces of Win10itis, but also which update needs to be installed manually in order to workaround WU’s monthly search-bug.

I’m glad to see the decimation of Microsoft’s workforce had no negative impact on software quality. /s

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Interesting. Which ones do you think are dicey?

It’s entirely possible that the dicey patches are fixing something that people will want to have fixed, even if they reek of Win10-itis….

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I have a Windows 7 Home Premium laptop. Attempted a manual ‘check for updates’ which took 35 minutes to complete. I decided to manually install KB3153199 to see if there was any change in the length of time to perform this task. After installing, I rebooted and ran ‘check for updates’ again. This time it took less than a minute to complete.

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One update to be cautious of and mentioned here in one of the topics was to hide KB3150513 which is to believe to cause issue and/or is a win10tis. I write down what updates not to install or to look out for and hide in case I see them.

Anyway I installed kb3153199 last night and I found updates in 10 minutes and installed them. 🙂

I guess the magic spell to make windows update run fast and find updates quick is by installing the latest monthly kernal update to my knowledge.

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Keep watching the MS-DEFCON level. It normally takes two or three weeks before I feel comfortable with a bunch of patches (and their re-patches and pulls) before I recommend that people go ahead.

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The KB3153199 fix also works on Vista SP2 as well.

Again, KB3153199 will keep the Windows Update long search scans problem at bay from May 10 until the next Patch Tuesday which is June 14. By noon time of 6/14/2016, KB3153199 may no longer do the job and Microsoft will have to issue yet another new WIN32K.SYS security update on June patch Tuesday.

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Second verse / Same as the first…

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Does this download work on Win 7, 64-bit?

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Guess its gonna be the norm. EVERY month-before downloading/searching for updates, download new win32k.sys security update first before you get new month patch updates.

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I’m going to wait awhile before updating May’s stuff. See how it goes. See how the gung-ho types proceed and fair-thee-well by just jumping in, eyes wide shut. I always wait for Woody’s suggestions, anyway.

Thanks for the KB_3153199 suggestion.

Something intruded my Window’s mail account 2 days ago, but mine is not setup. I use a 3rd party mailbox offsite, not connected directly to my computer’s hard drive. E-mails take up way too much of my hard drive space I use for combat flight sim gaming and mods. I have several security programs to check for intruders and I ran each of them one at a time, afterwards. Looks like I am fine.

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Interesting. I’ll have to try this because mine has been chugging away for the last hour now. It worked last month despite not having installed KB3138612, i was going to install it manually but one of the updates amongst last month’s roundup appeared to resolve the issue: i now see from that german site i had the required updates installed from the first table and last month’s updates included KB3145739. Now this month i need KB3153199. I haven’t installed any of the may updates yet so i’ll try just that one.

So…we have this to look forward to every month? Wonderful. Just wonderful. :/

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At least it’s a 50/50 split between malice and incompetence… err… Wait I can’t find anything helpful with set up.

Ok, fire everyone and hire all new people, if we are lucky then… no, wait if you replace everyone is it even still the same company?

Did anyone write native win32/64 compatibility for linux? If we can run windows software on linux without virtualization then who needs microsoft?

Ok microsoft goes opensource, then Apple simultaneously buys microsoft and Google, then… the apocalypse. No that plan is not going to help us either…

Which scenario has microsoft releasing Windows 7.5 “all the good stuff, none of the bad” edition?

At least we didn’t get “Windows 8, XML based file system edition”, Microsoft realized it was far too slow even for microsoft.

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Yep. Follow the 64-bit link in the article.

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Worked for me anyway. I selected just KB3153199 in windows update, installed, rebooted and the check now takes about a minute or so…until next month. :/

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Or they could run the most basic of performance profiling software (written BY microsoft) on their own software fix the blatant problems and be done with it.

I wouldn’t think that you could take a list of updates released this month for your OS, download them all, install them one at a time rebooting between each (allowing the ones you didn’t really need to complain and not install) and still get your updates installed faster that the automated system designed for that purpose.

I mean if I can solve it on paper by hand faster than a quad core i7 something is wrong.

I think half of the inefficacy is un-optimized code, the other half is running your computer ragged trying to calculate a delta download to save microsoft a tiny bit of bandwidth. Calculations it obviously doesn’t cache, which makes me wonder what they store in the ~1GB windows update database… Anyone care to delve into edb formatted database?

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Last month’s fix worked for me. I ran WU today to see if it was back to a snail’s pace. After 20 minutes I killed WU and installed KB3153199. I ran WU again, and I was back to a 5 minute scan, which is where last month’s fix got me to. More Microsoft fun, and I’m sure more to come. Thanks for mentioning this month’s fix.

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Woody,

I’m on Win 7 64 bit.

I had all of the patches listed by the German link for Win7 64 bit “fast updates” with the exceptions of the “Windows update patches”.

I only have KB3075851 August 2015 Update Client installed and have ALL the ones after it “hidden” (not installed) due to other issues reported with telemetry/tracking/etc…

It only takes me 1 minute to check for updates this morning.

It did take about 5 minutes previously to installing KB3153199 this A.M.

My current patches waiting/hidden on Win7 64bit are:

Waiting and monitoring any posts for next few weeks (as I do with most releases)

KB3142024 Security Update Network Framework 3.51
KB3136000 Security Update Network Framework 4.61
KB3142037 Security Update Network Framework 4.61

KB3153171 Security Update for Windows 7 x64
KB3155178 Security Update for Windows 7 x64
KB3156013 Security Update for Windows 7 x64
KB3156016 Security Update for Windows 7 x64
KB3156017 Security Update for Windows 7 x64
KB3156019 Security Update for Windows 7 x64

************

3/2016 Turned off IE11 Feature

************

Hidden Updates for my Windows 7 for X64-Based System

KB3139929 Cumulative IE11 – Get Win10/Ad Server 3/10/16
KB3148198 Cumulative Security Update for IE11 (Important)
KB3154070 Cumulative Security Update IE 11

KB890830 (Win Malacious Tool – Data Transmit)
KB2952664 (Nagware Win10)
KB3021917 (Win10 Install Diagnostics)
KB3035583 (Nagware GWX Update)
KB3068708 (Telemetry aka KB3022345)
KB3075249 (Telemetry Consent)
KB3080149 (Telemetry)
KB3083324 (Sept 2015, Update Client, Telemetry?)
KB3083710 (New Update Client)
KB3092627 (Sept 2015, Questionable)
KB3102429 Update for Windows 7 for X-64 Based Systems (Azerbaijani Manat and Georgian currency symbols)
KB3102810 (Nov 2015, Windows Configuration MGr)
KB3112343 Win 10 Updating
KB3118401 Run Win 10 Software on older OS
KB3121255 Fixes Copy file no buffer error
KB3123862 Win 10 Updating
KB3133977 Opt: Bitlocker Encryption server failure
KB3135445 Win 10 Updating
KB3137061 Opt: Windows Azure VM’s
KB3138378 Update for Journal.dll binary
KB3138612 Microsoft Update Client (Optional)
KB3138901 Opt: Internet service denied for multiple users
KB3139923 Opt: Windows MSI Repair
KB3140245 New Registry Key for TLS 1.1 & TLS 1.2
KB3147071 MS ODBC/MTC or OLE DB Driver for Oracle DB – optional
KB3148851 Russia Timezone (Important)
KB3153731 Update for Windows 7 (Azerbaijan Timezone)

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Why do people assume that MS will issue a monthly security update to Win32k.sys that will always be a magic bullet to solve WU?MU problems?

Past history is no guarantee of future performance.

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Ron, I think the German site is entirely on top of the issue as Woody says. It is related to WSUS Offline which is a good piece of software. If you are so concerned with Windows 10 upgrade spyware/adware/nagware you should stop using Windows Update. Why still installing software from a company (Microsoft) which you don’t trust anymore?

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This is a problem which a lot of readers seem to create for themselves without being a real problem. Instead of looking for a solution, we are actually looking for a problem to be solved.

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Woody,

I *think* he might be referring to all the Windows Update Clients that the German site mentions in the 2nd part to reduce memory.

Those are suggested without the caveat of what they do in regards to Telemetry/Ads/etc…

The last one of those I installed was the August Windows Update KB3075851 on my Win 7 64bit system.

The rest I did not install and have hidden.

It only took me one minute to update after installing KB3153199 this A.M., previous it took about 5 minutes.

I did have all the patches installed listed on the first part of the German site.

Don’t know if it’s worth also noting that the Windows Update Clients noted on that site do other unwanted things.

I’m running great with only have the August Windows Update Client.

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Bob, any idea how to open the DataStore.edb database? Microsoft Access maybe, although I don’t know how? Even so, how useful this would be? I think the other approach, to analyse svchost.exe may be more productive, but is there anything that can be done unless Microsoft actually optimises their own code?
I have the workaround to install every patch available (perhaps with the exception of KB3035583, although even that one is not as dangerous as it seems to be with the right protections in place – Group Policies or Gwx Control Panel). Installing everything should make Windows Update as fast as it can be – the details were provided few weeks ago few times and I am not revisiting this issue.

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Woody: Just to verify the following, because there have been a lot of other comments which were not only for KB3153199.

From what I’ve read about this KB3153199, it will fix the “slowness nightmare” that seems to come up “new” every month.

If my interpretation is correct, I will get it from my update list, and install it ASAP. Thank you for the invaluable help you provide to all of us. 🙂

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It doesn’t seem to work for everybody, but the folks it does work for save hours.

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Woody, thank you for the clarification – – – I’m hoping I will be one of those for whom this fix will work. 🙂

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Well, it won’t download/install from the Windows
Update list…. So, guess I’ll wait a while and try for the third time later or tomorrow.

Win Updates is the proper place on the computer to download from is it not? That’s all I’ve ever utilized.

I will just keep trying as time permits. Every month I become more and more angry.

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WU had KB3153199 in my list of available updates, so I selected it and only it. 40 minutes later, that one update was finally done downloading and installing. I restarted, checked for updates, and it was done checking in 5 minutes. Thank you!

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Some CPUs handle running the same useless instruction over and over again for no reason better than others. Time bogged down will vary.

It’s kind of like a scavenger hunt all over town (when you are done, windows actualy updates), but every time you come to a stop sign get out a rotate the tires for no reason that way it takes MANY hours more than it has to. For some reason we can’t convince the driver that all he has to do at stop signs is stop and check and go. (crazy driver / microsoft)

“But the tires need rotated ever time you stop!” — microsoft planning to beat google to the self driving car

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4h later it find my update (Vista SP2). Now I try to put KB3153199 and I think I will run it all night long.

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Woody: Could KB3153199 be downloaded and installed from the ” wu.krelay.de ” link?

Being a novice I did not quite understand if this could possibly be utilized to get the update installed. Apologies for my lack of expertise. 🙁

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Justvstarted the pc and within 10 minutes got a notification in the system tray that updates were awaiting (my setting is Look for updates but do not download/install – I had not yet clicked on search for updates manually). This seems to support the theory that, when Windows looks for updates itself, it is much faster. The downloading itself seems to be going quicker than I have gotten used to over the last few months as well. 55% in during the time Im typing this. have not first installed kb3153199. 65%. Don’t tell me it won’t take hours today to update – what am I going to do with all that spare time? 🙂

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Not sure about the .de link, but there’s a link in my InfoWorld article – and instructions.

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Did you try manually downloading and installing it, per the InfoWorld article? You don’t need WU to get the one patch in place.

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Keep us posted!

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Should we install all of the updates off that german hyperlink or should we just install(KB3153199)?

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If 3153199 doesn’t work (at least 70% of the time it does), yeah, I would say install the rest.

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Woody I have not yet installed April’s updates due to surgery/recovery. Just now reading all the posts to see what to do. For last month’s updates you recommended for Windows 7X64 to download KB3138612 and KB3145739 together to speed up WU checks. Do I still need to install those together before I install KB3153199 or does KB3153199 supercede the others I mentioned for last month. And finally is it OK for me to install April updates?

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I should say that now that May updates have shown up, I no longer have KB3145739 in my list of updates from April.

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Wait. There’s nothing imperative backed up right now, unless you use IE.

When I move to MS-DEFCON 3, I’ll have the details. But, yes, 3153199 does supersede the others.

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Woody: Reporting back.

After continuous repeated failures trying to DL & install KB3153199 from the regular list, I finally decided to use the MS “Check For Updates” option and let that run for about an hour before it finally finished, and I was then successful in getting it installed.

At last!! 🙂

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I think some commenters are confused about what they should be doing — where exactly to find the manual download, etc.

The information for that is provided in Woody’s article on the subject —
which appears on a different website, called InfoWorld. Click here to read Woody’s article on what to do:
http://www.infoworld.com/article/3069693/microsoft-windows/windows-7-update-scans-taking-forever-kb-3153199-may-solve-the-problem.html

[Woody has a hyperlink to that article in his blogpost above this discussion thread, but since the full name of the article is concealed in that hyperlink (the hyperlink only says “Woody on Windows”), it might appear to some readers that it is simply a description of what Woody does (he writes about Windows), and not to be the link that they are meant to click on next, in order to get further instructions about manually installing Windows Update KB 3153199.)

===
Since I use I.E. 11, I figured tonight that I better go ahead and install the latest I.E. patch
(and *only* that one, while the other new May patches are still being assessed by the experts)
since it’s a critical patch, so I manually installed KB 3153199 beforehand, in order to make the Windows Update check a quick one, and it worked great.
The Windows Update full/normal check after I manually installed 3153199 DID use up a lot of the CPU %, and I started to worry, but the check was over in maybe 5 minutes.
Fantastic! Thank you Woody. 🙂

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@Walker,

Woody’s instructions on how to get KB3153199 are here at the following link:

http://www.infoworld.com/article/3069693/microsoft-windows/windows-7-update-scans-taking-forever-kb-3153199-may-solve-the-problem.html

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Woody: Is the “critical” IE 11 update (KB3154070) SAFE to install since it’s referenced as being one of the avenues to get the KB3153199 and it appears that many have already installed it?

Thank you for your guidance on this one. 🙂

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KB 3154070 has some reported problems, e.g. https://geonet.esri.com/thread/176898

Not sure how it’s related to 3153199….

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Thank you so much for the information – – – –
It can just “wait” with the others on the long list of updates I have pending.

Your help is very much appreciated, as always. 🙂

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@Walker,

About the May IE patch,
the reason I went ahead and installed it yesterday is that I use Internet Explorer as my normal web browser.

Woody has indicated in the past that if you use I.E. as a web browser
— which is against his overall advice because he thinks people should not be using it as a web browser —
but if you do use it, then you should go ahead and update I.E. 11 with the new May patch for I.E.
(also, he wrote, just a few comments above this one, that “There’s nothing imperative backed up right now, **unless you use IE**.”)

So if you do use Internet Explorer as a web browser, his advice *might* be that you should go ahead and install the new May patch for it.

—-
I researched that May I.E. patch at my usual information sources the other day, and I didn’t find any warnings about problems that it seems to be causing for most people.

(I do see that Woody pointed out to you above one problem that patch is causing for people with specific circumstances, which were not my circumstances.)

—–
FYI, here are the information sources I look at, when checking into new patches and whether I want to install them or not:

A. Woody Leonhard’s advice at askwoody.com
https://www.askwoody.com/

B. Woody Leonhard’s articles at InfoWorld.com
http://www.infoworld.com/blog/woody-on-windows/

C. Susan Bradley’s articles at Windows Secret
(Note that only the first couple of paragraphs are free to read – the rest of the content is behind a paywall.)
http://windowssecrets.com/author/susan-bradley/

D. Susan Bradley’s Excel spreadsheet of patches
https://onedrive.live.com/view.aspx?resid=C756C44362CD94AD!2257&ithint=file%2cxlsx&app=Excel&authkey=!AIOQkIu7flF7lPE

E. Martin Brinkmann’s overview of monthly patches at Ghacks
http://www.ghacks.net/2016/04/12/microsoft-security-bulletins-april-2016/

F. Wilders Security Forum’s running thread about “Bork Tuesday”
http://www.wilderssecurity.com/threads/bork-tuesday-any-problems-yet.370217/page-88

G. Windows Seven Forums’ subset of discussion threads on “windows updates and activation”
[Note: There was an unpleasant incident on a thread in that forum recently where Woody was treated unprofessionally and rudely by the moderator/owner of the site, which was naturally very surprising and disappointing]
http://www.sevenforums.com/windows-updates-activation/

H. Softpedia’s articles by Bogdan Popa about Microsoft “patches and vulnerabilities”
http://news.softpedia.com/cat/Microsoft/Patches-and-Vulnerabilities/

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Excellent bibliography.

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I manually installed both KB3153199 and KB3156017 (since the latter was part of the same Security Bulletin and I wasn’t sure if one was a prerequisite for the other). I haven’t noticed any problems after installing them and the high CPU usage for checking for updates has stopped as in past months.

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poohsticks: Thank you so much for all of the information you have posted. This is a wealth of information for everyone. Good job!! 🙂

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Thanks, poohsticks, for all the great links. So glad I can check out Woody again…been a fan for years!

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