Solved Updates

[copiman]

I know Microsoft has ended automatic updates. I have performed a clean install for someone and would like to update it. My install has SP2 but I know there are more updates up to the time Microsoft stopped. I can go to the catalog and update but I was wondering how everyone was handling this. Is there anything out there that list updates so I know which ones to get from the catalog? Or any other input that might help?

I'm assuming that doing a search for updates normally will not work. Maybe I'm wrong. Will the normal search give me all updates up to the cutoff date?

 

[lmacri]

Hi copiman:

Most Vista users performing a clean reinstall now report that Windows Update hangs on "Checking for updates..." as soon as the SP2 service pack is installed, and a workaround is posted on page 1 of m#l's thread Updates not working, it has been searching for updates for hours.

Once SP2 is installed you will likely have to pre-install the four required speed up patches listed in STEP # 2 of those instructions [KB3205638 (rel. 13-Dec-2016); KB4012583 (rel. 14-Mar-2017); KB4015195 and KB4015380 (rel. 11-Apr-2017)] to get Windows Update working again. If you have already manually upgraded from Internet Explorer 7 to Internet Explorer 9 you will also have to pre-install speed up patch KB4014661 (rel. 11-Apr-2017).

Also note that the instructions in m#l's thread mention that additional speed up patches will have to be pre-installed if you have MS Office 2007, MS Office 2010 and/or the MS Office Compatibility Pack SP3.

See Davide Bianchini's 15-Oct-2017 post <here> on page 62 of m#l's thread confirming that these speed up patches should fix the "Checking for updates..." hang on a clean reinstall of Vista SP2 and allow Windows Update to detect and install the remaining ~200 required security updates.
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32-bit Vista Home Premium SP2 * Firefox ESR v52.5.3 * NS v22.11.2.7 * MS Office 2003 Professional

 

[copiman]

Thank you for your help. Worked great. I found something someone may be able to use. I had forgot I found this site some time ago.
Search for Windows Updates takes forever? - A possible solution

In the beginning of the page it has (Information on Windows Vista can be found on this separate page). I installed all KBs in order and I'm now looking at 207 updates installing. It also has information on Windows 7,8,8.1 as well. Hope this can help someone. Thank you again for your help. By the way, you come highly recommended.

 

[lmacri]

Hi copiman:

Glad to hear you got Windows Update working again. Now that you're patched to April 2017 (i.e., the end of extended support for Vista SP2) be sure to read the supplemental thread More Shadow Brokers Exploits Patched June 2017 for Win XP and Vista about five critical out-of-band security updates for Vista SP2 in that were released in June 2017 to patch vulnerabilities for the NSA-leaked exploits EnglishmanDentist, EsteemAudit and ExplodingCan. These updates were not delivered to Vista SP2 machines via Windows Update and standalone .msu installers must be downloaded from the Microsoft Update Catalog and installed manually.

...I found something someone may be able to use. I had forgot I found this site some time ago. Search for Windows Updates takes forever? - A possible solution

The opening paragraph of the instructions I posted on page 1 of m#l's thread Updates not working, it has been searching for updates for hours (where I post as user Great White North) actually notes that workaround is based on Dalai's original solution at Search for Windows Updates Takes Forever? - A Possible Solution.

The five speedup patches I recommend in m#l's thread match the last five speedup patches (KB3205638, KB4012583, KB4015195, KB4015380 plus KB4014661 if IE9 is installed) on Dalai's Final Update List for Windows Vista. All credit goes to Dalai for posting the original solution and demonstrating that a small subset of updates for the Windows kernel-mode (Win32K.sys) drivers, graphics components and the IE9 browser can fix the "Checking for updates..." hangs and slow Windows Updates on Vista SP2 computers. Dalai was unable to test his recommended speed up patches on his own Win 7 SP1 machine after October 2016 when Microsoft began delivering security updates for Win 7 and Win 8.1 as one large Monthly Rollup, but the Vista SP2 users in ScousaJAY's thread windows update just seems to hang while checking continued testing new updates released each Patch Tuesday and were able to show that it is the final five updates in Dalai's list that have the greatest impact for speeding up Windows Update.
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32-bit Vista Home Premium SP2 * Firefox ESR v52.5.3 * NS v22.11.2.7 * MS Office 2003 Professional

 

[copiman]

Thank you for More Shadow Brokers Exploits Patched June 2017 for Win XP and Vista . I don't know what I would have done if it were not for you and this forum. Thank you very much for your help. By the way all updates have been installed without any issues.

 

[mich]

I am having the same problem.
Recovering from PC crash I had to do a factory restore (DELL)
Auto check and down load worked fine up to installing SP2 now after 2 days waiting for the SP3 to be detected and installed there is just nothing.

also have d/l the following from the link given by copiman in above post
975517-2347290-4012598. but what to do next?

 

[townsbg]

If you are waiting for sp3 you will be extremely disappointed because there is is no Sp3 for Vista. There never has been and probably never will be.

 

[lmacri]

...also have d/l the following from the link given by copiman in above post 975517-2347290-4012598. but what to do next?

Hi mich:

I'm not sure which link you followed but I'm guessing that you eventually landed on the Microsoft Security Advisory 4025685: Guidance for Older Platforms: June 13, 2017 and downloaded the security updates listed in Table 1 of that article (KB975517 / KB2347290 / KB4012598). Those particular security updates will not help fix Windows Update.

The current list of "speed up" patches that should fix Windows Update on a Vista SP2 computer are listed in post # 2 of this thread ([KB3205638 (rel. 13-Dec-2016); KB4012583 (rel. 14-Mar-2017); KB4015195 and KB4015380 (rel. 11-Apr-017); and KB4014661 (rel. 11-Apr-2017) if Internet Explorer 9 is installed]. Download links and instructions are posted on page # 1 of m#l's thread Updates not working, it has been searching for updates for hours.

Launch your Internet Explorer browser and go to Help | About Internet Explorer to see what version of Internet Explorer you have. If your factory reset rolled your browser back to an older version (IE8 or earlier) it would likely be easier to upgrade to Internet Explorer 9 first (Download Internet Explorer 9 from Official Microsoft Download Center) and then install all five of those required "speed up" patches, including KB4014661 (Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer 9: April 11, 2017).
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32-bit Vista Home Premium SP2 * Firefox ESR v52.7.3 * Norton Security v22.14.0.54 * MS Office 2003 Professional

 

[mich]

Thanks I will delete them, I think I am getting too old for this game I now have things working so so but cannot install some programs, do I admit defeat ?

 

[lmacri]

...I now have things working so so but cannot install some programs, do I admit defeat ?

Hi mich:

I don't have enough information about the current state of your computer (e.g., whether you re-installed updated drivers for hardware components like network and graphics cards after the factory reset) or what software programs you're trying to install for me to know if these problems are connected, but if Windows Update isn't working properly and you don't want to try the solution in m#l's thread Updates not working, it has been searching for updates for hours then the best thing you can do at this point (besides retiring your Vista SP2 computer and purchasing a new Win 10 machine) is to permanently disable your automatic Windows Updates [Windows Update | Change settings | Important updates | Never check for updates (not recommended) and then re-boot]. This will terminate any Windows Update session currently running in the background and free up one core of your CPU and should improve your system performance.

Just an FYI that there's an FAQ titled How to Fix Vista SP2 "Checking for Updates..." Hangs and Slow Windows Updates that's pinned at the top of this forum board with more information on these slow Windows Updates.
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32-bit Vista Home Premium SP2 * Firefox ESR v52.7.3 * Norton Security v22.14.0.54 * MS Office 2003 Professional

 

[mich]

I could not install Avira or Smart view but have installed Avast, I will have another go at Smart view later on. Thanks for your suggestions.

 

[Vistaar]

I could not install Avira or Smart view but have installed Avast, I will have another go at Smart view later on.

Avira ended support for Vista about five years ago, so Avast is a better choice. I'm not sure about Smart View, but it might need a higher .Net Framework version (which Windows Update should give you, if you ever get it to work).

 

[lmacri]

I could not install Avira or Smart view but have installed Avast, I will have another go at Smart view later on..

Hi mich:

Further to Vistaar's comment about the Win 7 SP1 or higher system requirements for Avira Free Antivirus 2018 (see Download Free Antivirus for Windows 2018 | Avira), the specs for the latest Samsung Smart View v2.0 at Samsung Smart View | Samsung US also state "Windows 7, 8, 8.1, 10 (32/64 bit supported) ".
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32-bit Vista Home Premium SP2 * Firefox ESR v52.7.3 * Norton Security v22.14.0.54 * MS Office 2003 Professional

 

[mich]

Funny but I had Avira working fine before the crash but I did have suspicions about it as when checking for updates it always said "last update to-day" regarding smart view I have the d/l on my back up HD which worked fine before my crash but it just will not install now, I can only assume that my PC is way behind on updates and is unable to d/l any more, windows 7 is probably going to loose MS support as well, I did consider installing Windows 10 but my PC may be too old, may have to get a new lap top. Or install Linux on my old and loved desk top.

 

[Vistaar]

...may have to get a new lap top...

That is probably the simplest and best solution to your problems. Even if you are willing to pass up nearly 200 security updates in order to avoid following Imacri's step-by-step method of getting Windows Update to work, certain post-SP2 updates were important for browser functionality (Platform Update and Supplement, and perhaps the update that added SHA-256 support). Speaking of browsers: The situation is very bleak for those who are still running Windows Vista. I recall that you switched from Opera to Firefox about two years ago, which was a good idea at the time. Unfortunately, Mozilla plans to end support for Vista very soon (see Update on Firefox support for Windows XP and Vista – Future Releases). When that happens, there will no longer be any major browser that supports Vista.

 

[mich]

Yes once I got used to FF it proved to be very good, at the moment I cannot get any AV programs to work so will have to take my chances. I realise I am just putting off the inevitable so it looks as if I will have to get a lap top with windows 10 on it that should see me out. My thanks go to You and Imacri,

 

[Vistaar]

...at the moment I cannot get any AV programs to work...

Avast supports Vista SP2, and I don't have a better suggestion these days. If you have installed multiple AV programs without looking up system requirements or whether a removal tool is necessary, then the simplest way to clean up the mess would be to reinstall Vista again, since you never got your post-SP2 updates anyway. After reinstalling Vista up to SP2, please see Imacri's How to Fix Vista SP2 "Checking for Updates..." Hangs and Slow Windows Updates and give it a try. Please do not get the bad idea of using two or more AV programs at the same time in an effort to compensate for Vista's insecurity, and please do not attempt to install anything listed in my Vista No Longer Supported by Some Security Software. Frankly, I strongly suspect that it was Avira that caused the crash that caused you to reinstall Vista in the first place. If you want to use Avira, then get that new laptop (although Windows Defender for Windows 10 is actually pretty good).

 

[mich]

Suddenly for some reason I could not access the www due to IE saying IE cannot display the web page, along with this was the inability to use any other browser e.g. trying to use FF resulted in IE displaying the “no can do” message after trying everything that I could think of I resorted to another “Factory restore” this time I could only get as far as SP1 and the same problem existed with IE blocking any d/l and of course not able to display web page. I slept on it.
This morning I did another Factory restore but the first thing I did before any updates etc was to install FF 52.7.3 23 bit from my back up HD, now all is OK as far as getting on the www. I have updated but only up to SP1 the Windows says I am up to date?? I will see if any more come through over the next couple of days.
Now I am able to look for a deal on DELL lap tops with Windows 10 and will keep my old desk top, it will have its uses.

 

[townsbg]

Download Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 and Windows Vista Service Pack 2 - Five Language Standalone (KB948465) from Official Microsoft Download Center

 

[lmacri]

...This morning I did another Factory restore but the first thing I did before any updates etc was to install FF 52.7.3 23 bit from my back up HD, now all is OK as far as getting on the www. I have updated but only up to SP1 the Windows says I am up to date?? I will see if any more come through over the next couple of days. Now I am able to look for a deal on DELL lap tops with Windows 10 and will keep my old desk top, it will have its uses.

Hi mich:

Keep in mind that resetting your computer back to factory condition will not only roll back your operating system and drivers for hardware components like network and graphics cards, but it will reinstall all the old third-party software that was pre-installed at the factory when you purchased your computer a decade ago. That probably includes outdated, unsupported Dell utilities and could even include an old trial version of an antivirus program like Norton, McAfee, etc. (recall Vistaar's comment in post # 17 about wiping remnants of other antivirus programs with the manufacturer's removal tool to avoid conflicts with Avast). Some of this old third-party software might even be configured to start at boot-up and could cause all sorts of problems. A clean reinstall of your operating system is different because it wipes all third-party software off your system and leaves you with nothing but a fresh copy of your OS.

Here are some of the release dates for major Vista upgrades. Once you apply Service Pack 2 (Brink's thread pinned at the top of this board titled Download Available for Standalone Vista SP2 has links to both 32-bit and 64-bit installers) and upgrade to Internet Explorer 9 (see post #8) your Vista SP2 OS and IE9 browser will still be missing almost a decade of security updates until you get Windows Update working correctly and patch to the end of extended support on 11-Apr-2017. It's likely that most of the third-party software you are trying to install that is still compatible with a Vista OS will require a fully patched Vista SP2 OS to work properly.

IE7: October 2006​

SP1: February 2008​

IE8: March 2009 (not included in SP2)​

SP2: May 2009​

IE9: March 2011​

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32-bit Vista Home Premium SP2 * Firefox ESR v52.7.3 * Norton Security v22.14.0.54 * MS Office 2003 Professional