windows update just seems to hang while checking.

[albertz]

Have all updates until now, but my 2 Vista PCs hang while searching updates. Does someone else is in this situation?

Some times Windows Update hangs then hours perhaps days later updates itself. If you initiate a manual update by selecting "Check for new updates" that also will keep checking for updates from hours to possibly many days.

You need to give Windows Update time. I sometimes wait a couple of weeks for it to update, Once updated it will usually say no important updates available or everything updated, etc. unless you initiate a "manual" check for updates, which can go on for a very long time.

 

[Be4stElectrjc]

I always use manual check for updates, since automatic leave active an useless service heavy on my PCs in terms of CPU etc. I wanted to download March Bulletin.

 

[VFN]

Are there any pre-install packages for March's Patch Tuesday? Thanks.

 

[Be4stElectrjc]

Does someone succeeded in install it?

 

[Volume Z]

Are there any pre-install packages for March's Patch Tuesday? Thanks.

It's KB4012497. With IE9 installed, it's also KB4012204. With Office 2003 or 2007 installed, add KB3178677 and KB3178682. With Office 2007 installed, add KB3178676 and KB3178683. With Office 2010 installed, add KB3178687 and KB3191855. See:

Microsoft Community

Regards, VZ

 

[Be4stElectrjc]

Microsoft Security Bulletin Summary for March 2017

This is bulletin for whose interested.

@VZ Did you install March's Patch Tuesday? I mean with WU, not manually. Thanks.

 

[Volume Z]

Sure, but it still took preinstallation of one update: KB4012497 (scenario: IE9 no, Office no).

The Update Search issue has been updated (relaunched) by release of KB4012497, KB4012204, KB3178676, KB3178677, KB3178682, KB3178683, KB3178687 and KB3178690.

Out of these, only applicable ones will trigger the issue. In no scenario all are applicable, but in any scenario at least one is. In most scenarios (IE9 or Office or both installed) it's more than one.

Regards, VZ

 

[Be4stElectrjc]

It's funny that one must download something manually each time to unlock WU. Now it works like it should do.

 

[lmacri]

It's KB4012497. With IE9 installed, it's also KB4012204. With Office 2003 or 2007 installed, add KB3178677 and KB3178682. With Office 2007 installed, add KB3178676 and KB3178683. With Office 2010 installed, add KB3178687 and KB3178690. See: Microsoft Community

Hi Be4stElectrjc / VFN:

My system was fully patched last month but the March 2017 Patch Tuesday updates were quite slow compared to previous months and required about 3 hours to run to completion. Keep in mind that I have an old 32-bit Vista SP2 machine with IE9 and the MS Office Compatibility Pack SP3 installed. I believe Volume Z's test bed is a 64-bit Vista SP2 virtual machine (VM) and he noted in post # 527 that he doesn't have IE9 or MS Office installed. I still don't know the CPU speed of the host machine or the number of CPU cores and amount of RAM that Volume Z allocates to the VM but his results will probably be very different from mine.

I originally tried pre-installing the two speed up patches KB4012497 (MS17-018 Security Update for Windows Kernel-Mode Drivers and for Microsoft Graphics Component: March 14, 2017) and KB4012583 (part 1 of MS17-013 Security Update for Microsoft Graphics Component: March 14, 2017) recommended by Dalai at http://wu.krelay.de/en/, but after 3 hours my Windows Update was still stuck on "Checking for updates..." so I decided to abort and and shut down my system before going to bed.

This morning I added KB4012204 (MS17-006 Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer 9 for Windows Vista: March 14, 2017) and tried another Windows Update. This time it ran to completion but required 3 hours 15 min (including 3 hours for "Checking for updates...") to finish. I was offered one Optional update for Silverlight (which I hid) and twelve additional Important updates which all installed successfully (see image below). I'm wondering now if my Windows Update might have run to completion with Dalai's recommended KB4012497 and KB4012583 updates yesterday if I'd been more patient and just waited a few more minutes.



My old MS Office 2000 Professional installation is no longer supported but I do receive a few security updates for the Office Compatibility Pack SP3 every month. It's possible that pre-installing the KB3178677 and KB3178682 (MS17-014 Security Updates for Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack Service Pack 3: March 14, 2017) might have decreased my "Checking for updates..." hang even further but I decided to just let Windows Update run for an extra half hour or so instead of pre-installing these Compatibility Pack updates.

For users who are still running tests, there are two other Vista SP2 updates that are still possible candidates for a speed up patch this month. The description for KB4011981 (MS17-017 Security Update for Windows Kernel: March 14, 2017) sounds promising but it does not appear to supersede other updates and I can't find a file manifest that lists the files updated by this patch. KB4012584 (part 2 of MS17-013 Security Update for Microsoft Graphics Component: March 14, 2017) updates files for a vulnerability in MS Color Management, but it too does not appear supersede other updates.

I won't be updating my step-by-step instructions on page 1 of m#l's thread Updates not working, it has been searching for updates for hours until I have a bit more feedback from other users and have a better idea which speed up patches had the greatest impact in reducing their "Checking for updates..." hang this month.
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32-bit Vista Home Premium SP2 * Firefox ESR v52.0 * NIS v22.9.0.71 * MBAM Premium v2.2.1
HP Pavilion dv6835ca, Intel Core2Duo T5550 @ 1.83 GHz, 3 GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS

 

[Volume Z]

I have revised Dalai's list for April/May 2017 as follows:


Update 1: KB4015195 (Update for Kernel-Mode Drivers; supersedes KB4012497)

Update 2: KB4012583 (interchangeable with KB3191203; KB4015195 + KB4012583 supersedes KB3191203)

Update 3: KB3205638 (interchangeable with KB3185911; KB4015195 + KB3205638 supersedes KB3185911)

Update 4: KB4015380 (interchangeable with KB3203859, KB3164033, KB3140735 and KB3087039; KB4015195 + KB4015380/KB3203859/KB3164033/KB3140735 supersedes KB3087039)

Update 0: The Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer (IE 9 only)

Update A: Update for Compatibility Pack SP3 (1) (Office 2003, 2007 only)

Update B: Update for Compatibility Pack SP3 (2) (Office 2003, 2007 only)

Update C: Update for Word 2007 SP3 (Office 2007 only)

Update D: Update for Excel 2007 SP3 (Office 2007 only)

Update E: Update for Word 2010 SP2 (Office 2010 only)

Update F: Update for Excel 2010 SP2 (Office 2010 only)


Regards, VZ

 

[VFN]

It's KB4012497. With IE9 installed...

Thanks very much.

Took an hour to be notified of 13 updates, a minute to download and about 20 to install--a large chunk of which was the malware removal tool.

ETA: Checked for Updates again and KB4011981 installed successfully.

Thanks again.

 

[bzbox]

Hi DeathBlow,

it's the updates for Compatibility Pack SP3, KB3128022 and KB3128024.

Regards, VZ

Hi, those files are .cab (winrar archive). How to install them?

 

[Volume Z]

See:

Microsoft Community

Pick KB3178677 and KB3178682.

Regards, VZ

 

[bzbox]

Thanks, Volume Z, but for me Office updates weren't necessary to install manually, only KB4012497 and KB4012204.
Now, my Vista x86 is fully updated thanks to your help.

 

[lmacri]

Just an FYI that my step-by-step instructions on page 1 of m#l's thread Updates not working, it has been searching for updates for hours are now revised for the March 2017 Patch Tuesday Updates.

The consensus among most early testers is that users who were fully patched as of January 2017 only need to install the KB4012497 (Security Update for Windows Kernel-Mode Drivers and for Microsoft Graphics Component: March 14, 2017) recommended by Dalai at http://wu.krelay.de/en/ to speed up Windows Update in March 2017. That isn't too surprising since this is the update that includes the Windows kernel-mode driver (Win32K.sys) update in the file manifest. These users find that Windows Update often runs to completion in under one hour with this single speed up patch as long as they don't have a supported version of MS Office or the MS Office Compatibility Pack installed.

Dalai's second speed up patch KB4012583 (part 1 of MS17-013 Security Update for Microsoft Graphics Component: March 14, 2017) and/or the KB4012204 (MS17-006 Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer 9 for Windows Vista: March 14, 2017) are likely more beneficial for users with 32-bit Vista SP2 machines with slow CPUs and limited amounts of RAM or users who have several months worth of updates waiting to be installed.
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32-bit Vista Home Premium SP2 * Firefox ESR v52.0 * NIS v22.9.0.71 * MBAM Premium v2.2.1

 

[Mooly]

I did as in the link in Imacri's post above and installed KB4012497, KB4012583 and KB4012204. A reboot and manual check for updates then found 10 more in under 5 minutes. All installed very quickly.

Again, much thanks and kudos to all those that have figured this out. I guess next month marks the end of an era and I'm not sure what I shall do (run) on this 10yr old laptop. It will run W10 but its struggling more and more, Vista really flies, especially considering its very modest spec. I tried Linux earlier but just didn't take to it PLUS it was noticeably slower Vista.

 

[bzbox]

Another update for Malicious software removal tool released today? Anyone else got that update or is it just me?

 

[lmacri]

Another update for Malicious software removal tool released today? Anyone else got that update or is it just me?

Hi bzbox:

If you mean that you were re-offered the same v5.46 of this month's MSRT [i.e., you have more than one listing in Windows Update | View Update History for the Malicious Software Removal Tool - March 2017 (KB890830)] then you might want to read post # 493 of this thread.

The re-offering of the MSRT is a common problem these days on Vista SP2 computers. I have my automatic Windows Updates permanently disabled [Windows Update | Change settings | Important updates | Never check for updates (not recommended)] and only run a manual Windows Update once a month on Patch Tuesdays after I've pre-installed Dalai's recommended speed up patch so I wouldn't even notice if I my machine had this issue.
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32-bit Vista Home Premium SP2 * Firefox ESR v52.0.1 * NIS v22.9.1.12 * MBAM Premium v2.2.1

 

[it0uchpods]

Still struggling.
I've installed all these manually:
Screenshot by Lightshot

Still stuck on Checking for Updates, this was a fresh Vista install on an older Sony laptop. :/

 

[lmacri]

Still stuck on Checking for Updates, this was a fresh Vista install on an older Sony laptop. :/

Hi it0uchpods:

When you say you have a clean re-install of Vista, I assume you mean that you've installed service packs SP1 and SP2 and that all the .msu installers in your screenshot installed successfully.

Did you terminate all background Windows Update sessions [Windows Update | Change settings | Important updates | Never check for updates (not recommended)] and re-boot - the re-boot is critical] before running your manual Windows Update as instructed on page 1 of m#l's thread Updates not working, it has been searching for updates for hours, and how many hours did you leave Windows Update running before you aborted?

Please read Note 6 of those instructions if you have MS Office or a MS Office Compatibility Pack installed on your system. The search for available security updates for MS Office products can significantly increase the initial "Checking for updates..." phase of Windows Update, and there is a link in Note 6 to peggybeggs' thread why has vista stopped automatic updates? where Volume Z maintains a list of additional speed up patches for various MS Office products.
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32-bit Vista Home Premium SP2 * Firefox ESR v52.0.1 * NIS v22.9.1.12 * MBAM Premium v2.2.1