Win 7 Home Premium, private sole user, no significant new soft/hardware installation in the subject timeframe, no other issues, system generally runs problem-free.
Hello.
I need assistance to resolve a very frustrating problem that began around 3 weeks ago but is now beyond my ability to explore further.
Whenever I start the computer, the Windows Update window opens requesting a restart in order to install important updates. When I restart, the same thing then happens again, and then that next-time also, and every time thereafter!
Initially I had thought that an overnight update which had been reported ("do not switch off, installing updates, 1 [etc] of 25") simply included a number of updates that needed to be completed individually before the system was able to continue with the rest in sequence.
Since then however I have had to restart between 10 and 20 times a day just to be able to carry on, so sequence-updating is not the cause.
Whenever I can, I take the postpone 4 hours option, though 75% of the time the postpone option is greyed out and there is simply a 15 minute countdown to an auto-restart that I can either await or restart manually. I generally save/close everything and do it manually just to get it done, and hope for a 4-hour option on restart however there can be up to 8 or 9 more greyed-out restarts before that is offered.
It is completely pointless starting anything or trying to continue with something that was interrupted, if all there is is a reducing 15 minute countdown before having to stop/interrupt again! Very frustrating!!
I am not at all knowledgeable about how computers/Windows operate, perhaps partly because I won't see my 60th birthday again, but I have tried to research this fault because it seemed reasonable to me that a user should be able to fix an update operation, which is an everyday function of Windows.
I have seen various references to fixes that others have used on what seems to be not an uncommon problem after all, though have not tried them all because I have no way to tell if the underlying cause was the same or different, in which case a fix might do more harm than good I think.
I did at one point run a Windows fix tool that seemed to have been suggested for a number of others and that wouldn't harm anything even if it wasn't effective, however neither that nor a couple of other recommendations to stop, rebuild, and restart certain Processes via CMD have never had any effect.
Following certain pointers on other people's reports has taken me in to some unfamiliar parts of Windows including a report of update installations and their results etc, and from that I have established that the problem is most likely related to update KB2538243, described as a security update for Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Service Pack 1 Redistributable.
This and KB2538242 which is described exactly the same but for C++ 2005 not 2008, appear as a pattern together at very frequent intervals on that daily timeline report, and 242 always succeeds and 243 always fails.
I tried installing it manually at various times since finding out where to find its .exe files vcredist X86.exe and X64.exe, but each time I try running the installer (as administrator) I get a message "The feature you are trying to use is on a CD Rom or other removable disc that is not available. Insert the Microsoft Visual C++2008 Redistributable X86 9.0.30729.6161 disc and click OK"
But I do not have, nor never have had, such a disc. I have no idea what Microsoft Visual C++ is, and certainly have never installed anything by that name standalone. I assume C++ is therefore part of the OS?
I have Googled "Microsoft Visual C++2008 Redistributable X86 9.0.30729.6161 disc" hoping to find an .iso from which to burn a disc and be able to go forward and be able to manually install the problem KB update and hopefully stop this happening any more, but with no success.
Just a quick associated point or two:
... the other update, the one for C++ 2005, seems to be getting installed pretty much daily - is that harmful?
... do I need both C++ 2005 and 2008 whatever they are? Does one update/replace the other and this might be the sticking point?
... should there be later than a 2008 by now if so, and would uninstalling any or all of these solve this, or at least dumping all but the latest version if I need most-current?
... and if deleting any, how do I ensure that Win Update recognises that I have all I need and doesn't simply get 2005 and/or 2008 all over again and end up right back here?
In any event however I should be most grateful if someone can explore this for me and break this annoying loop - which in fact has needed me to restart twice during the time I have been writing this post - and return to me the reliable machine I had until a few weeks ago!
As required, I have run the SFCFix utility and am pasting here the report generated as a start-point, which initially appears to say little other than that nothing has been found ...
SFCFix version 2.4.5.0 by niemiro.
Start time: 2015-11-25 12:37:21.804
Microsoft Windows 7 Service Pack 1 - x86
Not using a script file.
AutoAnalysis::
SUMMARY: No corruptions were detected.
AutoAnalysis:: directive completed successfully.
Successfully processed all directives.
SFCFix version 2.4.5.0 by niemiro has completed.
Currently storing 0 datablocks.
Finish time: 2015-11-25 12:42:19.702
----------------------EOF-----------------------
Any follow-up would be MUCH appreciated as I am right now staring at a new 15-min warning that has just popped up with its usual brilliant timing, grrr!
Hannay
Hello.
I need assistance to resolve a very frustrating problem that began around 3 weeks ago but is now beyond my ability to explore further.
Whenever I start the computer, the Windows Update window opens requesting a restart in order to install important updates. When I restart, the same thing then happens again, and then that next-time also, and every time thereafter!
Initially I had thought that an overnight update which had been reported ("do not switch off, installing updates, 1 [etc] of 25") simply included a number of updates that needed to be completed individually before the system was able to continue with the rest in sequence.
Since then however I have had to restart between 10 and 20 times a day just to be able to carry on, so sequence-updating is not the cause.
Whenever I can, I take the postpone 4 hours option, though 75% of the time the postpone option is greyed out and there is simply a 15 minute countdown to an auto-restart that I can either await or restart manually. I generally save/close everything and do it manually just to get it done, and hope for a 4-hour option on restart however there can be up to 8 or 9 more greyed-out restarts before that is offered.
It is completely pointless starting anything or trying to continue with something that was interrupted, if all there is is a reducing 15 minute countdown before having to stop/interrupt again! Very frustrating!!
I am not at all knowledgeable about how computers/Windows operate, perhaps partly because I won't see my 60th birthday again, but I have tried to research this fault because it seemed reasonable to me that a user should be able to fix an update operation, which is an everyday function of Windows.
I have seen various references to fixes that others have used on what seems to be not an uncommon problem after all, though have not tried them all because I have no way to tell if the underlying cause was the same or different, in which case a fix might do more harm than good I think.
I did at one point run a Windows fix tool that seemed to have been suggested for a number of others and that wouldn't harm anything even if it wasn't effective, however neither that nor a couple of other recommendations to stop, rebuild, and restart certain Processes via CMD have never had any effect.
Following certain pointers on other people's reports has taken me in to some unfamiliar parts of Windows including a report of update installations and their results etc, and from that I have established that the problem is most likely related to update KB2538243, described as a security update for Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Service Pack 1 Redistributable.
This and KB2538242 which is described exactly the same but for C++ 2005 not 2008, appear as a pattern together at very frequent intervals on that daily timeline report, and 242 always succeeds and 243 always fails.
I tried installing it manually at various times since finding out where to find its .exe files vcredist X86.exe and X64.exe, but each time I try running the installer (as administrator) I get a message "The feature you are trying to use is on a CD Rom or other removable disc that is not available. Insert the Microsoft Visual C++2008 Redistributable X86 9.0.30729.6161 disc and click OK"
But I do not have, nor never have had, such a disc. I have no idea what Microsoft Visual C++ is, and certainly have never installed anything by that name standalone. I assume C++ is therefore part of the OS?
I have Googled "Microsoft Visual C++2008 Redistributable X86 9.0.30729.6161 disc" hoping to find an .iso from which to burn a disc and be able to go forward and be able to manually install the problem KB update and hopefully stop this happening any more, but with no success.
Just a quick associated point or two:
... the other update, the one for C++ 2005, seems to be getting installed pretty much daily - is that harmful?
... do I need both C++ 2005 and 2008 whatever they are? Does one update/replace the other and this might be the sticking point?
... should there be later than a 2008 by now if so, and would uninstalling any or all of these solve this, or at least dumping all but the latest version if I need most-current?
... and if deleting any, how do I ensure that Win Update recognises that I have all I need and doesn't simply get 2005 and/or 2008 all over again and end up right back here?
In any event however I should be most grateful if someone can explore this for me and break this annoying loop - which in fact has needed me to restart twice during the time I have been writing this post - and return to me the reliable machine I had until a few weeks ago!
As required, I have run the SFCFix utility and am pasting here the report generated as a start-point, which initially appears to say little other than that nothing has been found ...
SFCFix version 2.4.5.0 by niemiro.
Start time: 2015-11-25 12:37:21.804
Microsoft Windows 7 Service Pack 1 - x86
Not using a script file.
AutoAnalysis::
SUMMARY: No corruptions were detected.
AutoAnalysis:: directive completed successfully.
Successfully processed all directives.
SFCFix version 2.4.5.0 by niemiro has completed.
Currently storing 0 datablocks.
Finish time: 2015-11-25 12:42:19.702
----------------------EOF-----------------------
Any follow-up would be MUCH appreciated as I am right now staring at a new 15-min warning that has just popped up with its usual brilliant timing, grrr!
Hannay
