Windows update going around in circles - telling me I must restart my computer

scannerman2 · Apr 9, 2013

Hello,
This is my first post so I hope I have done it correctly.

I have a windows7 home premium service pack 1 64BIT system.
This problem has been going on for a few weeks now - not sure when it actually started, but:
When I run windows update, it processes for a while and the tells me to "Restart your computer to install important updates" - the smaller print states "Windows cant update importatant files and services while the system is using them"
I restart the computer and it just retarts without appearing to update anything.
I then run windows update again and it does the same - just tells me I need to restart etc.
This keeps going around in a loop and I am concerned that I am not actually getting any importatnt updates.
I have been searching the web for fixes and run many of them, but nothing seems to work.

Please can anyone help?

tom982 · Apr 9, 2013

Hello scannerman2, welcome to Sysnative!

Could you follow these instructions please: https://www.sysnative.com/forums/windows-update/4736-windows-update-forum-posting-instructions.html

In addition to the above, I would also like you to zip up the following file and attach it to your next post please:

C:\Windows\winsxs\pending.xml

Tom

scannerman2 · Apr 9, 2013

Hi Tom,
Many thanks for the quick response.
I have attached the CBS zip as requested
I do not have the Pending.xml file in the lactation you stated and have search my c drive and cannot find it.

I did not expect a response so quick as I was just about to go to bed (it is 1:00am here in the UK and I have to be up a 5am)

Many thanks again

Paul.

tom982 · Apr 10, 2013

Hi Paul,

Thanks for the CBS log, I think I have tracked down the cause of your problem. Don't worry about pending.xml then, thanks for letting me know.

You caught me just before I went to bed as well!

Command Prompt

Warning: this fix is specific to the user in this thread. No one else should follow these instructions as it may cause more harm than good. If you are after assistance, please start a thread of your own.

Click on the Start

button and in the search box, type Command Prompt
When you see Command Prompt on the list, right-click on it and select Run as administrator
When command prompt opens, copy and paste the following commands into it, press enter after each

regedit /e %SYSTEMDRIVE%\tom982.txt "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\TrustedInstaller"
This will create a text file called tom982.txt in the root folder of your main drive (e.g. C:\tom982.txt). Please copy and paste the contents of this into your next post.

Tom

scannerman2 · Apr 10, 2013

Hi Tom,
Here is the content of the file:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\TrustedInstaller]
"BlockTime"=dword:00002a30
"BlockTimeIncrement"=dword:00000384
"PreshutdownTimeout"=dword:0036ee80
"DisplayName"="@%SystemRoot%\\servicing\\TrustedInstaller.exe,-100"
"Group"="ProfSvc_Group"
"ImagePath"=hex(2):25,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,52,00,6f,00,6f,00,\
74,00,25,00,5c,00,73,00,65,00,72,00,76,00,69,00,63,00,69,00,6e,00,67,00,5c,\
00,54,00,72,00,75,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,64,00,49,00,6e,00,73,00,74,00,61,00,\
6c,00,6c,00,65,00,72,00,2e,00,65,00,78,00,65,00,00,00
"Description"="@%SystemRoot%\\servicing\\TrustedInstaller.exe,-101"
"ObjectName"="localSystem"
"ErrorControl"=dword:00000001
"Start"=dword:00000003
"Type"=dword:00000010
"ServiceSidType"=dword:00000001
"FailureActions"=hex:84,03,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,03,00,00,00,14,00,00,\
00,01,00,00,00,c0,d4,01,00,01,00,00,00,e0,93,04,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\TrustedInstaller\Security]
"Security"=hex:01,00,14,80,90,00,00,00,a0,00,00,00,14,00,00,00,34,00,00,00,02,\
00,20,00,01,00,00,00,02,c0,18,00,00,00,0c,00,01,02,00,00,00,00,00,05,20,00,\
00,00,20,02,00,00,02,00,5c,00,04,00,00,00,00,02,14,00,ff,01,0f,00,01,01,00,\
00,00,00,00,05,12,00,00,00,00,00,18,00,ff,01,02,00,01,02,00,00,00,00,00,05,\
20,00,00,00,20,02,00,00,00,00,14,00,8d,01,02,00,01,01,00,00,00,00,00,05,04,\
00,00,00,00,00,14,00,8d,01,02,00,01,01,00,00,00,00,00,05,06,00,00,00,01,02,\
00,00,00,00,00,05,20,00,00,00,20,02,00,00,01,02,00,00,00,00,00,05,20,00,00,\
00,20,02,00,00

Some more information for you - when I closed down last night, my computer said it had 3 updates to install.
Out of interest, I then retarted my computer to see what happened - I reviewed my update history and it showed 2 successful and one failure - the failure was the same KB2758694 that I remember getting at all the start of this.
So I then checked for updates and got the same message to reboot - and this keeps looping.

Hope this helps

Many thanks
Paul.

scannerman2 · Apr 11, 2013

Hi,
Windows update is still going around in circles - I have attached a screen shot of my update history if it helps?

If anyone can help I would really appreciate it.

Many thanks

Paul.

tom982 · Apr 14, 2013

Hi Paul,

Sorry for the delay, I was away for the weekend and was, wrongly, under the impression I would be able to get online.

I've just spotted something in your CBS log that I missed the first time so let's investigate this:

Upload a file to Dropbox

Note: If you prefer, the same techniques can be applied to your Skydrive however these instructions may not necessarily work for Skydrive.

If you haven't already created a Dropbox account, please do so Here
Although this procedure can be done directly through the website, it is much easier to do so via the Windows client which can be downloaded from the Dropbox website:

https://www.dropbox.com/install
After you have downloaded and installed that, you should now see Dropbox in your Favourites box in Windows Explorer. This is the folder that will be synchronised with the Dropbox servers, anything that you wish to back up online can be put in here, but today we will be using it to transfer files.
To access your Dropbox folder, just click on the link in the top left hand corner of Windows Explorer (accessible from any location - Documents etc.). Alternatively, you can double click on the icon

found in your system tray (next to the time). If you are still having issues locating this folder, unless otherwise specified, it can be found under this location: C:\Users\{Your username}\Dropbox
Copy all of the following files to the Public folder in your Dropbox:
- C:\Windows\system32\config\COMPONENTS (it has no file extension)
Select all files by pressing Ctrl+A then right-click and select Send to > Compressed (zipped) folder
This will create a .zip

file in your Public folder.
Right-click on this file and select Dropbox > Copy Public Link then Paste (Ctrl + V) this link into your next post for me please

Tom

scannerman2 · Apr 16, 2013

Hi Tom,
Apologies for the delay - it seems new dropbox accounts no longer have the public folder - you have to request this. Hopefully this link will work:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/163427194/COMPONENTS.zip
Thanks
Paul.

tom982 · Apr 16, 2013

Hi Paul,

No problem, I'll always be around here so just post at your convenience. Thanks for letting me know about Dropbox, I wasn't aware they'd changed things. Try doing the following, I'm very hopeful it will fix your problem.

Modify Registry Permissions

Click on the Start

button and in the search box, type regedit
When you see regedit on the list, right-click on it and select Run as administrator.
In the left hand panel of regedit, you will see a list of registry keys. Navigate to the following key, right-click on it and select Permissions...:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\TrustedInstaller
Click Advanced.
Under the Owner tab, click Edit.
Click "Other Users and Groups".
Click Advanced.
Click "Find Now".
Scroll down and double click on Everyone.
Click OK.
Put the check in "Replace owner on subcontainers and objects", click Apply then change to the Permissions tab.
Under type Deny, single click on any entries and click Remove. (N.B.: There may not be any Deny entries, in which case just ignore this step. Just remove any that do exist)
Click Edit (now on the standard file Property window under the Security tab).
Click Add.
Click Advanced.
Click "Find Now".
Scroll down and double click on Everyone.
Click OK.
Single click on Everyone and then tick the "Full Control" box under Allow.
Click OK TWO times.

Registry Modifications
1. Go to Start > Run to bring up the run box
2. In the box, type notepad.exe and press OK to open Notepad
3. Copy (Ctrl+C) all of the text in the following box and paste (Ctrl+V) it into Notepad
  Code:
```
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\TrustedInstaller]
"Start"=dword:00000002
```
4. Go to File > Save As... and save it to your Desktop named Fix.reg. Make sure you change the Save as type to All Files (*.*)
5. Locate Fix.reg on your Desktop and double-click on it to merge it with your registry
6. Answer Yes when prompted about merging with the registry
Finally:
Navigate to the following key, right-click on it and select Permissions...:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\TrustedInstaller
Click Advanced.
Click on the Permissions tab (should be the default tab).
Select and click Remove on the ALLOW: Everyone entry you just added.
Click OK.
Go to Owner tab.
Click Edit.
Click "Other Users and Groups".
Paste in "NT Service\TrustedInstaller"
Click OK.
Put the check in "Replace owner on subcontainers and objects".
Click Yes on any message boxes which pop-up.
Click Continue on any Access is Denied messages.
Click OK out of the final message box.
Click OK out of everything.

Reboot and let me know what happens please.

Tom

scannerman2 · Apr 16, 2013

Hi Tom,
Followed all the instructions and rebooted.
I then run windows update and it started checking for updates (as usual), but came up with the same problem/message "Restart your computer to install important updates"
So I restarted (but it did not install anything) and then I run windows update again, it started checking and then same message again "Restart your computer to install important updates"

It still keeps going around in circles.

Really appreciate your help as I am at a loss on this!

Thanks
Paul

niemiro · Apr 17, 2013

Hello Paul :)

We have taken another look over your logs, and can see no particular reason why we cannot now reset the transactional logfiles. Basically, in most scenarios, the below fix will resolve your problem. However, we must first check some basic alternatives, and that it is as safe as it can be. Simplistically, (and ignore the next couple of sentences if you don't want the technical details), Windows Update pends some operations over a reboot. For some reason, once complete, these operations didn't get deleted on your computer, so Windows Update thinks that it needs to restart to complete these operations again, and again, and again. Of course, we could, and now will, just delete them manually. But, there is the danger that the operations would then never be performed, which could be very difficult to resolve. Fortunately, after looking over your logfiles, I now believe these actions to have gone through at least once, making deletion the next logical step.

So, please start an Elevated Command Prompt: How to start an Elevated Command Prompt in Windows 7 and Vista

and copy and paste in the following:

fsutil resource setautoreset true %systemdrive%\

attrib -r -s -h %SystemRoot%\System32\Config\TxR\*
del %SystemRoot%\System32\Config\TxR\*

attrib -r -s -h %SystemRoot%\System32\SMI\Store\Machine\*
del %SystemRoot%\System32\SMI\Store\Machine\*.tm*
del %SystemRoot%\System32\SMI\Store\Machine\*.blf
del %SystemRoot%\System32\SMI\Store\Machine\*.regtrans-ms

and press enter after the final line if necessary.

If you are asked if you are sure, type Y and press enter.

Please let me know whether this resolves your problem.

Thank you!

Richard

scannerman2 · Apr 17, 2013

Hi Richard,
Many thanks for your response and I will try your suggested next steps, but before I do, please can you confirm that the screenshot below is nothing to worry about - i.e. the error for the XML core services was the one that I was getting before and whenever I shut down, it would state installing updates, but this one always failed? I also read on the net somewhere that .NET updates could be the cause?

many thanks

Paul.

niemiro · Apr 17, 2013

Hello Paul :)

Well done and thank you for considering carefully and letting us know of potential problems in advance so we have the full facts before proceeding.

However, I say that this is nothing to worry about. Please follow my instructions and I will deal with any failing updates afterwards if they are still failing.

Richard

scannerman2 · Apr 17, 2013

Hi Richard,
Apologies, this must be doing your head in - it is mine!

I run the commands you listed above, but for each of the del statements nothing was found e.g. it stated:
"Could Not Find C:\Windows\System32\SMI\Store\Machine\*.tm*

None the less, I run all of them and tried again.

As soon as I clicked on check for updates, it instantly told me to "Restart your computer to install important updates".
I restarted (there was no message of anything being installed)
I then tried to check for updates and again, it instantly told me to "Restart your computer to install important updates".
So I restarted, and again there was no attempt to install anything.

Just for the fun of it, I repeated this cycle two times just to see what happened - but it still keeps going around in the same loop.

Really do appreciate your help on this

Thanks
Paul.

niemiro · Apr 17, 2013

OK, thanks for letting me know!

It does not matter if *some* of them have no data, as long as the few which do have it removed. But since none of them fixed your problem...

It must be the rarer form of the error...registry store/reboot flags.

Please get me registry exports for the following two keys (full instructions to follow, must go like right NOW!)

Start > search for regedit > File > Export

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\COMPONENTS (do not export subkeys, here)
SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\WindowsUpdate\Auto Update\
SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Component Based Servicing\

Richard

scannerman2 · Apr 19, 2013

Hi Richard,
Apologies for delays in getting these to you.
Hopefully I have done these right - please find files attached (zipped up)

Many thanks
Paul.

niemiro · Apr 21, 2013

Hello Paul :)

A disappointing negative. Still, we shall persevere

Please click start > regedit > and navigate through HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, and single click on COMPONENTS. Please maximise your window, and get as much of the right hand pane on as possible (so I can read as much of it as possible), and then take and upload a screenshot: How to take a screenshot in Windows 7?

I'll then work out from that whether this is a store flags problem.

Thank you!

Richard

scannerman2 · Apr 21, 2013

Hi Richard,
Now I am worried - I don't appear to have a components under this location - please see attached screen shot!

many thanks

Paul.

niemiro · Apr 21, 2013

Hello Paul!

Sorry about that. I forgot you were using Windows 7 (Vista is different...). In 7, you must first manually load COMPONENTS hive for it to show. Please...

Single click on HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE,

go to the File Menu > Load Hive... > navigate to C:\Windows\System32\config > select the COMPONENTS file (the one without a file extension - i.e. NOT COMPONENTS.log or similar, just COMPONENTS >

Click Open > Give it a key name of COMPONENTS > OK.

Now it should appear. Please get a new screenshot of the right hand pane on COMPONENTS.

Thank you!

Richard

scannerman2 · Apr 21, 2013

Hi Richard,
You had me worried then - please see attached.

Thanks

Paul.

Windows update going around in circles - telling me I must restart my computer

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