[Inline]
Teflon wrote:
> Speaking of feedback, I missed thanking you for a nugget I gleaned
> from one of your previous posts when you observed that Auto Update
> used considerable CPU resources to scan in the background when it was
> turned on. I had been having an increasingly slow computer on start-
> up, so I turned Auto Update off, and eureka, the results have been
> amazing. No more slow computer on start-up, nor at various periods
> during the day, as before, which I now attribute to AU's being turned
> on and scanning. I now manually update after the monthly big Tuesday
> and whenever I see mention that MS has issued an out-of-cycle fix.
> Thanks for that observation. Nice to have this old war-horse acting
> frisky once again.
Got a link to that previous post of mine you referenced? I don't want
anyone taking anything out of context.
Reference:
<QP>
What are the differences between Windows Updates, Automatic Updates, and
Microsoft Updates?
While Windows Update provides you with updates specifically for Windows,
Microsoft Update expands the service to download and install updates for
other Microsoft software, such as Microsoft Office and Windows Live [as well
as Silverlight & Microsoft Security Essentials]. Automatic updating [AU] is
a feature that allows you to set your PC to automatically download and
install updates using either service, making it easy and convenient for you
to keep your Windows PC current.
</QP>
Source:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/downloads/windowsupdate/FAQ.mspx
The AU client (WUAUCLT.EXE) will run when you first turn on your computer,
though it also runs at other times. Very generally speaking, AU should
"complete its business" within a few minutes then go away. However, that's
dependent on quite a number of conditions including but not limited to (1)
the amount of total resources available on the computer (e.g., memory; other
processes running in the background) and (2) the current load or demand on
the update servers.
In August 2010, MS released an all-time record number of security updates
(15 updates addressing 34 vulnerabilities) plus the monthly Malicious
Software Removal Tool (MSRT), an Update for Windows Mail Junk E-mail Filter
and an Update for IE8 Compatibility View List. So many updates needed by
(tens of?) millions of computers worldwide also created an all-time record
demand on the update servers.
As each computer must communicate with the server after completing the
install of each update (and the fact that the MSRT took an unusually long
time to scan this month), it could take 30-60 minutes (or much longer) over
several days for a computer to finish downloading and installing all needed
updates...with WUAUCLT.EXE having to kick-in & run each time the computer
was communicating with the server.
In short, you (and many other users I've encountered in the the Windows
Update forum [1] and other newsgroups) have been seeing atypical behavior
this month. In months where only a few updates are released, you shouldn't
see AU being a "resource hog."
Further complicating matters is whether Windows Update (WU) or Microsoft
Update (MU) is your default update source. If the latter, it will take AU
much longer to "take care of business" as its checking for updates for
Windows, Office, Windows Live applications (e.g., WLMessenger; WLMail),
Silverlight (if installed) and Microsoft Security Essentials (if installed).
> Several questions about two points in your response to the OP:
>
>> 2. Delete the contents of the Download folder:
>
>> Ignore Update History
>
> Does the next update regenerate the entire update history log, or just
> the updates from that point forward? Or isn't that history log of any
> importance?
Installers for updates download to the
%windir%\SoftwareDistribution\Download folder. Over time, these installers
"age out" and are deleted automatically.
In WinXP, the Update History section at Windows (Microsoft) Update website
displays updates which have installed or failed to install, whether you
installed them manually via the website or via Automatic Updates. Updates
which you have downloaded from Microsoft Update Catalog or Download Center &
installed manually will NOT be listed here.
In short, if an update is listed in Add/Remove Programs, you can ignore any
failed updates listed in the Update History section at Windows (Microsoft)
Update website.
Since you appear to be interested in these things...
=> Should the need arise to delete
%windir%\SoftwareDistribution <=this folder
for some reason, doing so will delete everything Update History at Windows
(Microsoft) Update website.
=> More detailed (and cryptic) info on Windows Update "history" will be
found in WindowsUpdate.log; cf.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/902093. The
contents of this log also "ages out" over time.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[1] With the demise of Windows Update newsgroup (on the MS newsservers) in
early July 2010, you will find support for Windows Update in this MS forum
now:
http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/vistawu/threads
Always state your full Windows version (e.g., WinXP SP3; WinXP 64-bit SP2;
Vista SP1; Vista 64-bit SP2; Win7; Win7 64-bit) as well as your current IE
version (e.g., IE6, IE7, IE
in your first post.
--
~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)
MS MVP-IE, Mail, Security, Windows Client - since 2002