Same old garbage. Update = problems. Here we go again kiddies. When will it stop? Will it ever?
Not for nothing, but I am getting sick and tired of having to delete the update cache on Windows computers. I'm sure you all have had this frustrating experience. You download and install updates from Microsoft. (recommended, critical, just for no good reason other than you decide to place trust in Microsoft again) . And , no sooner than you reboot. BSOD. Why is it that the best running version of Windows is the one that never gets messed with by Microsoft? Yet again this reinforces my recommendation to my customers NOT TO ENABLE AUTOMATIC UPDATES !!! That is unless I choose not to have a conscience ( I could get rich billing them every time a Microsoft update causes problems and I have to fix it.) Why is this is? Oh did I mention that that the updates in question were the "TEST" updates? I went from a perfectly functional machine to a BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH. The message was as followsIRQL Not Less or Equal . Up until this point I have been quite vocal in my positive opinion of Win7. I still feel that this is what Vista should have been had Microsoft not been in a hurry to release to the public. (what with Mac Jaguar and all) I have had a couple of minor glitches with WMP12. A few compatability issues with third party apps. It would be great if they would play nicer with Firefox. And of course IE8 sucks out loud. (BTW I wish they'd quit trying to cram Silverlite down my throat) Other than these minor glitches ( for a beta this is miniscule ) Win7 has been trouble free.AND NO I'M NOT BLAMING Win7 beta FOR THIS PROBLEM. The blame belongs to the update crew and them alone. I don't know if this topic is already being addressed in the forums. But I'm interested in hearing other peoples comments {or rants in my case (sorry) } on the subject. Maybe, if enough people atempt to call attention to this problem, Microsoft will try to fix the problem in adecade or ten. ROFLMFAO
February 25th, 2009 8:40am

Sry to hear your frustrating moments with MS. I must be a lucky one because, I do not get the problems otherz seem to have. I even try to replicate the problems and I still cant. All I can think of is everyone's PC has evil ness in them
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February 25th, 2009 10:28am

Never had that problem in almost 3 years of Vista usage. I guess I'm just lucky to have well behaved device drivers installed :)
February 25th, 2009 12:24pm

Been using Vista since beta days and have Win 7 installed on 2 machines, x86 on one and x64 on the other.I've never had trouble with windows updates causing probs like yours... including yesterdays.It sounds to me like your probs may lie somewhere other than the updates themselves... moght be worth you looking further into this.
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February 25th, 2009 2:38pm

It appears there are many folks that don't seem to have your problems, or your client's problems. I have never had a errant update, but I do not have auto updates turned on. So, is it the auto update process itself or the updates themselves? If you have many customers, you could do the research yourself and see why an update that seems to work on many computers doesn't work on yours.Did you set the computers up or do you know what might be common to them? Could it be that auto update happens during some other activity which aggravites the situation? Maybe Microsoft needs to alter the auto update procedure in some manner, perhaps putting a warning dialog to alert users prior to the actual update.Maybe with your help, Microsoft will find the root of the problem you are experiencing.
February 25th, 2009 5:00pm

Count me in as one of the many folks who've not had any issues with the update process in the Beta. (Vista, however, is another matter entirely.) Thusfar, the updates in Win7 have functioned, at least on the surface, without error and noBSOD nastiness.-jay
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February 25th, 2009 5:17pm

Egads wroteSorry, this is a bit off topic. I'm running Vista. I never realized you could delete the update cache . Just how do you do that? And wouldn't auto-update just re-download those files? Maybe you're talking about the update history?I just went into VistaControl Panel\Windows Update and checked around for something I might have previously overlooked. Across the top is the grey menu-bar, with the standard choices: File Edit View Tools Help . I went thru each. They are just as pointless today as they have always been. I don't know why the menu-bar is even there. But it is. And I once again wasted a few moments checking it. Zilch.So again, sorry to be so dim, but what are you talking about with this update cache ?ReplySorry for the cut/paste answer (Bentree answered this in another topic. I'm lazy. That's why we have computers. So we can work smarter not harder.)Click "Start" and then type "services". Click the on the file called "Services" scroll down and right click "Windows Update". Choose "Stop". Now leave the services window open. Navigate to C/Windows/SoftwareDistribution and delete the Downloads folder.Now go back to the services window and right click again on the "Windows Update" and choose "start".OK now you have to do a restart of your computer.Please note that this will mean that Windows Update will download the updates again.Another option is to use an app such as CCleaner or RevoUninstaller to uninstall the updates. I prefer Revo for uninstalls as it searches your computer for all associated registry changes/entries, files and folders etc.
February 25th, 2009 6:06pm

In reply to those who have not had a bad experience with Windows update. One of the major reasons for the problems that are experienced are due to third party apps. I do a lot with graphics design studios, automotive repair shops, not for profit organizations, and heavy duty power users/gamers. Many of the apps that they use are installed on several of my computers so as to facilitate my familiarity with these programs. The two computers on which I have been running W7 are an old HP9870 desktop ( P4 Willamette, AGP graphics 8x w/128Mb onboard, 1Gb PC800 RDRAM 400Mhz FSB, Dual 120GB HDD's #1@5400 rpm and the other #2@7200 rpm, It is set up in Dual Boot between XP Pro sp3 and W7 installed as an upgrade to Vista Ultimate x86 ) This machine has seen few problems with XP and NONE with W7. The one that really P1$$ES ME OFF is my primary work unit. ( dont worry I have a complete clone of my HDD just in case) I feel that if you want to test something then you should test in real world conditions and drive the "wee" out of it. It is a Toshiba 17" lappy with ( AMD TL-58 dual core, 4GB PC5300, 500 GB 2.5" SATA HDD @5400 rpm, Realtek audio, ATI Radeon x1200 graphics. It is just 13 months old. All drivers are updated bi-monthly on all my equiptment. Which brings me to theWindows Update issue. I can't count how many people have let the update install hardware updates for them only to have problems immediately on reboot. NEVER EVER EVER use Microsofts hardware/driver updates. Always get your updates from the manufacturer if possible. However, it seems to me that having to uninstall and re-install an app because it no longer works properly (if at all) after updates have been installed. Particularly after security updates and hotfixes. Some of these programs are vital to the running of a business, such as auto repair suites which not only estimate, inventory, bill, do customer tracking and aging, but also provide the technicians with vital repair data and proceedures. P.S. Security is not the issue. I have ALL my clients running Kaspersky Internet Security.
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February 25th, 2009 6:54pm

I've had problems were an update has 'failed' to install on the first go but nothing like you describe. I was under the impression that a lot of the current Windows 7 updates were 'dummies' and didn't really do anything other than test the update service.John Barnett - Windows XP Associate Expert; Windows Desktop Experience. - Web: http://www.winuser.co.uk; Web: http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org; Web: http://vistasupport.mvps.org
February 25th, 2009 7:20pm

Yes, and these are labeled as such.
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February 26th, 2009 1:15am

What is the saying? Luck favors the prepared. It is very interesting to see and read what other pros are doing and suggesting out in the field.
February 26th, 2009 3:19am

silverlight backward compatible update very nice, Means internet rich content will run much better like scripts. Good work boyz I'm smarter then my computer
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February 26th, 2009 4:32am

I have had this experience before, on my old computer with an old NVIDIA graphics card.Windows Update would give (and still does, I re-installed XP on it several times) a completely faulty driver update that once installed would cause my system to get a BSOD. I should note though that this update was optional.In any case, I stay away from non-Microsoft related updates via their updater; Either they are out dated or buggy, I just go to their relative site and get the latest updates from there.By the way, I have also had updates that constantly fail when installing - it was on vista, some update for my HDD? Not sure, I hid it.In windows 7 and vista I have not (yet) had any updates like the on on XP that caused a BSOD.
February 26th, 2009 8:13am

I only had to endure a botched update once in the early days of XP to realize that allowing "auto update" is risky at best. Since thenI have never allowed it, and sincenever have had a problem with updates. I review all updates and only allow what I deem nessessary. I instruct my clients to do the same, and educate them on what to allow. ..Or not. It would be nice if everyone was "prepaired" or knew how to be prepaired. The fact is, most general users have NO clue what that means or entailes. Furthermore, this bit of "well I haven't had any problems" and you have to do this or that, blah, blah blah, does nothing for the cluelessgeneral user, (No disrespect intended),until AFTER the fact. Seriously, do you really expect the clueless to know these things? Actually they shouldn't have to at all. Updates should just work period. As far as updates causing real problems, just go to Vista's news group and read. There are MANY, MANY people with disabled systems as a result of an update. So again, this bit of "I haven't had any problems" means nothing. The fact remains that MANY DO have problems. Oh,LOL andone of my faves is when a Vista update came in wanting to update my ATI drivers with Nvidia drives! What a crack-up! So people, the complaints are so totally valid!G'day
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February 26th, 2009 1:34pm

Add me to the "Never once had an issue with windows update" Group. After years of Xp and Vista in 2 different network environments ( 1 600+ PC's in the local building and 2400+ in the company) and all my personal, family, and friends computers I have yet to see a single windows update error. That said I NEVER install drivers from WU. There are always newer, bug free ones from the MFG.
February 28th, 2009 11:02pm

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