Automatic updates keep reappearing

Hi folks. I'm new here and have spent the past two hours trying different
search strings to find this problem but no luck. So apologies in advance if
this has already been discussed to death.

I'm running XP home edition. I have been successfully using the Windows
automatic update feature for the past year. But for the past few weeks, the
auto update icon in the systray says "Updates are ready for your computer".
When I view the updates to be installed, it is the same set of 12* every
time. I select to do the download and install -- the download runs fine and I
get the normal message to restart in order to complete the install. I restart
and don't receive any error messages. But within a few minutes, the auto
update icon is back in the systray with the exact same set of updates listed.

I went to the Windows Update site and checked my update history. It shows I
have successfully downloaded (installed?) the same set of 12 updates every
day for the past few weeks.

My questions:
1. How can I confirm that these updates have, in fact, been successfully
installed?
2. How can I get rid of the apparently incorrect auto update message?

I am not knowledgeable in this area so thanks for any guidance you can
provide.

* The update set as listed in the Auto Update dialogue: KB896688, KB890046,
KB893756, KB896423, KB896424, KB899587, KB900725, KB901214, KB902400,
KB905414, KB905749, KB894391.

I am having the same exact problem except with one update only. I get no
error messages or anything. It just totally acts like I never downloaded or
installed it.

"DRM" wrote:

> Hi folks. I'm new here and have spent the past two hours trying different
> search strings to find this problem but no luck. So apologies in advance if
> this has already been discussed to death.
>
> I'm running XP home edition. I have been successfully using the Windows
> automatic update feature for the past year. But for the past few weeks, the
> auto update icon in the systray says "Updates are ready for your computer".
> When I view the updates to be installed, it is the same set of 12* every
> time. I select to do the download and install -- the download runs fine and I
> get the normal message to restart in order to complete the install. I restart
> and don't receive any error messages. But within a few minutes, the auto
> update icon is back in the systray with the exact same set of updates listed.
>
> I went to the Windows Update site and checked my update history. It shows I
> have successfully downloaded (installed?) the same set of 12 updates every
> day for the past few weeks.
>
> My questions:
> 1. How can I confirm that these updates have, in fact, been successfully
> installed?
> 2. How can I get rid of the apparently incorrect auto update message?
>
> I am not knowledgeable in this area so thanks for any guidance you can
> provide.
>
> * The update set as listed in the Auto Update dialogue: KB896688, KB890046,
> KB893756, KB896423, KB896424, KB899587, KB900725, KB901214, KB902400,
> KB905414, KB905749, KB894391.

"DRM" <> wrote in message
news:A29452A1-1B1C-44A1-B728-
....
> My questions:
> 1. How can I confirm that these updates have, in fact, been successfully
> installed?


Follow the KB articles' links to the TechNet bulletins.
A bulletin has information about how to check (typically with MBSA,
depending on the product being updated) if the update is on.
More significantly they usually list the modules updated and their versions
so you can doublecheck that the modules have been updated yourself manually.


> 2. How can I get rid of the apparently incorrect auto update message?


It depends on whether the message is "incorrect" or not.
E.g. if your analysis for question #1 shows that some regressions
are present you either need to fix those or try to back out a partly applied
update so a reinstall has a better chance of succeeding.

Alternatively, you may get different results by downloading the updates
from the Windows Update Catalog and installing them manually.
FWIW with WUv4 and AU that is something that I occasionally had to do
if using one or the other didn't make an update "stick".

Also, are you getting prompted to reboot after these updates?
Are you leaving running security products which might be interfering with
such updates? Then it may be helpful to apply them individually and see
if the ones which require reboot are the only ones which are causing
the problem. Etc.

Finally, Win2K users have discovered that there were some
apparent undocumented pre-requisites for installing their post SP4 Rollup
or a similar symptom would occur. Perhaps you will have to diagnose
and resolve a similar (so far unknown) case with your OS?


Good luck

Robert Aldwinckle
---

x1013x wrote:

> I am having the same exact problem except with one update only.
> I get no error messages or anything. It just totally acts like
> I never downloaded or installed it.
>
Hi,

What is the update number, and what OS and service pack do you have
installed?



--
torgeir, Microsoft MVP Scripting, Porsgrunn Norway
Administration scripting examples and an ONLINE version of
the 1328 page Scripting Guide:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/scr...r/default.mspx

Hi Robert.

Thanks for your suggestions.

Re: your comment about manually installing the updates individually: when
the auto update dialogue lists multiple updates, should I install the one at
the top of the list first, or the one at the bottom of the list? I know the
sequence can be significant, I'm just not sure which item in the list is
considered to be the "first" item.



"Robert Aldwinckle" wrote:

> "DRM" <> wrote in message
> news:A29452A1-1B1C-44A1-B728-
> ....
> > My questions:
> > 1. How can I confirm that these updates have, in fact, been successfully
> > installed?
>
>
> Follow the KB articles' links to the TechNet bulletins.
> A bulletin has information about how to check (typically with MBSA,
> depending on the product being updated) if the update is on.
> More significantly they usually list the modules updated and their versions
> so you can doublecheck that the modules have been updated yourself manually.
>
>
> > 2. How can I get rid of the apparently incorrect auto update message?
>
>
> It depends on whether the message is "incorrect" or not.
> E.g. if your analysis for question #1 shows that some regressions
> are present you either need to fix those or try to back out a partly applied
> update so a reinstall has a better chance of succeeding.
>
> Alternatively, you may get different results by downloading the updates
> from the Windows Update Catalog and installing them manually.
> FWIW with WUv4 and AU that is something that I occasionally had to do
> if using one or the other didn't make an update "stick".
>
> Also, are you getting prompted to reboot after these updates?
> Are you leaving running security products which might be interfering with
> such updates? Then it may be helpful to apply them individually and see
> if the ones which require reboot are the only ones which are causing
> the problem. Etc.
>
> Finally, Win2K users have discovered that there were some
> apparent undocumented pre-requisites for installing their post SP4 Rollup
> or a similar symptom would occur. Perhaps you will have to diagnose
> and resolve a similar (so far unknown) case with your OS?
>
>
> Good luck
>
> Robert Aldwinckle
> ---
>
>
>

"DRM" <> wrote in message newsC97DF92-206C-4B7A-AC18-...
> Hi Robert.
>
> Thanks for your suggestions.
>
> Re: your comment about manually installing the updates individually: when
> the auto update dialogue lists multiple updates, should I install the one at
> the top of the list first, or the one at the bottom of the list? I know the
> sequence can be significant, I'm just not sure which item in the list is
> considered to be the "first" item.


How about whatever order they appeared in WindowsUpdate.log
the last time they were "installed"? Presumably if there are any
ordering dependencies they should have been in effect automatically
when the updates were first applied en masse.

Alternatively if the updates are timestamped you could go back to the order
that they were issued in (which may not necessarily be the in increasing
number of KB article.)

However, if the modules are all independent it should not matter which
order the updates are applied.


Good luck

Robert
---