How Long Should an Update Take? -- Windows XP

I have a secondary computer running Windows XP. I don't pay much
attention to it. It sits in our kitchen and my son plays a few
games ...

When I went to bed last night there was a blue screen with the Windows
XP logo and a message "Installing Update 1 of 1" then it would switch
to "Do not turn off or unplug the computer it will turn off
automatically."

So I left the machine alone. This morning I came down to find the
computer still running and the same messages.

If this situation sounds right how long should I wait before I really
worry?

If this situation sounds wrong what should I do?

I can't recall what version of XP we have or the details of the CPU
(and I can't check beacuse it is running the damn update) -- it is a
Sony Vaio desktop and is four or five years old. It doesn't have a
tonne of RAM and accesses the internet by wireless. We have anti-
virus and anti-spam that updates every boot up.

I would have told XP to do the automatic update thing but with the
machine used infrequently at strange times maybe it missed some.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks

Disconnect the system from any network/net connection.
If there is no way to shut the system down, then hold the power button
in for at least 10 seconds and it will shut down.
Restart the system.

Now go to Start > Run > type in

net stop wuauserv
Click OK or press Enter
This will halt the updating process

* Completely and totally* disable the installed antivirus.
Consult the Help file of said installed AV to learn how this is done.
Go back to Start > Run > type in

net start wuauserv
Click OK or press Enter.
IF it installs, then restart the system.

REENABLE the installed AV *prior* to reconnecting the system.
If the update does not install, then please post the KB number of it.

MowGreen [MVP 2003-2007]
===============
*-343-* FDNY
Never Forgotten
===============



jamesmcnee wrote:

> I have a secondary computer running Windows XP. I don't pay much
> attention to it. It sits in our kitchen and my son plays a few
> games ...
>
> When I went to bed last night there was a blue screen with the Windows
> XP logo and a message "Installing Update 1 of 1" then it would switch
> to "Do not turn off or unplug the computer it will turn off
> automatically."
>
> So I left the machine alone. This morning I came down to find the
> computer still running and the same messages.
>
> If this situation sounds right how long should I wait before I really
> worry?
>
> If this situation sounds wrong what should I do?
>
> I can't recall what version of XP we have or the details of the CPU
> (and I can't check beacuse it is running the damn update) -- it is a
> Sony Vaio desktop and is four or five years old. It doesn't have a
> tonne of RAM and accesses the internet by wireless. We have anti-
> virus and anti-spam that updates every boot up.
>
> I would have told XP to do the automatic update thing but with the
> machine used infrequently at strange times maybe it missed some.
>
> Any advice would be much appreciated.
>
> Thanks
>

"MowGreen [MVP]" wrote:

> Disconnect the system from any network/net connection.
> If there is no way to shut the system down, then hold the power button
> in for at least 10 seconds and it will shut down.
> Restart the system.
>
> Now go to Start > Run > type in
>
> net stop wuauserv
> Click OK or press Enter
> This will halt the updating process
>
> * Completely and totally* disable the installed antivirus.
> Consult the Help file of said installed AV to learn how this is done.
> Go back to Start > Run > type in
>
> net start wuauserv
> Click OK or press Enter.
> IF it installs, then restart the system.
>
> REENABLE the installed AV *prior* to reconnecting the system.
> If the update does not install, then please post the KB number of it.
>
> MowGreen [MVP 2003-2007]
> ===============
> *-343-* FDNY
> Never Forgotten
> ===============
>
>
>
> jamesmcnee wrote:
>
> > I have a secondary computer running Windows XP. I don't pay much
> > attention to it. It sits in our kitchen and my son plays a few
> > games ...
> >
> > When I went to bed last night there was a blue screen with the Windows
> > XP logo and a message "Installing Update 1 of 1" then it would switch
> > to "Do not turn off or unplug the computer it will turn off
> > automatically."
> >
> > So I left the machine alone. This morning I came down to find the
> > computer still running and the same messages.
> >
> > If this situation sounds right how long should I wait before I really
> > worry?
> >
> > If this situation sounds wrong what should I do?
> >
> > I can't recall what version of XP we have or the details of the CPU
> > (and I can't check beacuse it is running the damn update) -- it is a
> > Sony Vaio desktop and is four or five years old. It doesn't have a
> > tonne of RAM and accesses the internet by wireless. We have anti-
> > virus and anti-spam that updates every boot up.
> >
> > I would have told XP to do the automatic update thing but with the
> > machine used infrequently at strange times maybe it missed some.
> >
> > Any advice would be much appreciated.
> >
> > Thanks
> >
>
Follow the advice given in the previous post. In addition, connect your pc
to the router/modem via a wired connection if at all possible as this is
generally more reliable than wireless. When you were able to use the computer
normally, did you notice any interference in your internet connection when
your fridge turned on and off or when your neighbour used their remote to
lock and unlock their car? If so, you may need to use a different power
circuit to that used by your fridge and/or you might need to select a
different channel.

On Sep 14, 4:56 pm, Dwarf <Dw...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:
> "MowGreen [MVP]" wrote:
> > Disconnect the system from any network/net connection.
> > If there is no way to shut the system down, then hold the power button
> > in for at least 10 seconds and it will shut down.
> > Restart the system.
>
> > Now go to Start > Run > type in
>
> > net stop wuauserv
> > Click OK or press Enter
> > This will halt the updating process
>
> > * Completely and totally* disable the installed antivirus.
> > Consult the Help file of said installed AV to learn how this is done.
> > Go back to Start > Run > type in
>
> > net start wuauserv
> > Click OK or press Enter.
> > IF it installs, then restart the system.
>
> > REENABLE the installed AV *prior* to reconnecting the system.
> > If the update does not install, then please post the KB number of it.
>
> > MowGreen [MVP 2003-2007]
> > ===============
> > *-343-* FDNY
> > Never Forgotten
> > ===============
>
> > jamesmcnee wrote:
>
> > > I have a secondary computer running Windows XP. I don't pay much
> > > attention to it. It sits in our kitchen and my son plays a few
> > > games ...
>
> > > When I went to bed last night there was a blue screen with the Windows
> > > XP logo and a message "Installing Update 1 of 1" then it would switch
> > > to "Do not turn off or unplug the computer it will turn off
> > > automatically."
>
> > > So I left the machine alone. This morning I came down to find the
> > > computer still running and the same messages.
>
> > > If this situation sounds right how long should I wait before I really
> > > worry?
>
> > > If this situation sounds wrong what should I do?
>
> > > I can't recall what version of XP we have or the details of the CPU
> > > (and I can't check beacuse it is running the damn update) -- it is a
> > > Sony Vaio desktop and is four or five years old. It doesn't have a
> > > tonne of RAM and accesses the internet by wireless. We have anti-
> > > virus and anti-spam that updates every boot up.
>
> > > I would have told XP to do the automatic update thing but with the
> > > machine used infrequently at strange times maybe it missed some.
>
> > > Any advice would be much appreciated.
>
> > > Thanks
>
> Follow the advice given in the previous post. In addition, connect your pc
> to the router/modem via a wired connection if at all possible as this is
> generally more reliable than wireless. When you were able to use the computer
> normally, did you notice any interference in your internet connection when
> your fridge turned on and off or when your neighbour used their remote to
> lock and unlock their car? If so, you may need to use a different power
> circuit to that used by your fridge and/or you might need to select a
> different channel.

Thanks for the advice MowGreen and Dwarf.

The thing hummed and whirled away for about 18 hours and then did shut
down.

Go figure!

Hi james,

No update should take that long. It sounds as though you might have a
hardware fault, possibly with your hard drive given the age of your machine.
Try the following - right click on your drive in My Computer, select
Properties from the shortcut menu then on the Tools tab click the Check Now
button. Do not select any options in the next dialogue box, but just click
Start. Allow to run (this can take some time, so just be patient). If the
results show that errors are present and need to be fixed, then repeat the
procedure but in the dialogue box that appears select Scan for and attempt
recovery of bad sectors, which will also automatically select the other
option. Click Start. Windows will probably inform you that it cannot run the
utility straightaway and will prompt you to restart. When you restart your
machine, allow the utility to run to its conclusion. Note that this might
take a long time - much longer than the first scan, although how long will
depend on the number and types of errors that it finds. Please note that it
is advisable to disconnect from the internet whilst you carry out this
procedure. If this solves the problem, then alls well. If not, then you might
need to resign yourself to buying a new hard drive and reinstalling your
system. In view of this, it would be advisable to make a backup copy of
important files onto other media which you can use to restore from later. Do
this before scanning your drive as if your drive is on its last legs then the
scan might well be the last thing that it does.
Dwarf

> Thanks for the advice MowGreen and Dwarf.
>
> The thing hummed and whirled away for about 18 hours and then did shut
> down.
>
> Go figure!
>
>