Preparing to install

Hi,

I'm trying to download updates on my laptop. I've been trying for over a
week now and it keeps saying "preparing to download" and stay up for hours
upon hours doing nothing. I need the updates to download in order to connect
to the internet in my dorms.

I've tried disabling my firewall and antivirus, and i've constantly
restarted my computer and it doesn't change.

My laptop is a dell inspiron 1520, and i'm running Windows XP.

Please help!
Thanks!

knuxbbgrl wrote:
> I'm trying to download updates on my laptop. I've been trying for
> over a week now and it keeps saying "preparing to download" and
> stay up for hours upon hours doing nothing. I need the updates to
> download in order to connect to the internet in my dorms.
>
> I've tried disabling my firewall and antivirus, and i've constantly
> restarted my computer and it doesn't change.
>
> My laptop is a dell inspiron 1520, and i'm running Windows XP.

Hate to ask the obvious...

Where are you trying to download the updates (physical location) from? The
dorms maybe?

--
Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
--
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

Yes, I'm trying to download from the dorms. But I looked on my updates
history and my computer has been failing to install updates since 10/09/2008.

"Shenan Stanley" wrote:

> knuxbbgrl wrote:
> > I'm trying to download updates on my laptop. I've been trying for
> > over a week now and it keeps saying "preparing to download" and
> > stay up for hours upon hours doing nothing. I need the updates to
> > download in order to connect to the internet in my dorms.
> >
> > I've tried disabling my firewall and antivirus, and i've constantly
> > restarted my computer and it doesn't change.
> >
> > My laptop is a dell inspiron 1520, and i'm running Windows XP.
>
> Hate to ask the obvious...
>
> Where are you trying to download the updates (physical location) from? The
> dorms maybe?
>
> --
> Shenan Stanley
> MS-MVP
> --
> How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
> http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
>
>
> .
>

knuxbbgrl wrote:
> I'm trying to download updates on my laptop. I've been trying for
> over a week now and it keeps saying "preparing to download" and
> stay up for hours upon hours doing nothing. I need the updates to
> download in order to connect to the internet in my dorms.
>
> I've tried disabling my firewall and antivirus, and i've constantly
> restarted my computer and it doesn't change.
>
> My laptop is a dell inspiron 1520, and i'm running Windows XP.

knuxbbgrl wrote:
> Yes, I'm trying to download from the dorms. But I looked on my
> updates history and my computer has been failing to install updates
> since 10/09/2008.

I'm seeing a catch-22 situation here, maybe I am missing some information.

Here's what I have...

"I need the updates to download in order to connect to the internet in my
dorms."
.... plus ...
"Yes, I'm trying to download from the dorms."

To me that equals: You have no Internet, you are not getting updates.

Now - if your Windows XP update system is messed up - you are going to need
to clean up and fix it. Here's what I suggest to get yourself updated...

Ignore the title and follow the sub-section under
"Advanced Troubleshooting" titled,
"Method 1: Reset the registry and the file permissions"
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/949377
*will take time
** Ignore the last step (6) - you should have SP3 - if you do not,
just come back after you have done everything else and let
everyone here know - but don't install it now.

You will likely see errors pass by if you watching, even count up. No
worries *at this time*.

*After* that is done, continue on to the next part where you clean off
some excess (unnecessary) files. It only removes those you definitely
do not need, if you follow the directions *as given* and do not deviate.
So reboot (for each of these steps, it is just best to reboot right
before - but I will continue to point that out) and logon as an user with
administrative priviledges.

Download/install the "Windows Installer CleanUp Utility":
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/290301

After installing, do the following:

Start button --> RUN
(no "RUN"? Press the "Windows Key" + R on your keyboard)
--> type in:
"%ProgramFiles%\Windows Installer Clean Up\msizap.exe" g!
--> Click OK.
(The quotation marks and percentage signs and spacing should be exact.)

It will flash by *quick*, don't expect much out of this step to get
excited about. But the cleaner your machine is to start with, the
better your luck will be later (not really luck - more like preparedness,
but that's not as fun to think about, eh?)

Yeah - you will get tired of rebooting - but let's soldier on and reboot
again and logon as an user with administrative priviledges.

This time (and this is one of the more time-consuming steps) you will be
running (one at a time with reboots in-between each) three different
anti-spyware/anti-malware applications to ensure you come up clean.

Download, install, run, update and perform a full scan with the following
(freeware version):

SuperAntiSpyware
http://www.superantispyware.com/

Reboot and logon as administrative user.

Download, install, run, update and perform a full scan with the following
(freeware version):

MalwareBytes
http://www.malwarebytes.com/

Reboot and logon as administrative user.

Download and run the MSRT manually:
http://www.microsoft.com/security/ma...e/default.mspx

You may find nothing, you may find only cookies, you may think it is a
waste of time - but if you do all this and report back here with what you
do/don't find as you are doing all of it - you are adding more pieces to
the puzzle and the entire picture just may become clearer and your
problem resolved.

Reboot and logon as administrative user.

Download/Install the latest Windows Installer (for your OS):
( Windows XP 32-bit : WindowsXP-KB942288-v3-x86.exe )
http://www.microsoft.com/downloadS/d...displaylang=en

Reboot and logon as administrative user.

Download the latest version of the Windows Update agent from here (x86):
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=91237
.... and save it to the root of your C:\ drive. After saving it to the
root of the C:\ drive, do the following:

Close all Internet Explorer windows and other applications.

Start button --> RUN and type in:
%SystemDrive%\windowsupdateagent30-x86.exe /WUFORCE
--> Click OK.

(If asked, select "Run.) --> Click on NEXT --> Select "I agree" and click on
NEXT --> When it finishes installing, click on "Finish"...

Reboot and logon as administrative user.

Visit this web page:

How do I reset Windows Update components?
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/971058

.... and click on the "Microsoft Fix it" icon. When asked, select "RUN",
both times. Check the "I agree" box and click on "Next". Check the box
for "Run aggressive options (not recommended)" and click "Next". Let
it finish up and follow the prompts until it is done. Close/exit and
reboot when it is.

You should now perform a full CHKDSK on your system drive (C...

How to scan your disks for errors
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315265
* will take time and a reboot

You should now perform a full Defragment on your system drive (C...

How to Defragment your hard drives
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314848
* will take time

Reboot.

Uninstall any and all third-party firewall applications (ZoneAlarm, etc)
and utilize the built-in Windows Firewall only.

Reboot.

Log on as an user with administrative rights and open Internet Explorer
and visit http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/ and select to do a
CUSTOM scan...

Every time you are about to click on something while at these web pages -
first press and hold down the CTRL key while you click on it. You can
release the CTRL key after clicking each time.

Once the scan is done, select just _ONE_ of the high priority updates
(deselect any others) and install it.

Reboot again.

If it did work - try the web page again - selecting no more than 3-5 at a
time. Rebooting as needed.

The Optional Software updates are generally safe - although I recommend
against the "Windows Search" one and any of the "Office Live" ones or
"Windows Live" ones for now. I would completely avoid the
Optional Hardware updates.

--
Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
--
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

I've done all the steps.. but now my windows update says:

Windows could not seach for new updates
Error(s) found:
Code 80070426


"Shenan Stanley" wrote:

> knuxbbgrl wrote:
> > I'm trying to download updates on my laptop. I've been trying for
> > over a week now and it keeps saying "preparing to download" and
> > stay up for hours upon hours doing nothing. I need the updates to
> > download in order to connect to the internet in my dorms.
> >
> > I've tried disabling my firewall and antivirus, and i've constantly
> > restarted my computer and it doesn't change.
> >
> > My laptop is a dell inspiron 1520, and i'm running Windows XP.
>
> knuxbbgrl wrote:
> > Yes, I'm trying to download from the dorms. But I looked on my
> > updates history and my computer has been failing to install updates
> > since 10/09/2008.
>
> I'm seeing a catch-22 situation here, maybe I am missing some information.
>
> Here's what I have...
>
> "I need the updates to download in order to connect to the internet in my
> dorms."
> .... plus ...
> "Yes, I'm trying to download from the dorms."
>
> To me that equals: You have no Internet, you are not getting updates.
>
> Now - if your Windows XP update system is messed up - you are going to need
> to clean up and fix it. Here's what I suggest to get yourself updated...
>
> Ignore the title and follow the sub-section under
> "Advanced Troubleshooting" titled,
> "Method 1: Reset the registry and the file permissions"
> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/949377
> *will take time
> ** Ignore the last step (6) - you should have SP3 - if you do not,
> just come back after you have done everything else and let
> everyone here know - but don't install it now.
>
> You will likely see errors pass by if you watching, even count up. No
> worries *at this time*.
>
> *After* that is done, continue on to the next part where you clean off
> some excess (unnecessary) files. It only removes those you definitely
> do not need, if you follow the directions *as given* and do not deviate.
> So reboot (for each of these steps, it is just best to reboot right
> before - but I will continue to point that out) and logon as an user with
> administrative priviledges.
>
> Download/install the "Windows Installer CleanUp Utility":
> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/290301
>
> After installing, do the following:
>
> Start button --> RUN
> (no "RUN"? Press the "Windows Key" + R on your keyboard)
> --> type in:
> "%ProgramFiles%\Windows Installer Clean Up\msizap.exe" g!
> --> Click OK.
> (The quotation marks and percentage signs and spacing should be exact.)
>
> It will flash by *quick*, don't expect much out of this step to get
> excited about. But the cleaner your machine is to start with, the
> better your luck will be later (not really luck - more like preparedness,
> but that's not as fun to think about, eh?)
>
> Yeah - you will get tired of rebooting - but let's soldier on and reboot
> again and logon as an user with administrative priviledges.
>
> This time (and this is one of the more time-consuming steps) you will be
> running (one at a time with reboots in-between each) three different
> anti-spyware/anti-malware applications to ensure you come up clean.
>
> Download, install, run, update and perform a full scan with the following
> (freeware version):
>
> SuperAntiSpyware
> http://www.superantispyware.com/
>
> Reboot and logon as administrative user.
>
> Download, install, run, update and perform a full scan with the following
> (freeware version):
>
> MalwareBytes
> http://www.malwarebytes.com/
>
> Reboot and logon as administrative user.
>
> Download and run the MSRT manually:
> http://www.microsoft.com/security/ma...e/default.mspx
>
> You may find nothing, you may find only cookies, you may think it is a
> waste of time - but if you do all this and report back here with what you
> do/don't find as you are doing all of it - you are adding more pieces to
> the puzzle and the entire picture just may become clearer and your
> problem resolved.
>
> Reboot and logon as administrative user.
>
> Download/Install the latest Windows Installer (for your OS):
> ( Windows XP 32-bit : WindowsXP-KB942288-v3-x86.exe )
> http://www.microsoft.com/downloadS/d...displaylang=en
>
> Reboot and logon as administrative user.
>
> Download the latest version of the Windows Update agent from here (x86):
> http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=91237
> .... and save it to the root of your C:\ drive. After saving it to the
> root of the C:\ drive, do the following:
>
> Close all Internet Explorer windows and other applications.
>
> Start button --> RUN and type in:
> %SystemDrive%\windowsupdateagent30-x86.exe /WUFORCE
> --> Click OK.
>
> (If asked, select "Run.) --> Click on NEXT --> Select "I agree" and click on
> NEXT --> When it finishes installing, click on "Finish"...
>
> Reboot and logon as administrative user.
>
> Visit this web page:
>
> How do I reset Windows Update components?
> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/971058
>
> .... and click on the "Microsoft Fix it" icon. When asked, select "RUN",
> both times. Check the "I agree" box and click on "Next". Check the box
> for "Run aggressive options (not recommended)" and click "Next". Let
> it finish up and follow the prompts until it is done. Close/exit and
> reboot when it is.
>
> You should now perform a full CHKDSK on your system drive (C...
>
> How to scan your disks for errors
> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315265
> * will take time and a reboot
>
> You should now perform a full Defragment on your system drive (C...
>
> How to Defragment your hard drives
> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314848
> * will take time
>
> Reboot.
>
> Uninstall any and all third-party firewall applications (ZoneAlarm, etc)
> and utilize the built-in Windows Firewall only.
>
> Reboot.
>
> Log on as an user with administrative rights and open Internet Explorer
> and visit http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/ and select to do a
> CUSTOM scan...
>
> Every time you are about to click on something while at these web pages -
> first press and hold down the CTRL key while you click on it. You can
> release the CTRL key after clicking each time.
>
> Once the scan is done, select just _ONE_ of the high priority updates
> (deselect any others) and install it.
>
> Reboot again.
>
> If it did work - try the web page again - selecting no more than 3-5 at a
> time. Rebooting as needed.
>
> The Optional Software updates are generally safe - although I recommend
> against the "Windows Search" one and any of the "Office Live" ones or
> "Windows Live" ones for now. I would completely avoid the
> Optional Hardware updates.
>
> --
> Shenan Stanley
> MS-MVP
> --
> How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
> http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
>
>
> .
>

knuxbbgrl wrote:
> I've done all the steps.. but now my windows update says:
>
> Windows could not seach for new updates
> Error(s) found:
> Code 80070426

Please visit http://www.microsoft.com/genuine/ and click on the Validate
Windows and/or Validate Office button then restart your computer.

If you weren't able to Validate, proceed as follows:

1. Download this diagnostic tool, saving it to your desktop:
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=56062

=> WinXP: Double-click on the executable to run the tool.

=> Vista & Win7: Right-click on the executable and select Run as
Administrator to run the tool.

2. After running the tool, click on the Windows and/or Office tab as
appropriate and then click on Copy to Clipboard.

NB: You may want to open a new Notepad file, paste the contents of your
clipboard into it & save for future reference.

3. Begin a new post in the appropriate Microsoft Genine Advantage forum and
paste the results of the WGA Diagnostic Data in a detailed post:
http://social.microsoft.com/Forums/e...tegory/genuine (i.e., NOT this
newsgroup)

4. A troubleshooting specialist will analyze the data and recommend an
appropriate solution.

--
Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
--
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

[My, but that looks familiar... <eg>]

Shenan Stanley wrote:
> Please visit http://www.microsoft.com/genuine/ and click on the Validate
> Windows and/or Validate Office button then restart your computer.
>
> If you weren't able to Validate, proceed as follows:
>
> 1. Download this diagnostic tool, saving it to your desktop:
> http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=56062
>
> => WinXP: Double-click on the executable to run the tool.
>
> => Vista & Win7: Right-click on the executable and select Run as
> Administrator to run the tool.
>
> 2. After running the tool, click on the Windows and/or Office tab as
> appropriate and then click on Copy to Clipboard.
>
> NB: You may want to open a new Notepad file, paste the contents of your
> clipboard into it & save for future reference.
>
> 3. Begin a new post in the appropriate Microsoft Genine Advantage forum
> and
> paste the results of the WGA Diagnostic Data in a detailed post:
> http://social.microsoft.com/Forums/e...tegory/genuine (i.e., NOT this
> newsgroup)
>
> 4. A troubleshooting specialist will analyze the data and recommend an
> appropriate solution.
>
> --
> Shenan Stanley
> MS-MVP

<snipped>

PA Bear [MS MVP] wrote:
> [My, but that looks familiar... <eg>]

Nothin' works like Google. ;-)

(BTW - that was copied from a PA Bear [MS MVP] posting - my apologies for
not crediting.)

--
Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
--
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

No worries: Just yankin' yer chain, Shenan.

Shenan Stanley wrote:
> <snipped>
>
> PA Bear [MS MVP] wrote:
>> [My, but that looks familiar... <eg>]
>
> Nothin' works like Google. ;-)
>
> (BTW - that was copied from a PA Bear [MS MVP] posting - my apologies for
> not crediting.)
>
> --
> Shenan Stanley
> MS-MVP