The old windows update problem...

I have the same problem I had a while ago with windows update (which I never solved), now on my girlfriend's laptop. Basically, whenever it's updating it cripples the entire machine. The svchost.exe process associated with it runs at 99% of the CPU. As soon as you stop the update, it's fine again. So auto updates are no good, so I disabled them. But even doing manual updates cripples the machine - AND doesn't update windows. The window just hangs on the progress bar while it's checking for updates. This obviously means there's a problem if a critical update needs to be installed. This is on a clean install of Windows too! There has to be a solution for this...

Assuming you have WinXP, have you installed Service Pack 2?

You can download and install that manually from the microsoft download site, if you haven't done it already. Maybe that will help...

Yep, done it. Once I did the clean install, I updated it all the way. It was fine while I was doing that, but it's gone screwy since. Hmmm. The only thing I've installed is Office 2003 and AVGFree, and my GF installed iTunes. Hmmm. Also we tried to use her plug in belkin wifi receiver, and the belkin app was really screwing up her connection so we completely removed it and just went wired. I don't think it's that though, as my other machine suffers from this without the belkin thing.

Have you checked your system logs for any errors?

How does one do that?

Right-click 'My Computer'
Manage
Computer Management>>System Tools>>Event Viewer

Check the Application and System logs first.

I had a problem on one machine (no others) with AVG Free when I updated to the latest version (as of a couple of weeks ago). This was version 7.5, and it worked perfectly fine "out of the box", but as soon as I updated it to "the latest version", svchost would go bananas and the machine would lock up with the CPU at 99%.

Just odd that you mentioned AVG Free. YMMV.

Check this out. It might help with your issue:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=927891

Frustration only, I'm afraid. Tried looking for error logs - saw a couple from a few weeks ago, couldn't really understand anything from them. When I clicked the link it just said no action was necessary. Tried disabling AVGFree - no difference. Tried installing that support update - looked like exactly my symptoms - no difference.

I have noticed that even though I choose Windows Update it goes straight to Microsoft Update, which it only started going to after I installed Office. I wonder if it's that? Seeing as the Windows Update worked fine when I first installed XP...

> svchost would go bananas and the machine
> would lock up with the CPU at 99%.

WOW! I have AVG Free on one of my machines and sometimes when I start the computer svchost locks up at 99%, if I reboot the problem goes away, I did wonder what was causing that. I'm gonna uninstall it and see if the problem stops occuring sporadically. Thanks the tip.

I've seen this problem a lot recently, and do not be offended or get defensive. But i mostly see it on systems that have ran one of the many WGA patches that are not from microsoft.

There's a hotfix available from Microsoft here: http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=927891

It may or may not fix it... there are mixed reports on the subject.

That was suggested earlier and I tried it - unfortunately it didn't work, although the symptoms described fit to a T. Haven't installed any WGA patches - just used MS Update. I'll try uninstalling AVG, although I disabled it earlier and it didn't make any difference. My prime suspect at the moment is Office 2003 which switches you over from Windows Update to Microsoft Update...

As I would have told you last time you brought it up, it is a MS server problem, coupled with BITS being absolute crap. There is nothing you can do, except kill the process and hope it works better next reboot, hopefully when other people have stopped spamming the servers so hard.

XP just got a large batch of updates this time (6 or 7 I think) so you either need a FAST connection (and beat everyone else to the server bandwidth) or just wait.

What might help is if you go into Group Policies to change the amount of time before automatic updates checks again for updates. If you get it to check as often as possible, you obviously minimise the risk of connecting to MS servers during a busy period (beating other people to the punch).


I've had the problem on non-AVG machines.

> hopefully when other people have stopped spamming
> the servers so hard.

Yeah but the PC it is happening on isn't even connected to the Internet anymore and it's still doing it. So I don't think it's just a server problem only. So far hasn't done it since I uninstalled AVG, I still think it's MS being shit. This is why I'm always reluctant to update Windows, it just seems to make Windows worse, NOT better. Windows downdate.

It's not intermittent, it happens every time I connect to MS Update, and it doesn't just take ages - it simply doesn't go through to the list of updates, even if I leave it for hours on end.

Still getting the slowdown even after uninstalling AVG. So god knows what's causing it. Well then MrTricks, I guess we just have to accept that Windows is crap, as ever. :'(

you could try xoftspy http://www.paretologic.com/xoftspy/se/newlp/xray/?uid=7618w

It's the best spyware tool I have used and has been more useful than any virus checker. Your svchost may have been hijacked or something. I had one of my services hijacked and never noticed because I was just using a virus checker before.

Evak: is that thing really free, or some horrible crippleware? If it really is free, I'd like to give it a spin.

> Yes, I want to download my FREE copy of the XoftSpy
> Scanner right away! Free download is a limited time offer

It seems free to me, downloading now, maybe it'll work.

big10p:
The politically correct term is handicapableware.

I could have been far less politically correct than I was. :P

Hmmm, so, does this work on win98SE, then? :)

What does handicapableware mean then? Or is that just a program that makes things worse? I guess that's a good term for Windows updates. :)

It's from paretologic, the same company I bought RegCure from...