Just got this from MG: I just wanted to add my 5 cents to vista part of this topic. To solve that issue on vista there are 2 updates that contain both
[See the full post at: A solution to slow Vista update times?]
![]() |
Patch reliability is unclear. Unless you have an immediate, pressing need to install a specific patch, don't do it. |
SIGN IN | Not a member? | REGISTER | PLUS MEMBERSHIP |
-
A solution to slow Vista update times?
Home » Forums » Newsletter and Homepage topics » A solution to slow Vista update times?
- This topic has 25 replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 8 years, 10 months ago.
Tags: Vista update speed-up
AuthorTopicViewing 24 reply threadsAuthorReplies-
Joe Friday
GuestJuly 5, 2016 at 10:01 am #39844Take the time to read this page…carefully.
It’s updated every month.
“Valid as of: Jun 2016 (2016-06-14)
Valid until (presumably): Jul 2016 (2016-07-12)This HowTo is valid for Win7 SP1 and Vista SP2, which have been newly installed or haven’t been updated for some time. It should also help on systems that were up-to-date last month – just install the missing updates from the list below in this case.
These instructions were only tested on Win7 SP1. However, the list of updates should speed up the search for updates on Vista SP2, too.”
-
woody
Manager -
Eric
Guest -
woody
Manager -
mre
GuestJuly 5, 2016 at 11:27 am #39848I remain utterly bemused by this episode.
I have Vista SP2. Since April I’ve been unable to apply any updates. (26 outstanding now)
I’ve tried to run the updates again today with no success.
I’ve also tried to run KB3145379 on its own, again with no success. (KB 3138612 does not appears in the important updates list)
It seems to me that any attempt to install these updates simply sends the machine into an infinite loop.
I would be very grateful to anybody who can explain to me in simple English what can be done.
-
EP
AskWoody_MVPJuly 5, 2016 at 11:49 am #39849sorry woody. unless Microsoft releases a new Windows Update Client patch for Vista SP2 that’s similar to KB3161608/KB3161647 for Win7 SP1, Vista SP2 (and Win7 RTM w/out SP1) users will have to expect very long WU search/scan times using the outdated WU client from 6/2012 and have to install the newest WIN32K.SYS update from KB3161664 which is only a temporary solution.
-
Anon
GuestJuly 5, 2016 at 12:26 pm #39850Woody;
Looking carefully at wu.krelay.de/en… I clicked on all of the five listed KBs in the first box to see what they contain and THE DATES they were issued.
Maybe the reason the KBs from MG in his post above (Windows6.0-KB3078601-x86 and Windows6.0-KB3109094-x86)
don’t work for Vista SP2 is they are too old.
Top to bottom:
KB3161664 June 14, 2016
KB3145739 April 12, 2016
KB3078601 August 11,2015
KB3087039 Sept 8, 2015
KB3109094 Dec 8, 2015 -
Pim
GuestJuly 5, 2016 at 1:25 pm #39851I have both KB’s installed on 2 Vista machines (one x86, the other x64) and currently Windows Update works as fast as it should. However, for the last 4 months it has always been that on Patch Tuesday Windows Update works slow again, unless I install the kernel patch as described on krelay.de manually first. For me this now seems to be the pattern: check for the kernel patch first, apply that update manually and then let Windows Update do its thing.
-
Noel Carboni
GuestJuly 5, 2016 at 2:14 pm #39852I’m just imagining how we could have gotten to this point… A hypothetical conversation at Microsoft, perhaps?
“We can’t make it fail outright; people could prove that we did that and that would put us in a legal bind.”
“But if we do nothing and the older Windows installations continue to work as well as they do now, the users who COULD upgrade might not do so – certainly they haven’t up to now.”
“Well, if we can’t break it, maybe we can at least make it more painful to continue to use, in order to get a few more die-hard users to move to Windows 10, where we need them to be for our future plans. Plus it would actually lend some credibility to our claims that Windows 10 is faster.”
-Noel
-
Bearcat44
Guest -
woody
Manager -
Eric
GuestJuly 5, 2016 at 3:59 pm #39855 -
wdburt1
GuestJuly 5, 2016 at 5:48 pm #39856Well, of course it’s not worth their while. Especially when they are in overdrive to push adoption of the latest Windows.
So, customers, consult your EULAs and your lawyers if you like, but what do you really expect from these people? Their promise to provide updates is similar to the promises made by a life insurance company. Either they do what they contracted to do, or they don’t. The only way to enforce it, if it comes to that, is likely to be in court.
No one else, except those in the same fix, cares, apparently. And that is what M$ is counting on.
-
woody
Manager -
lmacri
GuestJuly 5, 2016 at 9:14 pm #39858It worked for me. I tried Dalai’s workaround at http://wu.krelay.de/en/ this month and pre-installed KB3161664 on my 32-bit Vista SP2 machine. After that, the initial “Checking for updates…” phase for my June 2016 Patch Tuesday updates ran to completion in 20 min, compared to 5 or 6 hours for my April 2016 and May 2016 Patch Tuesday updates.
I posted step-by-step instructions based on Dalai’s workaround in multiple threads in the MS Answers forum, including m#l’s thread at http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_vista-update/updates-not-working-it-has-been-searching-for/92cd6922-17f6-4730-b46b-91a480b95dd3?auth=1 and many Vista SP2 users confirmed that this workaround significantly speeded up Windows Update. A few users who had a newly installed Vista SP2 reported that pre-installing all five missing Win32K.sys updates listed on Dalai’s webpage allowed “Checking for updates…” to find their remaining ~ 230 missing updates in under 30 min.
-
lmacri
GuestJuly 5, 2016 at 9:41 pm #39859I should add that I searched Control Panel | Programs and Features | View Installed Updates for the two updates mentioned by MG in your original post and both were installed by Windows Update on my system in 2015 (KB3078601 on 16-Aug-2015 and KB3100904 on 10-Dec-2015) so they weren’t the solution to the slow Windows Updates on my 32-bit Vista SP2 machine.
-
Ben Freeman
Guest -
woody
Manager -
woody
Manager -
Eric
Guest -
woody
Manager -
Noel Carboni
GuestJuly 6, 2016 at 9:16 am #39865Making something worse to use is not the same as neglecting to make it better.
Yes, we are talking about updates. But we’re not talking about the CONTENT of the updates, but the pain in checking for them.
It’s all very subtle, but have we forgotten that there was a time that you could get through an update check in relatively short order?
Neglecting to update Vista would be just not releasing anything for it and having the update check tell you that in a minute or so.
-Noel
-
Yuppy
GuestJuly 7, 2016 at 9:06 am #39866Noel Carboni says:
July 5, 2016 at 2:14 pm“Well, if we can’t break it, maybe we can at least make it more painful to continue to use, in order to get a few more die-hard users to move to Windows 10, where we need them to be for our future plans. Plus it would actually lend some credibility to our claims that Windows 10 is faster.”
-Noel
Yeah, that’s exactly what i thought. I was exhausted, just in April had resolved this hang-on Vista SP2 update with some un-related updates, found it (don’t know how) on some site and now it re-happen!
I was being just to give up and say “you won!” give me this furshlinger W10 but i can’t give up without get a chance to WSUS Offline.
Can’t believe was so simple! Now everything it’s ok!And above all, without losing afternoon in search of what furshlinger unrelated update could be the turning point to unblock the update -
lmacri
GuestJuly 14, 2016 at 1:58 pm #39867Just an update that more Vista users in the VistaForums and MS Answers community are reporting that the workaround at http://wu.krelay.de/en/ solves the initial “Checking for updates…” hang during Windows Updates.
I was fully patched as of June 2016 so I only had to pre-install this month’s KB3168965 (MS16-090: Description of the security update for Windows kernel-mode drivers: July 12, 2016). I then ran a manual Windows Update to install my July 2016 Patch Tuesday updates, and “Checking for updates…” completed in 20 minutes (compared to 5 or 6 hours for my April 2016 and May 2016 Patch Tuesday updates). My entire Windows Update session, including detection, download and installation of seven important updates, finished in 45 minutes.
-
woody
Manager
Viewing 24 reply threads -

Plus Membership
Donations from Plus members keep this site going. You can identify the people who support AskWoody by the Plus badge on their avatars.
AskWoody Plus members not only get access to all of the contents of this site -- including Susan Bradley's frequently updated Patch Watch listing -- they also receive weekly AskWoody Plus Newsletters (formerly Windows Secrets Newsletter) and AskWoody Plus Alerts, emails when there are important breaking developments.
Get Plus!
Welcome to our unique respite from the madness.
It's easy to post questions about Windows 11, Windows 10, Win8.1, Win7, Surface, Office, or browse through our Forums. Post anonymously or register for greater privileges. Keep it civil, please: Decorous Lounge rules strictly enforced. Questions? Contact Customer Support.
Search Newsletters
Search Forums
View the Forum
Search for Topics
Recent Topics
-
Auto Time Zone Adjustment
by
wadeer
2 hours, 45 minutes ago -
To download Win 11 Pro 23H2 ISO.
by
Eddieloh
24 minutes ago -
Manage your browsing experience with Edge
by
Mary Branscombe
8 hours, 35 minutes ago -
Fewer vulnerabilities, larger updates
by
Susan Bradley
21 minutes ago -
Hobbies — There’s free software for that!
by
Deanna McElveen
1 hour ago -
Apps included with macOS
by
Will Fastie
26 minutes ago -
Xfinity home internet
by
MrJimPhelps
13 hours, 27 minutes ago -
Convert PowerPoint presentation to Impress
by
RetiredGeek
1 hour, 40 minutes ago -
Debian 12.11 released
by
Alex5723
23 hours, 53 minutes ago -
Microsoft: Troubleshoot problems updating Windows
by
Alex5723
1 day, 3 hours ago -
Woman Files for Divorce After ChatGPT “Reads” Husband’s Coffee Cup
by
Alex5723
7 hours, 1 minute ago -
Moving fwd, Win 11 Pro,, which is best? Lenovo refurb
by
Deo
1 day ago -
DBOS Advanced Network Analysis
by
Kathy Stevens
1 day, 20 hours ago -
Microsoft Edge Launching Automatically?
by
healeyinpa
1 day, 10 hours ago -
Google Chrome to block admin-level browser launches for better security
by
Alex5723
1 day, 23 hours ago -
iPhone SE2 Stolen Device Protection
by
Rick Corbett
1 day, 15 hours ago -
Some advice for managing my wireless internet gateway
by
LHiggins
22 hours, 58 minutes ago -
NO POWER IN KEYBOARD OR MOUSE
by
HE48AEEXX77WEN4Edbtm
56 minutes ago -
A CVE-MITRE-CISA-CNA Extravaganza
by
Nibbled To Death By Ducks
2 days, 8 hours ago -
Sometimes I wonder about these bots
by
Susan Bradley
2 days, 4 hours ago -
Does windows update component store “self heal”?
by
Mike Cross
1 day, 18 hours ago -
Windows 11 Insider Preview build 27858 released to Canary
by
joep517
2 days, 22 hours ago -
Pwn2Own Berlin 2025: Day One Results
by
Alex5723
1 day, 6 hours ago -
Windows 10 might repeatedly display the BitLocker recovery screen at startup
by
Susan Bradley
19 hours, 12 minutes ago -
Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22631.5409 (23H2) released to Release Preview
by
joep517
3 days, 1 hour ago -
Windows 10 Build 19045.5912 (22H2) to Release Preview Channel
by
joep517
3 days, 1 hour ago -
Kevin Beaumont on Microsoft Recall
by
Susan Bradley
2 days, 13 hours ago -
The Surface Laptop Studio 2 is no longer being manufactured
by
Alex5723
3 days, 9 hours ago -
0Patch, where to begin
by
cassel23
3 days, 3 hours ago -
CFPB Quietly Kills Rule to Shield Americans From Data Brokers
by
Alex5723
3 days, 23 hours ago
Recent blog posts
Key Links
Want to Advertise in the free newsletter? How about a gift subscription in honor of a birthday? Send an email to sb@askwoody.com to ask how.
Mastodon profile for DefConPatch
Mastodon profile for AskWoody
Home • About • FAQ • Posts & Privacy • Forums • My Account
Register • Free Newsletter • Plus Membership • Gift Certificates • MS-DEFCON Alerts
Copyright ©2004-2025 by AskWoody Tech LLC. All Rights Reserved.