Locked Out of Windows Update on Win7, Ultimate, 32 bit

Topic

New Reply

I am running Windows 7 Ultimate, 32 bit on a compaq computer and find that I am “locked out” of being able to make changes to the settings of Windows Update. When I open the program (as Administrator) and click on “Change Settings” there is a block at the top of the screen which states “Some settings are managed by your system administrator. More information.”

The options are greyed out so I can’t make any changes. They are “preselected” as:

[*]Install updates automatically (recommended)
[*]Install new updates Every day at 3:00am
[*]Give me recommended updates the same way I receive important updates
[*]Allow all users to install updates on this computer.

So far I have tried:

[*]Searching this and other forums for answers,
[*]Modifying Group Policy to remove any restrictions I can find,
[*]Installing and running the “Fix It” 50202 program from Microsoft, to “reset” Windows Update. I ran this in both the normal and aggressive modes,
[*]Downloading and running “Reset Windows Update History” and “Reset Re-register Windows update Components.
[*]Shutting down the Norton Internet Security 2011 Program to see if it was blocking the access.
[*]Uninstalling (then reinstalling) the Norton program.
[*]Taking “Ownership” of all the files on the C drive, just to be sure.

It seems that the computer does not give me true administrator privileges. I should mention that the hard drive failed a few months ago and when the computer repair place put in the new one, they reinstalled the Ultimate version of Windows 7, not the Home Premium I had before the failure, (if that matters at all). I spoke with the fellow there and he had no idea what the problem may be but suggested I bring it in so he could have a look, (and charge me).

I’d appreciate any suggestions of how I may once again take control of the computer and particularly the settings for Windows Update as it hijacks the system at times, loads the updates, and then restarts, regardless of what I am doing at the time, causing data losses.

Reply | Quote

Replies

With gpedit, did you look at the settings under Computer Configuration | Administrative Templates | Windows Components | Windows Update?

Joe

--Joe

Reply | Quote

Sounds to me, your user profile is corrupt. I suggest changing your user name, create it again as your original, then delete all of the old one.

Reply | Quote

Thank you Joe & Roderunner.

Joe, I am not familiar with gpedit, though clicked on the windows icon (lower left on screen) and typed into the search field “windows components”. It brought up a screen titled “Windows Features” with a number of listings and check boxes to turn options on / off. Windows Update is not on the list, even under the sub-categories. I did note that there is a box titled “Services for NFS” with a sub-category titled “Administrative Tools” that is unchecked, but not sure if this matters. Has this accomplished the same as using gpedit to secure the information?

Roderunner, I have set up another user ID (as administrator) but it has the same issue with not having access to change the Windows Update settings.

Thank you again for the suggestions, (and more welcomed!)

Reply | Quote

Thank you Joe & Roderunner.

Joe, I am not familiar with gpedit, though clicked on the windows icon (lower left on screen) and typed into the search field “windows components”. It brought up a screen titled “Windows Features” with a number of listings and check boxes to turn options on / off. Windows Update is not on the list, even under the sub-categories. I did note that there is a box titled “Services for NFS” with a sub-category titled “Administrative Tools” that is unchecked, but not sure if this matters. Has this accomplished the same as using gpedit to secure the information?

Roderunner, I have set up another user ID (as administrator) but it has the same issue with not having access to change the Windows Update settings.

Thank you again for the suggestions, (and more welcomed!)

I’m sorry. From your first post, I thought you were familiar with the Group Policy Editor. To start the Group Policy Editor, click on the Start Orb and type gpedit.msc in the search box. Click on gpedit.msc in the results pane. Once the Group Policy Editor is open check the settings at Computer Configuration | Administrative Templates | Windows Components | Windows Update.

Joe

--Joe

Reply | Quote

Thanks Joe. I didn’t connect “gpedit” with “Group Policy”. gpedit in Start search does not return anything on my version of windows but typing in Group Policy does allow me to open the .msc file. I did access it through this mechanism and all settings have a state of “Not configured” and all comments are “No”.
I changed the “Configure Automatic Updates” settings to Notify before downloading and notify before installing.
I also “Enabled” “Turn on software notifications”. I then “Disabled” the setting “Allow Automatic Updates immediate installation” and “Enabled” the “No Autostart” function, forcing it to notify me and give 5 minutes notice before restarting.

I then closed the program and open the windows update program as an administrator, only to find that the options are still greyed out. I will now restart the computer to see if it changes and if by some miracle I ahve access to windows update settings I’ll log back on within the next ten minutes & say so.

Thanks again for the help.

Reply | Quote

Hi system,
Does your account have a password. Have you tried right clicking.

Reply | Quote

My pasted in screenshot didn’t seem to stick. I’ve now pasted it into Paint, saved it as a jpeg and inserted image below. (Perhaps there is an easier way to do this…)
28435-Update-Screen

Reply | Quote

Hi Roderunner,

Yes, I do get that screen and have tried opening Update as Administer (and just as a user) but it makes no difference, I still get the unselectable greyed out options as shown below. Any ideas welcomed!

Reply | Quote

The restart did not change things but I then thought I’d go back into Group Policay and see if the changes had reverted back. They hadn’t. I then looked further down in Group Policy and thought I’d have a look at the settings under User Configuration | Administrative Templates | Windows Components | Windows Update and noted that “Do not display Install Updates and Shut Down option” was Enabled as was “Remove access to use all windows update features”. I disabled these two settings and rechecked the Windows Update program to find that the options are still greyed out but they are the options I want… to check for updates but let me choose whether to download & install them.

Thanks for the input and putting me on the right track to get this sorted, I appreciate it!!!

Reply | Quote

You’we welcome. I’m a little confused as to why the options are still unavailable after you disabled “Remove access …”. Anyway, glad you got it resolved.

Joe

--Joe

Reply | Quote

I have the same exact problem but could not find an option for gpedit.msc on my search in the start orb. I did a file search using a 3rd party file search program and did find gpedit.msc on my machine (Acer 5750, win7 home premium). I tried opening it by clicking on the file but got the message that the remote procedure call failed. Further checking on google advised that gpedit would not work in Windows Home Premium and I had to upgrade to the Ultimate version.

My question is can I edit the registry to get the problem solved, or must I in fact have to upgrade? Can anyone help me?

Reply | Quote

I have the same exact problem but could not find an option for gpedit.msc on my search in the start orb. I did a file search using a 3rd party file search program and did find gpedit.msc on my machine (Acer 5750, win7 home premium). I tried opening it by clicking on the file but got the message that the remote procedure call failed. Further checking on google advised that gpedit would not work in Windows Home Premium and I had to upgrade to the Ultimate version.

My question is can I edit the registry to get the problem solved, or must I in fact have to upgrade? Can anyone help me?

Have you tried Reset Windows Update components?

Joe

--Joe

Reply | Quote

RR, your attachment above in post #5 seems to be invalid.

Reply | Quote

I would also download and run Malwarebytes .
If it finds anything, then rerun the reset Windows Update Joe suggested.
Jerry

Reply | Quote

Malwarebytes shows no infection. In regards to the reset windows update, that is the problem. Everything is grayed out and there is a message that “some settings are managed by the system administrator” The settings are locked on NEVER CHECK FOR UPDATES and I cannot change it even though I am the Administrator. I activated the hidden Administrator user and tried again, but got the same results. The only thing I can think of is that somehow the group policy settings could be corrupted. Since I am using win7HomePremium I cannot use gpedit and I don’t know which registry settings if any that I could edit to correct the problem? Any ideas?

Reply | Quote

Check this setting:

Start>type secpol.msc>Security settings>Local Policies>Security options.

1. In the right pane scroll down to User Account Control: Run all administrators in Admin Approval Mode. Make sure it is enabled. If not, right click on it>properties>enable

HTH,
Maud

Reply | Quote

Thanks for your suggestion. Secpol.msc is not shown through the start menu. I did find it using a file search program it is located in c
C:Windowswinscxamd64———————–policytools—etc. When I click it to start it I get the following message: mmc could not create the snap-in.

I am runnilng an oem version of win 7 and I suspect that acer has disabled such capabilities. Is there any way to directly edit the registry to achieve the same results? Thanks again for your help.

Jud G

Reply | Quote

Should make no difference if OEM version or full version. I have both full version and OEM version of Win 7 Pro, Home version Win 7 full and OEM (Acer Laptop). No problems accessing it on all 4. Secpol.msc should be located in C:Windowssystem32 folder…. double click it.

Suprising that secpol.msc showed no results when you type in the search (You must type it in completely). It can be accessed additionally by Start> Control Panel> System and Security> Administrative Tools> on Right side click Local Security Policy> Security settings>Local Policies>Security options. In the right pane scroll down to User Account Control: Run all administrators in Admin Approval Mode. Make sure it is enabled. If not, right click on it>properties>enable.

Hope this is your solution,
Maud

Reply | Quote

It can be accessed additionally by Start> Control Panel> System and Security> Administrative Tools> on Right side click Local Security Policy> Security settings>Local Policies>Security options. In the right pane scroll down to User Account Control: Run all administrators in Admin Approval Mode. Make sure it is enabled. If not, right click on it>properties>enable.

There is no entry in the right pane for Local Security Policy!?? Additionally in the Win32 folder Secpol.Msc was non-existant. As I said in a previous transmission, I had located a copy of secpol.msc in another folder, so i copied it (120KB) into win32. It then became visible on the start menu search function box, but when I double clicked it a Local Security policy window opened with the following message in the right pane “MMC COULD NOT CREATE THE SNAP-IN’ I am at a loss as to how to proceed. Any other suggestions?

Jud G

Reply | Quote

:rolleyes:Jud,

Firstly, Create a system restore point then do the following:

Make sure .Net Framework 3.5 is enabled: Start> Control Panel> Programs> Under Programs and Features click Turn Windows features on or off> Make sure Microsoft .Net Framework is enabled by placing a check next to it.

Then:
Start> Search> mmc.exe> File> Add/Remove snapins> Add the Local Security Policy from the left pane to the right pane by highlighting and clicking add> OK

If Local Secrity Policy is not there then run the SFC check tool to install missing components:
Start> All Programs> Accessories> Right Click Commnd Prompt> Run as Administrator. At the command prompt, type sfc /scannow then press ENTER
sfc scans all protected system files and replaces incorrect versions with correct Microsoft versions.

HTH,
Maud

Reply | Quote

You said in your first post that the computer repair place “reinstalled the Ultimate version of Windows 7, not the Home Premium I had before the failure”. I promise you that you got a hacked copy of Windows. They had to disable your computer from ever contacting a Microsoft update server so they wouldn’t get caught. I’m sorry I don’t have a fix but I’d be contacting that company and demanding they remove the illegal copy and fix their mistake. If you’d rather not then your stuck never getting updates.

Reply | Quote

I wonder if you can use your original key to change the activation of your Windows. Most Win 7 Installations include all versions of Windows and the key unlocks the version that you have paid for.

This might be one of those cases where a call to MSfor activation assistance is in order.

Reply | Quote

Sorry for all the confusion. I tail-gated on this thread starting with post #12. and I do not have the Ultimate version of Win7. I have Home Premium 64 bit which does not have Local Security Policy available. I have the Acer Aspire 5750 Laptop which I purchased new. It uses the oem version of win7, so I cannot get support from Microsoft. Acer support is hopeless. All they can suggest is to do a complete reinstallation which would mean reinstalling all my applications, and if that doesn’t work then call them back. I have used MalwareBytes and 3 or 4 other virus scanner tools and they all show a clean bill of health.

I can manually use Windows update, the problem I have is that Windows will not AUTOMATICALLY check for updates. When I go to the Choose how Windows can Install Updates (Control Panel>System and Security>Windows Update>Change settings It is locked on “Never check for updates (Not recommended)) and the Important Updates Block is greyed out. There is an Information message in a yellow block that says “Some Settings are managed by your system administrator.” I am the Administrator, this computer is not part of a domain and never has been. I have ran the SFC CheckTool from a Command Window and it says all my system files are up to date.

Thanks to all for your input. Maudibe, if you have any other suggestions I would appreciate your input.

Jud G

Reply | Quote

Thought I had access it before in my Win 7 home version puters. Just tried to and not there. With some investigating, Jud is correct, secpol is limited to Pro versions and above. Is the Widows update service started Start> type services> Windows Update> Automatic? Here is something I dug up while querying secpol.msc:

“The Windows Update service” is not available” and all of the check boxes and
drop-down menus are greyed out. Automatic Update Service is missing from the
services.msc list.
Can happen if the wuaueng.dll file is not registered.

Register the file wuaueng.dll:
Click Start, select Run
Type: regsvr32 wuaueng.dll
Press OK.

Reply | Quote