Panic: You need to restart Windows popup but no updates have been applied

Topic

New Reply

[Alan_uk]

Was working away in Firefox 91.4.1esr (64-bit) and suddenly I get the Windows Update pop-up that I need to restart Windows to apply the update (sorry accidentally cleared it before taking a screen shot but I’m pretty sure it looked like the standard dialog box).

My last Windows update was in December and the January ones are still waiting in Windows Update to be selected and applied.

How can I find out what is/has been applied that Windows wants to restart?

PS I’m on ESU. A Sophos scan finds 3 tracking cookies: mmstat.com, stats.paypay.com, track.dailylifereports.org

PS I think it might be MicroSIP. It occasionally gives a popup to say an update is available. I usually say No. It runs on startup but now it is not running, so it could be that. How to check?

Thanks

• This topic was modified 3 years, 3 months ago by Alan_uk. Reason: typo

Reply | Quote

Replies

I would recommend checking eventviewer looking for entries just a couple minutes before when you saw the popup. Very likely, you will find something from ‘windowsinstaller’ or maybe a software listed that is installed on your computer showing that an install completed or a configuration change was completed requiring a reboot. Additionally, following the reboot, you may be able to look in add/remove programs and look at the ‘date installed’ column, one the dates may have been updated to todays date indicating that was the program that was modified.

Otherwise it could have a definition update from your AV or something along those lines.

 

1 user thanked author for this post.

SueW

Reply | Quote

Thanks @mmcdon26 for responding.  To my non-expert eye there was nothing in the event logs that jumped out as untoward. So I rebooted and there was no “please wait while Windows installs the update”. I checked add/remove program and nothing there for the last few days. Another scan of EventViewer showed nothing untoward.

I next looked at WindowsUpdate file in the C:\Windows dir.  As usual after boot this morning Windows checks for updates. This caught my eye:

SelfUpdate handler is not found.  It will be downloaded

Then a little later

SelfUpdate check completed.  SelfUpdate is NOT required

and a bit later

AutomaticUpdates    Success Software Synchronization    Windows Update

Client successfully detected 11 updates.

Then this evening on reboot:

AU    Initiating Install-at-shutdown

Shutdwn user declined update at shutdown

I thought about a Servicing Stack Update but the last one installed was on 30 Dec 21 for SSU 2021-10

I downloaded and ran Trend Micros virus scanner and nothing was found.

While that was running I looked at the Windows dir and sub dir for recent file changes. I found the Sophos log that seems to record every file that runs. It even includes itself and I found this at about the time I had the alert:

\ProgramData\Sophos\AutoUpdate\Cache\sophos_autoupdate1.dir\SophosUpdate.exe

So I’m thinking it was Sophos. As it has real time file protection it needs to “latch in” to the OS opening of files. So I guess any update to the Sophos core engine needs a reboot. Just a hunch.

Alan

Reply | Quote

Hi @mmcdon26

Thanks for the ideas. I’ve just spent a good 1/2 replying but after clicking submit the page refreshed and my reply was lost 🙁

My conclusion from looking at Sophos log (because it was one of the few files in the Windows directory updated today) was that it was Sophos doing an update. I have the paid for version with real time protection, so I think it needs a reboot when there is an update to the core software (rather than the virus signature profiles).

I also downloaded and ran Trend Micros anti-virus and it found nothing.

All the best,

Alan

Reply | Quote