Windows Update is the devil

[Ambiguity]

I have decided that I hate windows update.

Why?

Well have any of you windows users ever been surfing the web or word processing and suddenly notice that your CPU usage has gone to 100%? This of course with nothing running that causes this? I have, and the reason is windows update. It's done it on multiple computers I have owned.

When you see your computer doing this, Ctrl-Alt-Del and see if the process 'svchost.exe' is the one running at 99/100%. If so it is probably windows update doing it.

This seems to happen when a new patch is released, and renders my computer useless for about 5 minutes, and by useless I mean I cannot click on anything...

Therefor I have decided to disable windows update (disabled it in the control panel as well as the in the services list). I also have decided to use 'WindizUpdate' which is basically a windows update for firefox

http://windowsupdate.62nds.com/

I'm not bashing XP...however, while it is useful, I find that windows update does more harm than good.

[Trance-Aholic]

That's odd, I've never had that problem.

[Ambiguity]

Perhaps you just don't know it.

[DJ_Serg]

svchost does that once in a while. And it def. blows since you usually have several instances of it running. A restart fixes it most of the time.

[Ambiguity]

Svchost is the thing that contains most system process. When I went in (SysInternals process explorer) and looked at which process was doing it, it was wupdate. Every time it is wupdate.

It's not because you have several instances running, it's because windows update is the devil.

http://searchwinit.techtarget.com/or...207419,00.html

[Hotpockets]

I've noticed this a few times and it's extremely annoying. I don't have the problems you are having but I definitely notice something. Thank you for both of the links Ambiguity!

[Entranced]

Originally Posted by DJ_Serg

svchost does that once in a while. And it def. blows since you usually have several instances of it running. A restart fixes it most of the time.

That's correct. An svchost instance handles Windows Update and it takes whatever CPU it can get while it's examining your software config. This svchost runs at Normal priority. (I'm surprised Microsoft doesn't have it run at Below Normal since Automatic Windows Update is supposed to be a background process.)

So what you can do is to raise whatever program you are working on to Above Normal priority when you notice that Windows Update is running.

I myself do not do that, instead I disable Automatic Windows Update and run Windows Update manually. Patches come out on the 2nd Tuesday of every month by same time Joof's show starts: 2PM US Eastern / 7PM UK / 20:00 CET. A preview of what patches will be released is available Thursday before at this page.

An advantage of manual is that you can also get non-security updates, and you can skip updates that you don't need (e.g., the monthly malicious removal tool if you already have an Internet security suite). But you have to be diligent enough to mark the 2nd Tuesday on your Calendar! If not then better to leave Automatic on and raise priority on something else like I said before.

[Ambiguity]

Originally Posted by Entranced

I myself do not do that, instead I disable Automatic Windows Update and run Windows Update manually.

Yes, this is what I plan on doing now. Didn't know about the 2nd Tuesday of the month though.

[Trance-Aholic]

I just hate when your done updating and it says to restart your computer, but you don't want to at the moment and then that annoying thing keeps poping back up asking you to reboot.

[Pb]

"During the night, Microsoft took it upon itself to update my computer. I arrived at work to find a message stating: "Windows recently downloaded and installed an important security update to help protect your computer. This update required an automatic restart of your computer."

"When you chose, on your own initiative, to disregard all my precautions and reboot this PC last night, I not only had several notes in progress; I also had about a half-dozen web browser windows open. It has taken me the best part of three hours to try to recall what I had discovered, and where - and I honestly doubt I will be able to recover the majority of those URLs. They took considerable research to find."

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/08...gates_invoice/

[-K-]

Originally Posted by Pb

"During the night, Microsoft took it upon itself to update my computer. I arrived at work to find a message stating: "Windows recently downloaded and installed an important security update to help protect your computer. This update required an automatic restart of your computer."

"When you chose, on your own initiative, to disregard all my precautions and reboot this PC last night, I not only had several notes in progress; I also had about a half-dozen web browser windows open. It has taken me the best part of three hours to try to recall what I had discovered, and where - and I honestly doubt I will be able to recover the majority of those URLs. They took considerable research to find."

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/08...gates_invoice/

I was infuriated by this exact same problem, on a server of mine no less. It was disabled as fast I as I could. It really shouldn't work that way by default.

[Trance-Aholic]

I have Windows Update download the updates but then ask before it installs them, so I can do it at a more suitable time.

[Dustwave]

windows update never causes any trouble for me, except that it always wants to restart at the wrong moment and comes up with this stupid popup that says it will restart in 5 minutes unless you click restart later, which just launches the same popup again 5 minutes later or so

[Ambiguity]

Originally Posted by Dustwave

windows update never causes any trouble for me, except that it always wants to restart at the wrong moment and comes up with this stupid popup that says it will restart in 5 minutes unless you click restart later, which just launches the same popup again 5 minutes later or so

Your paragraph does not back up the preceding statement.

[Dustwave]

Originally Posted by Ambiguity

Your paragraph does not back up the preceding statement.

well obviously i was talking about that cpu thing with that statement

[Ambiguity]

Originally Posted by Dustwave

well obviously i was talking about that cpu thing with that statement

We'll see.

[e-Ville]

Originally Posted by Ambiguity

I have decided that I hate windows update.

Why?

Well have any of you windows users ever been surfing the web or word processing and suddenly notice that your CPU usage has gone to 100%? This of course with nothing running that causes this? I have, and the reason is windows update. It's done it on multiple computers I have owned.

When you see your computer doing this, Ctrl-Alt-Del and see if the process 'svchost.exe' is the one running at 99/100%. If so it is probably windows update doing it.

This seems to happen when a new patch is released, and renders my computer useless for about 5 minutes, and by useless I mean I cannot click on anything...

Therefor I have decided to disable windows update (disabled it in the control panel as well as the in the services list). I also have decided to use 'WindizUpdate' which is basically a windows update for firefox

http://windowsupdate.62nds.com/

I'm not bashing XP...however, while it is useful, I find that windows update does more harm than good.

Yes, this happens to me... And it is really annoying too..