Critical Updates for Windows

[WizardHawk]

yeah, with your case I'd recommend totally uninstalling your AV and running SFC /scannow from an elevated command prompt and trying windows update.

 

[HaroldSeattle]

This might help explain how to use "SFC/scannow from a elevated command prompt"

How To Use SFC Scannow to Repair Windows System Files

 

[HaroldSeattle]

Even better here's a you tube vid that shows how easy it is.

 

[WizardHawk]

This might help explain how to use "SFC/scannow from a elevated command prompt"

How To Use SFC Scannow to Repair Windows System Files

Right, I guess I should have included the info again, but I did spell out how to run it in an earlier post on this thread.

...You might end up looking to see if you have any kind of critical errors in the event logs, but one thing you can do for now is run system file checker.

Click on Start > All programs> Accessories > and right click over Command Prompt and click Run as Administrator.

Type in sfc /scannow and press enter.

If it finds any type of system file corruption or inconsistency it will attempt to correct it automatically. If it says it did find problems and corrected them they try rebooting and going into it again...

 

[GreenNickle]

My IT Dept aka Mrs GreenNickle informed my that she already tried your suggestions,should have seen the shock on her face when it dawned on her that we actually talk about productive things on The Hoop.
There is a corrupted file she has saved... I stopped listening mid way through something something have to go to Target and Sur La Table corrupted file yada yada
I know a Dude that fixes computers guess I will use him ,he is a total what is that word for Dudes that dress up like Dark Age bezerkers and role play old battles with a bunch of other PC Load Letter types?
He showed me pictures of one of their battle royales looked like fun.


Thanks for the help Dudes, once again if shit goes wrong ask The Hooplans someone on here has it all figured out Man

 

[HaroldSeattle]

Right, I guess I should have included the info again, but I did spell out how to run it in an earlier post on this thread.

You did explain it, but I figured a little more info would not hurt. I think the you tube vid shows just how easy it is.

 

[WizardHawk]

My IT Dept aka Mrs GreenNickle informed my that she already tried your suggestions,should have seen the shock on her face when it dawned on her that we actually talk about productive things on The Hoop.
There is a corrupted file she has saved... I stopped listening mid way through something something have to go to Target and Sur La Table corrupted file yada yada
I know a Dude that fixes computers guess I will use him ,he is a total what is that word for Dudes that dress up like Dark Age bezerkers and role play old battles with a bunch of other PC Load Letter types?
He showed me pictures of one of their battle royales looked like fun.


Thanks for the help Dudes, once again if shit goes wrong ask The Hooplans someone on here has it all figured out Man

They are called 'larpers' (live action role play). Hell most of them are so nerdy that even regular geeks make fun of them, but I guess people have to have a hobby.

If you have known corruption on your computer you can spend time tracking down fixes for whatever is actually corrupted, or just backup your files and reformat/reinstall. Depending on how it runs otherwise, a clean install can substantially speed up the machine anyway.

Have the mrs jot down what the corruption is and pass it along to us if you want advice on how easy it might be to fix it or feel free to ask any other questions.

When I had clients I often did try to fix their issues vs just reinstalling when possible. Now that I work for a larger business we rarely spend time trying to track down these kinds of things. It is less hassle to just reimage the drive and restore the user files and move on with our day. Your mileage may vary.

 

[HaroldSeattle]

My IT Dept aka Mrs GreenNickle informed my that she already tried your suggestions,should have seen the shock on her face when it dawned on her that we actually talk about productive things on The Hoop.
There is a corrupted file she has saved... I stopped listening mid way through something something have to go to Target and Sur La Table corrupted file yada yada
I know a Dude that fixes computers guess I will use him ,he is a total what is that word for Dudes that dress up like Dark Age bezerkers and role play old battles with a bunch of other PC Load Letter types?
He showed me pictures of one of their battle royales looked like fun.


Thanks for the help Dudes, once again if shit goes wrong ask The Hooplans someone on here has it all figured out Man

Before you give up, did you try using system restore, using a restore point before the updates?

Also,
Windows Update Stuck? Here?s How to Complete the Installation

"
Though it’s possible that your stuck update may include different files, this solution will still work. Here’s how to fix it:

1. Download the System Update Readiness Tool from Microsoft’s website. It’s a 300MB download, so it might take a few minutes over a slower connection.
2. Open and run the program. Click “Yes” when asked if you want to run the Hotfix.
3. Shut down your computer after it’s done installing the readiness tool to trigger a re-run of the automatic update.
4. Restart. This time your PC will complete the configuring of Windows Updates and you’ll be off and running again."

 

[Clayton]

They are called 'larpers' (live action role play). Hell most of them are so nerdy that even regular geeks make fun of them, but I guess people have to have a hobby.

I sometimes wonder what the pecking order of geeks is.

Normal
Fantasy Football
Video Games
Tech Nerd
Comics
Magic the Gathering
Warhammer/Warmachine
Person who collects action figures
Dungeons and Dragons
LARPing
Furries
Weirdo

 

[WizardHawk]

Harold, he said the last successful update was back in October. A system restore is really only useful if it is within a few weeks at most. I would never do a rollback more than a month old myself.

Good find on the MS tool. Wouldn't hurt to give it a shot.

 

[HaroldSeattle]

Harold, he said the last successful update was back in October. A system restore is really only useful if it is within a few weeks at most. I would never do a rollback more than a month old myself.

Good find on the MS tool. Wouldn't hurt to give it a shot.

Old restore dates, often times are not successful, but worth a shot, if your going to do a reinstall as the next step. I have used them with success in the past.

 

[WizardHawk]

Old restore dates, often times are not successful, but worth a shot, if your going to do a reinstall as the next step. I have used them with success in the past.

Honestly the only time I even try is on computers where the user has software they no longer have the install/keys for or some other special reason why a reinstall isn't desirable. I remember spending a few hours trying to troubleshoot systems back in the 90's only to end up having to reformat/reinstall anyway.

I admit it can be a bit more of a pain for a Win 7 reinstall from DVD as the updates now take for bloody ever. Much better when you have disk images to restore from, but that really is the only draw back.

Having said that, I'm well overdue for a reformat on my own home computer as it is. I have at least 4 OS's still setup on it that I never use. Maybe I should think about a fresh 8.1 install this weekend and put a 7 pro and ubuntu clean on it as well.

 

[WizardHawk]

As for old restore points, if you are really going to blow it up anyway I guess you can try, but I never advise it because of all of the other things that change on typical user computers over that length of time and the pain it can be to deal with getting things back to working right. You and I can do those things and know how to deal with it. When I'm dealing with folks who aren't as experienced I try to keep more simple options. I'm sure any of us could sit in front of his machine and likely fix his problem fairly quickly. It's entirely a different matter to help people via forum with no screen shots, no real data, and very little history to go off of.

 

[HaroldSeattle]

As for old restore points, if you are really going to blow it up anyway I guess you can try, but I never advise it because of all of the other things that change on typical user computers over that length of time and the pain it can be to deal with getting things back to working right. You and I can do those things and know how to deal with it. When I'm dealing with folks who aren't as experienced I try to keep more simple options. I'm sure any of us could sit in front of his machine and likely fix his problem fairly quickly. It's entirely a different matter to help people via forum with no screen shots, no real data, and very little history to go off of.

Your right about that. To be honest it's been along time since I ever used a restore point. However I'm stubborn about doing a reinstall to fix a problem. I'm going to spend at least a couple of days trying to solve the problem myself, before throwing up my hands and doing a reinstall, of course that is just for my computer, if your fixing problems for a bunch of folks, then it's the easiest route to go. That what places like Best Buy does, then they charge you some outrageous fees for doing so. It's the reason I started learning how to fix my own problems on my computers.

 

[WizardHawk]

On most kinds of problems there are normally solutions that don't involve reformatting and starting over. In fact I've only done that once on any of my work computers in the last several months and that was only because they went and picked up several viruses (zeroaccess, zeus) and there were a few corruptions left behind after that clean up and at that point it's best to be safe that all of the problems have been removed.

When it comes to core windows problems or corruptions it's usually just faster to take that easy way out. If you can sit at that machine and look through the event logs and run your own diagnostics you might find a way to resolve it. Not nearly as good of an option through this medium.

That's why I like my remote access app. I use logmein rescue for that and it kicks ass. Let's me take over a problem machine and take care of issues fairly quickly. Doing phone or email support is another matter.

 

[Steelboy84]

They take forever to update.

 

[KansasSooner]

They take forever to update.

Get an SSD to put Windows on, makes things a lot faster.