Attempting to Install MSU hotfixes results in "Searching for updates on this computer..." to last forever

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I am attempting to install two hotfixes manually from Microsoft - one addresses the svchost.exe extreme memory usage problem, and the other addresses the slow Windows Update problem.

This system is a freshly installed Windows 7, and I have the two MSU updates saved locally to my desktop, but it is never actually finding such updates, and therefore never actually installs the two fixes.

Is there a way to force Windows Update Standalone Installer to just install the single update and not look for all the updates?

Thomas Ward

Posted 2016-02-23T16:35:59.270

Reputation: 1 020

The key reason for needing to get these two fixes on is to get the faster Windows Update system, so it can actually download all the updates it needs (it's never gotten its updates) – Thomas Ward – 2016-02-23T16:37:51.263

Similar issue – Moab – 2016-02-23T22:03:48.467

2@Moab Not really. The issue observed here is specifically with the Standalone installer; it is NOT about overall Windows Update - that's what the second of the MSU packages I was trying to install was for. Therefore, I don't believe they are similar, as I was specifically having issues with the wusa.exe program, which is the standalone installer for package files for updates – Thomas Ward – 2016-02-23T22:07:56.877

Similar issue was resolved in that post by disconnecting from the internet while installing stand alone MS installers. Just a different method than disabling wuauserv. – Moab – 2016-02-23T22:22:49.467

1@Moab Tried and failed - didn't solve the issue as wusa was still trying to "search" and never found anything. – Thomas Ward – 2016-02-23T22:48:56.727

4@Moab NO, this has nothing to do with Internet conenction. I traced this issue years ago with xperf/WPA. After the first MSU install, WU service scans if all MSI/MSP files are valid, this takes a lot of time and so the 2nd update can't start detect if it can be installed. My workaround stops the useless MSI scanning. – magicandre1981 – 2016-02-24T05:17:01.267

2believe what you want but I traced what Windows does or not. – magicandre1981 – 2016-02-25T05:23:56.447

Answers

67

The message is misleading. It searches if the update can be installed or if the update is no longer needed (superseded). 

Line #, DPC/ISR, Process, Stack Tag, Stack, Count, TimeStamp, % Weight
10, , , ,   wuaueng.dll!CUpdatesToPruneList::PopulateSupersedenceInfo, 31521, , 43,72
11, , , ,   wuaueng.dll!CUpdatesToPruneList::AddSupersedenceInfoIfNeeded, 31521, , 43,72

WUSA.exe, which is used to install MSU updates, is just a wrapper to Windows Update. After Windows Update installed an update it hangs again in a loop to check if updates apply or not and those checks are useless after an install and this loop blocks you from installing other MSU updates.

To speedup the Installation, stop the WindowsUpdate service via GUI (services.msc) or via elevated (running as admin) command line (net stop wuauserv). Now the loop is stopped and updates install faster.

Install the first MSU update, stop WindowsUpdate service again and install the 2nd MSU file.

I also created a script with enums all MSU files in the same folder as the CMD and installs them and stop WU service on it's own everytime to speedup setup.

magicandre1981

Posted 2016-02-23T16:35:59.270

Reputation: 86 560

4Thank you very much for your answer! This definitely got me past that "searching" step with the standalone installer, and helped a lot. Hopefully Windows can get its updates now! – Thomas Ward – 2016-02-23T17:54:50.340

Does not work, gives me an error 5 access denied. – Dmitri Nesteruk – 2016-07-25T17:34:02.710

4@DmitriNesteruk instead of downvoting it tun the cmd as admin facepalm – magicandre1981 – 2016-07-26T04:10:19.760

@magicandre1981 my bad – Dmitri Nesteruk – 2016-07-26T11:32:18.200

4I stopped the service but it goes back up the moment I try to install the msu. – Matheus Moreira – 2016-08-14T22:10:39.943

@MatheusMoreira what do you mean with back to normal – magicandre1981 – 2016-08-15T13:29:49.123

1Worked like a charm when trying to install Remote System Administration Tools from Microsoft. Their forum was unhelpful as usual, so thank you very much for taking the time to find this solution! – user121391 – 2016-10-14T08:39:33.387

4I didn't have privileges to stop the service so I extracted the files from the msu and installed the .cab file from an elevated prompt: >dism /online /add-package /packagepath:C:\update\myupdate.cab – kttii – 2016-11-02T16:35:27.380

1@kttii yes, this works around WUSA and DISM doesn't check if the update is really needed or not, so the CPU usage is of course not present. – magicandre1981 – 2016-11-02T16:40:37.387

1I also needed to disconnect from the internet in order to keep the service from starting back up again! Disconnecting from the internet, stopping the Windows Update service, then running the update worked. – Jeff Lockhart – 2016-12-23T07:27:35.213

@JeffLockhart no, this is not required. When you install the MSU it is normal that the service gets started again, but the CPU usage that caused the hang is gone – magicandre1981 – 2016-12-23T12:18:31.053

@magicandre1981 this was my experience. I was attempting to install the prerequisite updates and they were hanging after the service restarted attempting to check for updates. Once I disconnected from the internet, the service did not restart and the install went directly to telling me the prerequisites were each already installed. The main update also skipped checking for updates and went directly to installing. – Jeff Lockhart – 2016-12-24T19:22:23.450

@JeffLockhart no, this was something else. I install updates via CMD for years, without disconnecting from internet: http://superuser.com/a/1057487/174557. WU simply is busy checking with updates are required, when you stop WU, this usage is gone and it can install the update very fast. But after it installed the update it hangs again in a loop to check if updates apply or not and those checks are useless after an install.

– magicandre1981 – 2016-12-25T09:57:31.393

Like Jeff Lockhart, I needed to disable the internet in addition to stopping WU to get it to work. – binki – 2019-02-16T02:47:42.470

@binki no, you simply waited too long before runnign the MSU so that a trigger started WU again. – magicandre1981 – 2019-02-16T13:44:37.103

@magicandre1981 I was quite sure that I had waited a while and not seen WU start up and then when I ran the MSU it started up. – binki – 2019-02-16T22:25:12.877

@binki this is expected. WUSA.exe, which installes MSU updates, is a Windows update wrapper so it starts it.the fix is to stop WU service to cancel unneeded calls after installing 1 MSU which blocks install of other updates. – magicandre1981 – 2019-02-17T16:46:08.883

Asked: 2016-02-23T16:35:59.270

Viewed: 176 115 times

Active: 2016-12-25T10:04:49.060