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i have recently re-installed mse (after trying another antivirus that wouldn't update either 🙁
when i re-installed mse it wouldn't update after the first time you run it (it starts to update,but it finishes,saying it has updated.BUT it still has the previous definitions info/early morning update when it's now late afternoon).
have tried un-installing/re-installing it,
also have tried to restart the auto updates from start menu (as suggested on microsoft website) but all to no avail 🙁
i am running win xp sp3 and use a huwai E160G usb modem.
thanks in advance for any help 🙂
p.s i have sent e-mail to microsoft about this issue. also i can do manual updates (i think?) from their site.
Have you got a, uh, pre-existing complaint which is preventing it? Might be worth running an online scan with ESET.
Do regular Windows Updates run? The MSE defs appear on there under 'optional components' IIRC.
Try deleting the c:\windows\softwaredistribution\downloads directory. This is where Windows Updates get downloaded to before installation; if it's mangled then it can stop WU from running. (If it's not mangled, it's worth deleting anyway as it will probably contain a gig or so of useless crap.)
Was about to swap from Norton to MSE on the spare laptop. I'll check the directory beforehand.
thanks cougar for reply.have deleted the folder you said,and am running a ESET scan now.i think the manual updates work (well one of them did).
hoping that the scan will find something/delete it.
i have re downloaded the mse download again from the microsoft site (which i will try again to install,hopefully that will solve the issue ❓
Cougar, value your wisdom again, do you know why after microsoft updates, our computer almost always is worse? Slow, unresponsive and hopeless to the point of a system restore and it works fine again. I hate syste updates and rarely do them... ?
Hard to say, really. I'm assuming XP, yeah?
Is the system underpowered to start with? Updates might add complexity which require more resources; I've really only seen that happen with service packs rather than individual updates though. A system starved of RAM will grind to a halt big time.
Could be one particular update which is causing the problem. You could narrow this down with trail and error, though I appreciate that's going to be a PITA. Pulling up Task Manager when it's being symptomatic might shed some light onto it.
Maybe it's conflicting with something else on your system. Really old drivers, outdated / otherwise crap antivirus, or some sort of malware perhaps. I'm speculating, but there's a logic to it causing problems if you apply a patch for something an infection is relying on.
Difficult to diagnose without seeing it, really. Anyone else any ideas?
you have checked the time/ date on your clock. I recently clicked on my clock to check a day/date one month previous, and it saved it as current date. Wouldnt update.
Baz
The other gotcha there is the wrong time zone, so the clock's actually several hours out and you don't notice.
Don't think anyone was having problems with WU not actually running, though?
WU is failing and disruptive on our W7 Quad core good spec computer. I have stopped updates and its fine. Loads of hd space, regular av scans... just a bit baffled.