Improving Windows update download speed

The problem isn't the connection, but that these "Very Important
Updates" are downloading with all the urgency of a postcard. At least
I don't think it is the connection - maybe MS hit its high speed
connection limit for the month, but I've loaded GIF files over dialup
faster.

Okay, all seriousness aside - is there some way to get Microsoft
to download updates in a timely manner? As in "Today"? I'm on a cable
modem connection with a "quote" 100 Mbps link speed unquote (and I
realize that it the theoretical max), but I should be seeing more than
the occasional 65 byte per interval transferring.

Or is this more of the improved digital experience we are promised
/ warned of / threatened with?

tschus
pyotr

--
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The question was asked: "Is Hindsight overrated?"
In retrospect, it appears to be.

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pyotr filipivich wrote:

The problem isn't the connection, but that these "Very Important
Updates" are downloading with all the urgency of a postcard. At least
I don't think it is the connection - maybe MS hit its high speed
connection limit for the month, but I've loaded GIF files over dialup
faster.

Okay, all seriousness aside - is there some way to get Microsoft
to download updates in a timely manner? As in "Today"? I'm on a cable
modem connection with a "quote" 100 Mbps link speed unquote (and I
realize that it the theoretical max), but I should be seeing more than
the occasional 65 byte per interval transferring.

Or is this more of the improved digital experience we are promised
/ warned of / threatened with?

tschus
pyotr

The WU client uses the BITS service which throttles the download
bandwidth to ensure responsiveness of the computer is not impacted.
That's after what downloads are decided to download by looking at the
current catalog in your instance of Windows compared with the latest
manifest from Microsoft. That dependency, supercedes, and other
checking takes time, too, and is also CPU throttled to ensure it doesn't
impact responsiveness of the computer.

You are using the public WSUS (Windows Server Update Services) host
shared by all end users. Companies run their own WSUS server to regulat
what they push onto their workstations. You don't want to figure out
how to install and admin a WSUS server. Instead of using those slow
background tasks for the WU client that are deliberately designed to not
impact the computer, you might want to use a WSUS (Windows Server Update
Service) client that runs full blast against the public MS WSUS server
and which will definitely impact the responsiveness of your computer.
It will get Microsoft's current manifest to determine what to download
and then download the applicable updates NOW.

WSUSoffline
http://download.wsusoffline.net/

Note that this downloads all the security-related updates since those
are the ones listed in Microsoft's online manifest. All the other
updates require using the WU client to figure out dependencies of
updates, which ones supercede others, and lots of other tests. However,
WSUSoffline will get you a huge chunk of the updates.

VanguardLH on Wed, 4 Jan 2017 02:09:45 -0600 typed in
alt.windows7.general the following:
pyotr filipivich wrote:

The problem isn't the connection, but that these "Very Important
Updates" are downloading with all the urgency of a postcard. At least
I don't think it is the connection - maybe MS hit its high speed
connection limit for the month, but I've loaded GIF files over dialup
faster.

Okay, all seriousness aside - is there some way to get Microsoft
to download updates in a timely manner? As in "Today"? I'm on a cable
modem connection with a "quote" 100 Mbps link speed unquote (and I
realize that it the theoretical max), but I should be seeing more than
the occasional 65 byte per interval transferring.

Or is this more of the improved digital experience we are promised
/ warned of / threatened with?

tschus
pyotr

The WU client uses the BITS service which throttles the download
bandwidth to ensure responsiveness of the computer is not impacted.
That's after what downloads are decided to download by looking at the
current catalog in your instance of Windows compared with the latest
manifest from Microsoft. That dependency, supercedes, and other
checking takes time, too, and is also CPU throttled to ensure it doesn't
impact responsiveness of the computer.

You are using the public WSUS (Windows Server Update Services) host
shared by all end users. Companies run their own WSUS server to regulat
what they push onto their workstations. You don't want to figure out
how to install and admin a WSUS server. Instead of using those slow
background tasks for the WU client that are deliberately designed to not
impact the computer, you might want to use a WSUS (Windows Server Update
Service) client that runs full blast against the public MS WSUS server
and which will definitely impact the responsiveness of your computer.
It will get Microsoft's current manifest to determine what to download
and then download the applicable updates NOW.

WSUSoffline
http://download.wsusoffline.net/

Note that this downloads all the security-related updates since those
are the ones listed in Microsoft's online manifest. All the other
updates require using the WU client to figure out dependencies of
updates, which ones supercede others, and lots of other tests. However,
WSUSoffline will get you a huge chunk of the updates.

thanks. I left it running over night - 8 megs of bytes received
over night. At that rate, the January update for Windows Defender
should be done by February.
In the two hours this morning while I surf the net, I'm
transferred an additional 8 megs to this computer - total.

I knew a guy who figured that he could tell when the building was
empty by when the toilets stopped flushing - only the urinals were on
an automatic "flush every five minute" cycle, so he never got an "all
clear". Maybe the clock widget is confusing the updater?
--
pyotr filipivich
Next month's Panel: Graft - Boon or blessing?

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pyotr filipivich wrote:
The problem isn't the connection, but that these "Very Important
Updates" are downloading with all the urgency of a postcard. At least
I don't think it is the connection - maybe MS hit its high speed
connection limit for the month, but I've loaded GIF files over dialup
faster.

Okay, all seriousness aside - is there some way to get Microsoft
to download updates in a timely manner? As in "Today"? I'm on a cable
modem connection with a "quote" 100 Mbps link speed unquote (and I
realize that it the theoretical max), but I should be seeing more than
the occasional 65 byte per interval transferring.

Or is this more of the improved digital experience we are promised
/ warned of / threatened with?

tschus
pyotr

Is a core maxed out? If so then:
Take a look at your installed KB's and look for:
KB3020369
KB3172605
If not found then go to the MS KB download page and get them.
Make several System Restore Points, Install the KB's, reboot, and see if it helped.
It's possible that the 8meg and 8meg xfers are not really files but just
normal send/receive/ack data.

pyotr filipivich wrote:

VanguardLH :

pyotr filipivich wrote:

is there some way to get Microsoft to download updates in a timely
manner? As in "Today"? I'm on a cable modem connection with a
"quote" 100 Mbps link speed unquote (and I realize that it the
theoretical max), but I should be seeing more than the occasional
65 byte per interval transferring.

WSUSoffline
http://download.wsusoffline.net/

Note that this downloads all the security-related updates since
those are the ones listed in Microsoft's online manifest. All the
other updates require using the WU client to figure out dependencies
of updates, which ones supercede others, and lots of other tests.
However, WSUSoffline will get you a huge chunk of the updates.

thanks. I left it running over night - 8 megs of bytes received
over night. At that rate, the January update for Windows Defender
should be done by February. In the two hours this morning while I
surf the net, I'm transferred an additional 8 megs to this computer -
total.

Starting with a fresh instance of wsusoffline, I had it retrieve all
available updates from Microsoft's public WSUS server. Unlike my other
wsusoffline setup that includes both 32- and 64-bit versions of Windows
7, Office 2013 and 2016, C runtimes, .NET libs, and some other choices,
I had this instance retrieve updates for only Windows 7 x64. You never
mentioned what bitwidth version of Windows that you have.

The verify option was left enabled (the default) which computes a local
hash to compare against the manifest on the WSUS server. WSUSoffline
retrieves all updates listed in Microsoft's latest manifest. It does
not analyze the current Windows configuration to determine what has
already been installed. So I get all updates in the manifest.

There was a hell of lot more than just 8 megabytes of updates to
retrieve. The wsusscn2.cab file itself (the manifest) was 206,688,709
bytes (197 MB) in size. That does not contain the updates. That is a
manifest listing them. The updates would still need to be retrieved
after downloading the manifest to determine what updates to get. That
197 MB file took a little over 6 minutes to download. No overnight
download on just 8 MB. When downloading an update, the status line int
he console window showed an average of about 12 MB/s for download speed.
Not too bad considering Speedtest shows my downstream bandwidth is 220
Mbps (27 MB/s). Expect servers to throttle their output since they are
not just delivering content to only you. One of the retrieved updates
was for SP-1. I already have SP-1 installed for Windows 7 but, again,
WSUSoffline is getting all updates listed in the manifest, not analyzing
which ones that have already been applied and retrieving the remainder.
WSUSoffline does not do all the state analyzing that the WU client does.
Only in subsequent executes of WSUSoffline does it compare the
previously retrieved manifest with the current one to then perform a
incremental download of updates available since the prior manifest. So
later executes of WSUSoffline will be faster since only new updates get
retrieved.

To download just Windows 7 x64 updates as per Microsoft's current
manifest, WSUSoffline took just under 18 minutes. Not hours or over a
night. It downloaded 2.5 GB. Not just 8 MB. Something is wrong on
your end regarding your network speed.

See what Speedtest.net reports for your upstream and downstream speeds.
You are downloading updates so downstream bandwidth is what is of
concern to you. Speedtest requires Adobe Flash. Your own ISP may have
a speed checker. They are responsible only for the service tier for
which you pay them so their speed checker is accurate for your speed
with them. Speedtest.net is outside their network so your ISP is not
responsible for the response of the hops (nodes) in the route from their
network to an external host. When testing speed, test more than once.
The first test could be false (way off).

Speedtest.net:
downstream = 221 Mbps 1st run, 169 Mbps 2nd run, 219 Mbps 3rd run
upstream = 12 Mbps (same across all runs)
My ISP's speed checker:
downstream = 238 Mbps (same across all runs)
upstream = 12 Mbps (same across all runs)

You never mentioned what you expect for downstream bandwidth to your
computer to know if 8 MB per 2 hours is fast or slow. Maybe you're on
1200 baud dialup. Maybe you're using someone else's wifi hotspot that
is throttled so many shared hosts get some response. Maybe one of the
hops (nodes aka hosts) in your route from your computer to the Microsoft
WSUS server is horribly slow. Routing is not dynamic: you cannot easily
request a route change to get past a slow or dead node.

VanguardLH on Wed, 4 Jan 2017 14:01:18 -0600 typed in
alt.windows7.general the following:
pyotr filipivich wrote:

VanguardLH :

pyotr filipivich wrote:

is there some way to get Microsoft to download updates in a timely
manner? As in "Today"? I'm on a cable modem connection with a
"quote" 100 Mbps link speed unquote (and I realize that it the
theoretical max), but I should be seeing more than the occasional
65 byte per interval transferring.

WSUSoffline
http://download.wsusoffline.net/

Note that this downloads all the security-related updates since
those are the ones listed in Microsoft's online manifest. All the
other updates require using the WU client to figure out dependencies
of updates, which ones supercede others, and lots of other tests.
However, WSUSoffline will get you a huge chunk of the updates.

thanks. I left it running over night - 8 megs of bytes received
over night. At that rate, the January update for Windows Defender
should be done by February. In the two hours this morning while I
surf the net, I'm transferred an additional 8 megs to this computer -
total.

Starting with a fresh instance of wsusoffline, I had it retrieve all
available updates from Microsoft's public WSUS server. Unlike my other
wsusoffline setup that includes both 32- and 64-bit versions of Windows
7, Office 2013 and 2016, C runtimes, .NET libs, and some other choices,
I had this instance retrieve updates for only Windows 7 x64. You never
mentioned what bitwidth version of Windows that you have.

The verify option was left enabled (the default) which computes a local
hash to compare against the manifest on the WSUS server. WSUSoffline
retrieves all updates listed in Microsoft's latest manifest. It does
not analyze the current Windows configuration to determine what has
already been installed. So I get all updates in the manifest.

There was a hell of lot more than just 8 megabytes of updates to
retrieve. The wsusscn2.cab file itself (the manifest) was 206,688,709
bytes (197 MB) in size. That does not contain the updates. That is a
manifest listing them. The updates would still need to be retrieved
after downloading the manifest to determine what updates to get. That
197 MB file took a little over 6 minutes to download. No overnight
download on just 8 MB. When downloading an update, the status line int
he console window showed an average of about 12 MB/s for download speed.
Not too bad considering Speedtest shows my downstream bandwidth is 220
Mbps (27 MB/s). Expect servers to throttle their output since they are
not just delivering content to only you. One of the retrieved updates
was for SP-1. I already have SP-1 installed for Windows 7 but, again,
WSUSoffline is getting all updates listed in the manifest, not analyzing
which ones that have already been applied and retrieving the remainder.
WSUSoffline does not do all the state analyzing that the WU client does.
Only in subsequent executes of WSUSoffline does it compare the
previously retrieved manifest with the current one to then perform a
incremental download of updates available since the prior manifest. So
later executes of WSUSoffline will be faster since only new updates get
retrieved.

To download just Windows 7 x64 updates as per Microsoft's current
manifest, WSUSoffline took just under 18 minutes. Not hours or over a
night. It downloaded 2.5 GB. Not just 8 MB. Something is wrong on
your end regarding your network speed.

See what Speedtest.net reports for your upstream and downstream speeds.
You are downloading updates so downstream bandwidth is what is of
concern to you. Speedtest requires Adobe Flash. Your own ISP may have
a speed checker. They are responsible only for the service tier for
which you pay them so their speed checker is accurate for your speed
with them. Speedtest.net is outside their network so your ISP is not
responsible for the response of the hops (nodes) in the route from their
network to an external host. When testing speed, test more than once.
The first test could be false (way off).

Speedtest.net:
downstream = 221 Mbps 1st run, 169 Mbps 2nd run, 219 Mbps 3rd run
upstream = 12 Mbps (same across all runs)
My ISP's speed checker:
downstream = 238 Mbps (same across all runs)
upstream = 12 Mbps (same across all runs)

You never mentioned what you expect for downstream bandwidth to your
computer to know if 8 MB per 2 hours is fast or slow. Maybe you're on
1200 baud dialup. Maybe you're using someone else's wifi hotspot that
is throttled so many shared hosts get some response. Maybe one of the
hops (nodes aka hosts) in your route from your computer to the Microsoft
WSUS server is horribly slow. Routing is not dynamic: you cannot easily
request a route change to get past a slow or dead node.

Woaw - I am going to have to reread that when I have the time to
pay attention. Thanks for the effort.

--
pyotr filipivich
Next month's Panel: Graft - Boon or blessing?

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Paul in Houston TX on Wed, 04 Jan 2017 13:36:50
-0600 typed in alt.windows7.general the following:
pyotr filipivich wrote:
The problem isn't the connection, but that these "Very Important
Updates" are downloading with all the urgency of a postcard. At least
I don't think it is the connection - maybe MS hit its high speed
connection limit for the month, but I've loaded GIF files over dialup
faster.

Okay, all seriousness aside - is there some way to get Microsoft
to download updates in a timely manner? As in "Today"? I'm on a cable
modem connection with a "quote" 100 Mbps link speed unquote (and I
realize that it the theoretical max), but I should be seeing more than
the occasional 65 byte per interval transferring.

Or is this more of the improved digital experience we are promised
/ warned of / threatened with?

tschus
pyotr

Is a core maxed out? If so then:
Take a look at your installed KB's and look for:
KB3020369
KB3172605
If not found then go to the MS KB download page and get them.
Make several System Restore Points, Install the KB's, reboot, and see if it helped.
It's possible that the 8meg and 8meg xfers are not really files but just
normal send/receive/ack data.


Why would core be maxxed out have anything to do with data
transmission. Especially when I've closed all the programs down.
--
pyotr filipivich
Next month's Panel: Graft - Boon or blessing?

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VanguardLH on Wed, 4 Jan 2017 14:01:18 -0600 typed in
alt.windows7.general the following:

thanks. I left it running over night - 8 megs of bytes received
over night. At that rate, the January update for Windows Defender
should be done by February. In the two hours this morning while I
surf the net, I'm transferred an additional 8 megs to this computer -
total.

Starting with a fresh instance of wsusoffline, I had it retrieve all
available updates from Microsoft's public WSUS server. Unlike my other
wsusoffline setup that includes both 32- and 64-bit versions of Windows
7, Office 2013 and 2016, C runtimes, .NET libs, and some other choices,
I had this instance retrieve updates for only Windows 7 x64. You never
mentioned what bitwidth version of Windows that you have.

Pro 64 bit.

I came back after lunch and the pop up was telling me it was done
installing, and I'd have to restart. This after however long of "0%
downloaded 0% complete".

The thing is done, but - "If I knew then, what I know now" I'd
have upgraded XP to 64 bit long before I started the retraining. Or
bought Win Pro 64 bit 'early enough' to fiddle with it and figure out
how to get it to work.


--
pyotr filipivich
Next month's Panel: Graft - Boon or blessing?

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pyotr filipivich wrote:

Pro 64 bit.

I came back after lunch and the pop up was telling me it was done
installing, and I'd have to restart. This after however long of "0%
downloaded 0% complete".

I'm not you are using WSUSoffline as I suggested. Download of updates
is the first and separate phase of WSUSoffline. You must manually
instigate the 2nd phase that installs the already downloaded updates.

I never addressed why the WU client is slow or how to speed it up. You
asked for an alternate method to *download* the updates. Downloading of
updates (to speed them up) is what I addressed. If you then intended to
install the updates from WSUSoffline's local repository then I would've
warned that you need to disconnect from the Internet. The updates (not
WSUSoffline) will often try to connect back to Microsoft to initiate a
WU update procedure. You don't want that. You already have the updates
locally. You can disconnect from the Internet by powering off the cable
modem or router, yanking the Ethernet cable, disabling the wifi radio in
your computer, or disabling the NIC in Windows. That the updates try to
connect back to Microsoft is not WSUSoffline's fault.

"is there some way to get Microsoft to download updates in a timely
manner?" THAT was your question. THAT is what I addressed.

The thing is done, but - "If I knew then, what I know now" I'd have
upgraded XP to 64 bit long before I started the retraining.

There is no "upgrade" from Windows XP (32-bit) to Windows XP 64-bit.
There is no real 64-bit version of Windows XP. Microsoft was late
delivering a workstation version of Windows that had 64-bit support.
They did have a server version that was 64-bit and already being
distributed. So they took Windows 2003 Server and crippled it to a
workstation version and slapped a Windows XP GUI atop of it. Windows XP
64-bit is a frankenjob: it isn't Windows XP upped to 64-bit and it isn't
Windows 2003 Server. As a result that Windows XP x64 is recognized by
software as a server edition of Windows, some programs won't install or
run correctly on Windows XP x64.

Or bought Win Pro 64 bit 'early enough' to fiddle with it and figure
out how to get it to work.

To the end user, there is little difference in using the 32-bit or
64-bit version of Windows 7 ... other than drivers, that is! Since
drivers run at the kernel level, they MUST match the same bitwidth as
for the OS. That's when users who did not check beforehand regarding
hardware compatibility then found the hardware vendor had no 64-bit
driver for a device which meant it was not usable in a 64-bit version of
the OS (unless they installed the driver inside a virtual machine
running a 32-bit version of the OS). 32-bit software runs on 64-bit
Windows. 64-bit software runs on 64-bit Windows. 16-bit software will
run on 32-bit Windows by using Windows-On-Windows (or WOW) emulation but
will not run on 64-bit Windows (WOW only cross one increment in
bitwidth, like 16-to-32 bit or 32-to-64 bit but not 16-to-32-to-64 bit).
If you need to run a 16-bit program on 64-bit Windows then get a 16-bit
emulator, like Dosbox, or use a virtual machine to run a 32-bit version
of Windows.

pyotr filipivich wrote:
Paul in Houston TX on Wed, 04 Jan 2017 13:36:50
-0600 typed in alt.windows7.general the following:
pyotr filipivich wrote:
The problem isn't the connection, but that these "Very Important
Updates" are downloading with all the urgency of a postcard. At least
I don't think it is the connection - maybe MS hit its high speed
connection limit for the month, but I've loaded GIF files over dialup
faster.

Okay, all seriousness aside - is there some way to get Microsoft
to download updates in a timely manner? As in "Today"? I'm on a cable
modem connection with a "quote" 100 Mbps link speed unquote (and I
realize that it the theoretical max), but I should be seeing more than
the occasional 65 byte per interval transferring.

Or is this more of the improved digital experience we are promised
/ warned of / threatened with?

tschus
pyotr

Is a core maxed out? If so then:
Take a look at your installed KB's and look for:
KB3020369
KB3172605
If not found then go to the MS KB download page and get them.
Make several System Restore Points, Install the KB's, reboot, and see if it helped.
It's possible that the 8meg and 8meg xfers are not really files but just
normal send/receive/ack data.


Why would core be maxxed out have anything to do with data
transmission. Especially when I've closed all the programs down.

It does not have anything to do with the actual data transmission, assuming
that transmission is working in the first place. If you are able to download
the updates then what I mentioned is not the problem nor the fix.

VanguardLH on Wed, 4 Jan 2017 21:06:00 -0600 typed in
alt.windows7.general the following:
pyotr filipivich wrote:

Pro 64 bit.

I came back after lunch and the pop up was telling me it was done
installing, and I'd have to restart. This after however long of "0%
downloaded 0% complete".

I'm not you are using WSUSoffline as I suggested. Download of updates
is the first and separate phase of WSUSoffline. You must manually
instigate the 2nd phase that installs the already downloaded updates.

I hadn't gotten to trying that. the "normal" update process
worked. It just chose this time to be the one time it doesn't pester
me like a hyperactive boy-scout
"I've started bringing in the groceries!".
"I've reached the car!"
"I'm getting the first bag!"
"I've brought in the first bag, there are six more to go!"
"I'm going out to get the next bag!"
"I've got the next bag!"
"That leaves five bags!"
etcetera ad nauseam.


thanks for the technical help.

pyotr


--
pyotr filipivich
Next month's Panel: Graft - Boon or blessing?

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