If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
Thread Tools | Rate Thread | Display Modes |
#31
|
|||
|
|||
Microsoft polluted my brand new disk drive - what can be deleted?
[You probably will want to jump directly to 'Status update:']
On March 4, I wrote: Paul wrote: Frank Slootweg wrote: Paul wrote: [...] Start : Run : cleanmgr Click the system files button, which will start cleanmgr running a second time. [...] Don't select "Windows Update cleanup". One of the cleanup options starts compressing files in WinSXS, and this can take *three hours*. Um, don't do that. Thanks for that refresher. I had used "Windows Update cleanup" before, but now I need it to (try to) fix [1] SWMBO's broken Windows Update (on Windows 8.1), I had forgotten where that functionality was 'hidden'. [1] Yes, I've already tried all the other tools/fixes, such as the 'Windows Update Troubleshooter' (both the built-in and optional downloadable one), DISM, SFC, 'Windows Repair Free' tool, etc. to no avail.] First of all, thanks for your response! Highly appreciated. It's not that kind of Cleanup. The one you want, is the one that deletes the contents of SoftwareDistribution. That's a typical technique used by some people, to get an individual "stubborn" update to install. Deleting the contents of SoftwareDistribution does not help, neither with the 'Windows Update Troubleshooter'(s), nor manually. There are sample scripts here, and the "Troubleshooter" control panel has a script similar to the ones here. https://www.sevenforums.com/tutorial...ate-reset.html The "cleanup" in CleanMgr.exe , doesn't appear to be that sort of thing. I was expecting (the first time I ran it), that it would remove out-of-date WinSXS content. Yes, it - CleanMgr.exe aka 'Disk Clean-up' - says [1] that it "deletes or compresses" superceded updates and it actually does delete superceded updates (I used it to (try to) fix a botched 8.1 to 10 upgrade). But the only thing it seems to be doing, is using NTFS compression on the files. After it has run, if you looked at (some of) the files in the WinSXS folder, some of them, the color of the file entry in File Explorer would be colored to indicate compression had been applied. On most hard drive equipped desktops, people are not that hard up for OS partition space, to be waiting 3 hours to save a couple hundred megabytes of space. Compressing files, should really not change anything. Whereas the Windows Update Troubleshooter, the one that cleans out SoftwareDistribution, that does make a difference. My own favorite technique, is to download the failed update from catalog.update.microsoft.com, double-click the .msu received, and install manually. A lot of the time, this is sufficient to solve minor log jams. If you've been pounding on and breaking it, for some time, something that simple may not be sufficient to get it working again. My (SWMBO's) problem is not so much failing updates per se, but updates which are reported as 'Succeeded' in the 'View update history' list, but are not *actually* installed, because they do not appear in the 'Installed Updates' list. These updates are re-offered later. Also some updates which *are* listed in the 'Installed Updates' list are re-offered/re-installed and sometimes superceded updates are re-offered, for example the 2018-01 ones, when the 2018-2 ones are already available. In short, it's a mess. So I want to try the 'Windows Update Clean-up' part of the 'Disk Clean-up' program. I will also try your suggestion to download failed updates from catalog.update.microsoft.com. Thanks again. Status update: ============== I ran the 'Windows Update Clean-up' part of the 'Disk Clean-up' program. The 'Files to delete: Windows Update Clean-up' size went from 9.52 GB (!) to 1.86 GB. The size of C:\Windows\WinSxS went from 9.92 GB to 13 GB [1]. On March 20, I installed the March monthly updates. After this: - the 'View update history' list *does* match the 'Installed Updates' list (except for the 'Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool', which is never listed in the 'Installed Updates' list). - Windows Update has *not* re-offered any updates, which (it says) were already installed. Bottom line: So it seems that running the 'Windows Update Clean-up' part of the 'Disk Clean-up' *did* solve the Windows Update problems on SWMBO's Windows 8.1 system. [1] A bit of a lie, because I forgot check the latter number, so 13 GB is the current size, after the March 20 update. On Windows 10, I think only once did I need to clean out SoftwareDistribution to stop some Windows Update looping behavior. The rest of the time, the more mild technique (manual install) worked. You can see in this selected snip of the log, that I installed '518 twice. The Windows Update one failed (nearest the bottom). Then, when I downloaded and reinstalled that one, both now are marked as successful. I didn't need to purge SoftwareDistribution in this run. https://s10.postimg.org/dmpt6ebbt/Wi...pdate_test.gif [1] "Description Windows keeps copies of all installed updates from Windows update, even after installing newer versions of updates. Windows Update clean-up deletes or compresses older versions of updates that are no longer needed and taking up space." |
Ads |
#32
|
|||
|
|||
Microsoft polluted my brand new disk drive - what can be deleted?
On 3/25/2018 1:54 PM, Frank Slootweg wrote:
- the 'View update history' list*does* match the 'Installed Updates' list (except for the 'Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool', which is never listed in the 'Installed Updates' list). Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool is shown in Other Updates at the bottom of the page not in Quality Updates. -- 2018: The year we learn to play the great game of Euchre |
#33
|
|||
|
|||
Microsoft polluted my brand new disk drive - what can be deleted?
Keith Nuttle wrote:
On 3/25/2018 1:54 PM, Frank Slootweg wrote: - the 'View update history' list*does* match the 'Installed Updates' list (except for the 'Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool', which is never listed in the 'Installed Updates' list). Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool is shown in Other Updates at the bottom of the page not in Quality Updates. Thanks for your response. This is on a Windows 8.1 system. Sadly, 8.1 has no such updates categories in he 'Installed Updates' list, only 'Name'd categories such as 'Microsoft Windows'. Most updates - in this case 263 of 266 - are in the 'Microsoft Updates' category. The 'Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool' is not listed in this category, nor in any other. |
#34
|
|||
|
|||
Microsoft polluted my brand new disk drive - what can be deleted?
Wolf K wrote:
On 2018-03-26 12:57, Frank Slootweg wrote: Keith Nuttle wrote: On 3/25/2018 1:54 PM, Frank Slootweg wrote: - the 'View update history' list*does* match the 'Installed Updates' list (except for the 'Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool', which is never listed in the 'Installed Updates' list). Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool is shown in Other Updates at the bottom of the page not in Quality Updates. Thanks for your response. This is on a Windows 8.1 system. Sadly, 8.1 has no such updates categories in he 'Installed Updates' list, only 'Name'd categories such as 'Microsoft Windows'. Most updates - in this case 263 of 266 - are in the 'Microsoft Updates' category. The 'Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool' is not listed in this category, nor in any other. IIRC, the Malicious Software Removal Tool installs, runs once, then deletes itself. AFAIK, it's limited to one or two specific current assaults, it's not general purpose. For that, there's Defender and many other anti-malware tools. You can run MSRT manually, to learn more about it. It scans for maybe 50 different things, which it can list. And it's showing in my 16299.309 Windows Update history panel. https://s17.postimg.org/byv0oozgf/MS...te_History.gif It's meant as a survey tool for Microsoft, rather than something we can rely on for "cleaning" or something. I've never seen anything detected by it. Not even EICAR (which wouldn't be on its list anyway). And I notice mine says "FAILED" for the March one. Hmmm. I think this means I've been naughty. Paul |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | Rate This Thread |
|
|