"FAILURE CONFIGURING WINDOWS UPDATE - REVERTING" Win 7 Screen Msg

I bought a Win 7 Pro 64-bit PC from HP last July. About that same time I found SETI and this group. I began following the comments about Win 10 and Microsoft's 'forced' up-grade attempts aimed at Win 7/8 Users.

Skip ahead in time to TODAY, 1-24-16

Clicking Start / All Programs / Windows Update showed a list of waiting updates. I had 39 important and 13 optional listed.

I unchecked ALL boxes on the update page and then re-selected those having to do with Microsoft Office 2003; there were THREE updates listed. All 3 downloaded and installed fine.

On the Windows Update page the "Most recent check for updates:" was marked "Today at 12:17 PM", and the "Updates were installed:" line, the next one down, was marked "Today at 11:44 AM. View update history."

So far so good. Now to uninstall the bad updates I might have:

I reviewed the group posting Message 1750074 - Posted: 18 December 2015 and decided to check what updates marked in BLUE for Win 7 had been already installed on my PC by HP.

I went thru the list dated 18 December 2015 and found all the BLUE updates EXCEPT for KB 3112343, the last BLUE one on the list.

I found where to click to uninstall updates and proceeded. After selecting the first 3, KB 2952664, KB 2977759, and KB 2990214, ONE at a time, and waiting for each to finish, I got a msg saying: "You must reboot." I clicked OK, and the re-boot took 3 to 4 minutes before I got my normal desktop back. All seemed fine.

I then selected the next 3 on the 18 December 2015 list. One at a time I uninstalled KB 3021917, KB 3050765, and KB 3065987 waiting for each to finish. After this last one I again got a msg saying: "You must reboot." I clicked OK.

I had a light blue re-boot type screen with 2 lines of text. One said "Preparing to configure windows." and the 2nd line said "Do not turn off your computer." there was a small revolving circle on the left.

OK, I waited, and then waited more, 3 or 4 minutes passed as it had for my first 3 update removal re-boot. Then 30 minutes passed, then 45... OMG, are we stuck in an "endless do loop" (to use an old DOS programmer quip). How long DO you wait? Is this NORMAL? When does "Do not turn off..." cease to have meaning? Finally, after nearly 1 hour, the re-boot showed signs of life rather than impending doom as my new PC transitioned into "Nova" mode and melted down. Oh, oh, my error! A message now popped up on the blue re-boot screen. It said: "Failure configuring Windows update. Reverting." OMG, now what? Finally, after the above, my normal desktop was back. WHAT now?

GEEZ !! One hour for just 3 up-date removals? Has Microsoft sent out an 'update' that seeks to see if Users are uninstalling CERTAIN files marked on the 18 December 2015 list? It kinda LOOKS like it. I hope I'm not paranoid but ONE HOUR to reboot makes me wonder. How about you?

I went back to the BEGINNING. I Clicked "Start / All Programs / Windows Update" as I had when I first started all this. NOTHING. That string no longer brought up the page that is titled "Windows Update" that had a box saying "Download and install updates for your computer." When I first started this I got that page easily and it had said "39 important and 13 optional" updates are available.

I was able to again find the page using Start / Control Panel / System and Security / Windows Update but some serious changes had occurred.

Now the Windows Update page list of important and optional updates said nothing. Before all this I had 39 important and 13 optional listed.

The line "Most recent check for updates:" said NEVER and the 2nd line "Updates were installed" said NEVER.

I clicked on "Check for updates" and, after about 10 to 15 minutes was told I had 51 important and 14 optional updates available now. Wheras I originally had and downloaded 3 updates For Microsoft Office 2003, I now had 29 available? The two update lines mentioned just above changed after clicking the "Check for updates" button. The lines now said: "Most recent check for updates:" said "Today at 12:13 PM" and the 2nd line "Updates were installed" still said NEVER instead of "Today at 11:44 AM. View update history" as it had earlier.

What happened to the 3 Microsoft Office 2003 updates I had installed earlier? Have they been removed and replaced with 29? Should I install these 29 or do nothing?

I went down the list of the six KB files I had un-installed. Five of them were still gone BUT KB 2952664 was BACK! How to get rid of this pesky update? Was my 1 hour re-boot delay caused by my removal of KB 295664? I wonder. Anyone have a clue? Should I try removing it again?

This whole experience has been VERY frightening. Geez! What a nightmare. :( I'm kinda afraid to do more. What to do? Is it possible that Microsoft, using a nefarious new type "update," is causing what I experienced to stop people from shutting off their efforts to force a "Win 10 freebie" upon Users of older OS's?

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River Song (aka Linda Latte on planet Earth)
"Happy I-Phone girl on the GO GO GO"

Hi Linda,

May I suggest a solution that has worked well for me. Go ahead and let the full update take place then run the following batch file. This is accomplished by copying the lines below, then pasting into a new notepad or text document. Save that document to your desktop as win10uninstall.bat(make sure you use the .bat in the file name). Right click on the desktop icon for the win10uninstall.bat file and select and click 'Run as Administrator'. A command window will open and the bad updates will be removed one by one without the need to restart after each update is removed. When the window closes the batch file is done. I recommend restarting after running the batch file.

I got this from an earlier post on this thread.

Here are the lines to paste:

wusa /uninstall /kb:2952664 /quiet /norestart
wusa /uninstall /kb:2957026 /quiet /norestart
wusa /uninstall /kb:2976978 /quiet /norestart
wusa /uninstall /kb:2977759 /quiet /norestart
wusa /uninstall /kb:2990214 /quiet /norestart
wusa /uninstall /kb:3021917 /quiet /norestart
wusa /uninstall /kb:3022345 /quiet /norestart
wusa /uninstall /kb:3035583 /quiet /norestart
wusa /uninstall /kb:3044374 /quiet /norestart
wusa /uninstall /kb:3050265 /quiet /norestart
wusa /uninstall /kb:3050267 /quiet /norestart
wusa /uninstall /kb:3065987 /quiet /norestart
wusa /uninstall /kb:3065988 /quiet /norestart
wusa /uninstall /kb:3068708 /quiet /norestart
wusa /uninstall /kb:3075249 /quiet /norestart
wusa /uninstall /kb:3075851 /quiet /norestart
wusa /uninstall /kb:3075853 /quiet /norestart
wusa /uninstall /kb:3080149 /quiet /norestart
wusa /uninstall /kb:3081954 /quiet /norestart
wusa /uninstall /kb:3083324 /quiet /norestart
wusa /uninstall /kb:3083325 /quiet /norestart
wusa /uninstall /kb:3083710 /quiet /norestart
wusa /uninstall /kb:3083711 /quiet /norestart
wusa /uninstall /kb:3097877 /quiet /norestart
wusa /uninstall /kb:3102810 /quiet /norestart
wusa /uninstall /kb:3102812 /quiet /norestart
wusa /uninstall /kb:3112336 /quiet /norestart
wusa /uninstall /kb:3112343 /quiet /norestart

Good Luck.

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"Sour Grapes make a bitter Whine." <(0)>

Personally, I don't like using the /quiet switch. When I ran the pile of commands on a machine I knew had a lot of the updates, nothing happened because too many things were trying to be done at a time. So by removing /quiet, it will run through them one at a time, asking you to click "OK" to proceed with removing.

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Linux laptop:
record uptime: 1511d 20h 19m (ended due to the power brick giving-up)

Monday. January 25th. 2016 @7.58 AM. [GMT-0800]. Day of year = 25

Thank you SO MUCH for your kind help! The time you took to read and reply to my post and follow-on questions is sincerely appreciated. :) I'm a bit fearful of "batch files." I started using them in the early '80s and always was fearful of the damage one tiny error could do. I made such a tiny one in 1999 on a Win 98 PC and it 1/2 wiped out the entire OS. However, if I hear no 'negatives' about the batch file I may gather up all my couage and try it. :)

Huggs!

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River Song (aka Linda Latte on planet Earth)
"Happy I-Phone girl on the GO GO GO"

Personally, I don't like using the /quiet switch. When I ran the pile of commands on a machine I knew had a lot of the updates, nothing happened because too many things were trying to be done at a time. So by removing /quiet, it will run through them one at a time, asking you to click "OK" to proceed with removing.

Thank you MUCHLY for your comment about the 'quiet switch,' something "JaundicedEye' also mentioned !!

I presume I would take a line, all lines, like the following:
wusa /uninstall /kb:2952664 /quiet /norestart

and replace them with:
wusa /uninstall /kb:2952664 /norestart ?

Sorry for 'the obvious,' just trying to dot every eye and cross every tee. I'm very 'detail oriented' as most in this group are. :) It's the way engineers are. :) Also, my motto is the old saw: "If it works, don't fix it."

I would then finish off with a 're-boot,' right?

One other thing to add to my earlier and lengthy post. After all was done I was horrified to learn that my net download speed had dropped from its usual 50 Mb or so speed down to TWO Mb !! That was another unexpected thing. It looks like the M$, (short-hand for Microsoft?), 'delete an update' is written using flaky code if things like THAT can happen. Yoiks!

THANK YOU 2 GENTLEMEN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! May you both discover a new planet, find ET, win the lotto, or similar for your help to others. :)

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River Song (aka Linda Latte on planet Earth)
"Happy I-Phone girl on the GO GO GO"

One way to get Windows at least to recognize some of its own stuff again is the system file checker, sfc.exe

From an elevated command line (Start->type cmd.exe in the search, wait for it to show in the menu, then right-click it and choose run as administrator; there's an easier CTRL+keycode for this as well, but I always forget which that is) type sfc /SCANNOW and hit enter.

Not sure if the SCANNOW needs to be capitals, but it never hurts to do so, just in case there's a difference between 'scannow' and 'SCANNOW', just as there is between '-a' and '-A' on some of the switches).

Let it run all the way through, depending on the amount of problems it finds, this can take an hour or more. When it's done, reboot.

That should fix major problems with Windows replacing problem files with the originals it has in cache. If the cache is damaged, it'll ask for the Windows Install DVD. You may be required to reinstall updates of the problems it found through Windows Update.

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I would use Ageless's routine if your system is really messed up. It could call for re-installation of many updates and an investment of several hours of your time.

I always try to take the simplest path before calling in the 'Big Surgeon'...":>

As an aside, I was watching the American Football Conference championship game yesterday and was amused when during the 1st half the Micro$oft Surface tablets(adopted by the NFL as preferred sideline team communication devices), stopped working,......for the Patriots side only.....was Window$ 10 pushing an update?........";D>......too bad for their side......";D>

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"Sour Grapes make a bitter Whine." <(0)>

Thank you for your suggestion. A problem is I don't have a restore CD. I bought the PC from HP and they gave me nothing. :(

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River Song (aka Linda Latte on planet Earth)
"Happy I-Phone girl on the GO GO GO"

Thank you for your suggestion. A problem is I don't have a restore CD. I bought the PC from HP and they gave me nothing. :(

HP`s usually have a recovery partition on it.

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With each crime and every kindness we birth our future.

No problem. The system files checker uses the Windows 7 installation cache, that's a cache that got installed on the hard drive during the original installation of Windows. Only when this cache is damaged in some way, will it ask for the DVD. The only way the cache can be damaged is if you have a hard drive problem, but then you're better off buying a new HDD... :)

It will only, most probably, put whatever files it finds that are damaged back to its original form, the form they were in when Windows got installed on the drive. And as such, you'll need to run Windows Update on it after sfc is done, and you rebooted.

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...I was watching the American Football Conference championship game yesterday and was amused when during the 1st half the Micro$oft Surface tablets(adopted by the NFL as preferred sideline team communication devices), stopped working,......for the Patriots side only.....was Window$ 10 pushing an update?........";D>......too bad for their side......";D>

Yeah, wasn't that priceless?
Guess I missed the part where it was only the Pats affected, thought it was everybody. Whatever the issue was, it was related to their wireless, as the fix was to run for a while with Ethernet hardwired. Wonder how much M$ paid the NFL for that product placement?

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Wonder how much M$ paid the NFL for that product placement?

AND I wonder if they've come to regret it or don't the teams mind all their files(playbooks) being the property of M$? Or do they even realize it?

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"Sour Grapes make a bitter Whine." <(0)>

Having bought a HP PC with Windows 8, I made a backup of it on 4 DVD. But when it was updated to 8.1 I was not allowed to make another backup. Then Microsoft upgraded it to Windows 10 and I made a repair disk on one DVD. When the PC crashed, probably due to an error of mine, I used the repair disk and the PC restarted without all the HP software, only Microsoft. I then bought a 1 TB external disk via USB to save my files on its FAT32 file system. Windows 10 refused to make a backup on that disk because "other people might read it". By hook or by crook (I am not a Windows expert) I reduced the FAT32 partition to 32 GB and formatted the remaining to NTFS. Then I made a full backup, and it will be done weekly,taking about one hour. I suspend all BOINC tasks while making the backup.
Tullio

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Smart Tullio, I did pretty much the same with my files and backup using a Buffalo NAS HDD enclosure and 2 WD 3TB drives. I have a seperate NAS for streaming movies and other programs I have recorded which is always attached to my system, the backup NAS however is turned off unless I'm doing a backup.

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"Sour Grapes make a bitter Whine." <(0)>

BAD PROBLEM TRYING TO REMOVE "Bad Windows Updates"

Please see my Message posting 1759106 dated 25 Jan 2016 for a step by step description of a problem with my Win 7 64-bit PC.

It is titled "FAILURE CONFIGURING WINDOWS UPDATE - REVERTING" An M$ screen message I got.

A somewhat shortened synopsis is as follows:

I reviewed the group posting Message 1750074 - Posted: 18 December 2015 listing "bad Windows updates." These are bad as they are involved in M$ attempts to force a Win 10 update on Users of earlier OS's by M$.

Using the above list, and choosing those marked in BLUE for Win 7, I removed the first 3 bad Windows updates with no apparent problem. A required re-boot took 3 or 4 minutes.

I then tried the next 3. This time the "removal" rattled on for an HOUR and ended with the "FAILURE CONFIGURING......" screen message mentioned above. The 2nd group of 3 files had NOT been removed.

I found that my listing of files, those I had already updated in past days, was corrupted, as now I was told I'd never up-dated anything before. Geez...

I decided to STOP as this was getting SCARY.

END OF "somewhat shortened synopsis." :)

NEW STUFF BELOW:

I have since discovered add'l ANOMALIES, today, in my Win 7 PC. I run M$ "Windows Virtual PC" in Windows XP Mode as it permits me to run old XP programs I wrote that would not work w/o it. When I run it I get a small window in XP mode in the center of my 24 in. Win 7 screen. It is set up with AVG Free and MalwareBytes for protection from 'outside malware.' It works FINE and I can do my work.

I needed XP Mode today and did a "Start / Windoes Virtual PC / Windows XP Mode." It took unusually long to come up and when it did I was horrifed to see an all black screen with tiny icons scattered around the outer perimeter of my large screen! Yoiks! I found I could not even 're-size' the screen! This was totally awful. What to do? I could not EXIT Win XP Mode as I normally would. I was forced to unplug my PC and reboot.

I then tried a 2nd time to bring up Win XP Mode and was met with "black and white boxes" in the center area of my screen. I re-booted again and on the 3rd try a normal XP screen appeared and about 5 X 7 inches in the center area of my much larger screen. The icons were in disarray and I had to re-locate them. When I clicked on program icons in the lower right system tray, nothing worked. I could not open MalwareBytes or AVG Free. I could open BOTH by double-clicking their main screen icons tho. I tried to 'update' the MalwareBytes list of 'bad stuff' but nothing happened. I then opened AVG Free. It said my file was out of date so I clicked "Fix Now" to up-date. The supposed 'update' ran on and on and on. After 15 minutes I saw "Update failed" and "General Error" on the AVG Free screen box.

I then found I COULD exit Win XP Mode in the normal manner whereas I could not before. I exited, waited a few minutes, and then re-started Win XP Mode. This time the XP screen opened as normal, albeit, more slowly than usual. I found that MalwareBytes was not listed as "running" in my system tray altho I had the program set to "run autimatically at Windows startup." It had NOT started. I again ran AVG Free and saw, in RED, the msg "UPDATE FAILED." I again clicked "Fix Now" to update and was told "update started," or some such. After several minutes I finally got an 'Updates installed" msg. Whew!

Win XP running inside Win 7 now looked norma, BUT... BUT...

I can no longer xfer DATA in the form of numbers or text inside a .txt file in/out! I can't open a .txt file in win 7 and paste it into a .txt file existing in Win XP. All my calculation programs are now worthless. :( I then tried opening a .txt file inside Win XP and pasting it into a .txt file on my Win 7 desktop. NO LUCK!

When the "virtual machine" starts up, one of the msgs you see inside the XP window is "enabling integration features." This is likely WHY I can no longer xfer .txt file data in and out of XP. This is AWFUL! It appears that "integration enabling" is no longer working.

One other anomaly is I now get an error msg in my Mozilla Thunderbird e-mail client when I try to send. It says "Sending of the message failed. Unable to open the temporary file C:\Users\Linda\AppData\Local\Temp\nsmail.tmp. Check your temporary directory setting." WHAT ON EARTH IS THIS?

THOUGHTS:

After what I've been thru with my Win 7 64-bit PC in trying to remove "bad windows updates," I have to say it seems a risky business to me. But then I have to think "others have done it with no problems?" But then, Why me? :)

There is something flaky going on with, I think, M$ "update removal" code? It seems to create bad anomilies with other files and cause damage?

Maybe the method suggested in group Message 1759116 dated 25 Jan 2016 may be safer? "JaundicedEye," passed along a batch file for use in removing bad M$ updates. Maybe THIS method gets around sloppy M$ code? Anyone have an idea on this?

Also, "Ageless" offered a suggestion. His was put forth in group Message 1759182 dated 25 Jan 2016. He suggests "doing a cmd.exe" and then typing "sfc /SCANNOW" and hitting Enter. The premise is, I presume, that it will seek out and fix bad stuff? Perhaps he might comment on whether it may fix what I am experiencing as detailed above?

There is an option, in Win 7, to "Restart my computer to an earlier time?" Should I try THAT? Go back a few days and see if it fixes this multitude of problems? For some reason tho, my 'restore points' only go back TWP days! Why after using this PC for 6 months?

I hope anyone in the group can tell me how to fix this in plain language? :) Right now my PC is in bad shape.

Help appreciated. In return you get a huggie and access to any left-overs in my fridge. :))

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River Song (aka Linda Latte on planet Earth)
"Happy I-Phone girl on the GO GO GO"

If you need a Virtual Machine why don't you use Virtual Box? it is free and works on my Windows 10 PC where there are 5 Virtual Machines, and on the two Linux boxes with one Virtual Machine each.
Tullio

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Also, "Ageless" offered a suggestion. His was put forth in group Message 1759182 dated 25 Jan 2016. He suggests "doing a cmd.exe" and then typing "sfc /SCANNOW" and hitting Enter. The premise is, I presume, that it will seek out and fix bad stuff? Perhaps he might comment on whether it may fix what I am experiencing as detailed above?

I didn't suggest you do a cmd.exe, I suggested you do an elevated cmd.exe. Big difference here, because by elevating to the administrator of the machine, not just the administrator account you may be working with, you have more rights.

Only the Windows administrator can check if there are problems with system files. Which is why you elevate yourself to system administrator to run the system file checker.

Will it fix all the problems you have? I don't know. Until you try, you won't know either. But it's better to do an elevated SFC than it is to continue to try to fix the system from within.

If all fails, there's always the Repair Windows 7 option, and before you say you don't have a Windows 7 DVD, please first look at the article I linked to as that's handled as well.
There's a last ditch option for when even the above doesn't work, and that's to reinstall Windows 7 while keeping all your programs, personal data, and user accounts intact.

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If you need a Virtual Machine why don't you use Virtual Box? it is free and works on my Windows 10 PC where there are 5 Virtual Machines, and on the two Linux boxes with one Virtual Machine each.
Tullio

Hi Tullio,
I would use Oracle VM Virtual Box if I were going to run software written for other OS's like Linux, Mac OS X, or Solaris x86 OS. My software, created some 40 years back using Borland Turbo-Basic, runs on a Windows OS. That being the case, the free M$ product Windows Virtual PC, running Windows XP Mode, perfectly fit my needs. :)

When M$ created Win 7 they blocked access to the full hi-res graphics screen and ruined my ability to run full page highly intensive code that created, if you know the name, a full screen "Smith Chart," needed for a wide variety of microwave circuit designs. The ONLY way I could find to continue using this vintage code of mine was to run Win XP on a screen inside of Win 7. Get it? :)

Altho Win 7/8 progs work within the Oracle VM Virtual Box software, graphic intensive Win XP code, and older M$ OS's does not. I would assume, but am not certain, that Win 10 would not allow my XP graphics code to run in it.

Since I do not have Win 10 I cannot know if it will run Windows Virtual PC in XP mode. Do you know about that?

I'm unsure HOW to post a .jpg graphic image in this group or I would show you some images. :)

Thank you!

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River Song (aka Linda Latte on planet Earth)
"Happy I-Phone girl on the GO GO GO"

Also, "Ageless" offered a suggestion. His was put forth in group Message 1759182 dated 25 Jan 2016. He suggests "doing a cmd.exe" and then typing "sfc /SCANNOW" and hitting Enter. The premise is, I presume, that it will seek out and fix bad stuff? Perhaps he might comment on whether it may fix what I am experiencing as detailed above?

I didn't suggest you do a cmd.exe, I suggested you do an elevated cmd.exe. Big difference here, because by elevating to the administrator of the machine, not just the administrator account you may be working with, you have more rights.

Only the Windows administrator can check if there are problems with system files. Which is why you elevate yourself to system administrator to run the system file checker.

Will it fix all the problems you have? I don't know. Until you try, you won't know either. But it's better to do an elevated SFC than it is to continue to try to fix the system from within.

If all fails, there's always the Repair Windows 7 option, and before you say you don't have a Windows 7 DVD, please first look at the article I linked to as that's handled as well.
There's a last ditch option for when even the above doesn't work, and that's to reinstall Windows 7 while keeping all your programs, personal data, and user accounts intact.

Ahhhh, I see, said the blind carpenter, as she picked up her hammer and saw!

I have never heard the phrase elevated cmd.exe I have always been the administrator as mine have always been single-user machines. :)

OMG, I hope never to have to go so far as to do a virtual "re-install of Windows." That would totally ruin my day. :( This is a nightmare.

In regard removing the M$ "bad updates," from what I've seen and experienced, the ONLY way that is SAFE is if you CATCH the up-dates BEFORE they are installed. If you go in, innocently, as I did, and try to use the M$ "unistall update" feature you are taking your life in your hands and risking ruination. I know some will say "I had no problem" but then others will as I have. I dunno why? I suspect slight differences in each User PC or some such may account for it. It is a mystery. ONE thing is for certain. YOUR PC and my PC are different, even tho both may run Win 7. Our OS code is not identical; it varies over time.

Thank you for your kind help. It is much appreciated. :)

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River Song (aka Linda Latte on planet Earth)
"Happy I-Phone girl on the GO GO GO"

Linda, I know very little about Windows. I am only using it as a Virtual Box platform to run CERN programs. Besides that, I have installed two SuSE Linux Virtual Machines on it. On one of them I have loaded a second tier Virtual Box to run CERN vLHC@home on it and it works. The other is running SETI@home Linux programs on a Windows 10 PC. I have also installed a Solaris 11.3 Virtual Machine, but there are no BOINC projects in Solaris (a derivative of Berkeley UNIX, which have used in my professional life). So I can't help you, sorry.
Tullio

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