Bad news: Service Pack 3 for Windows XP, or one of the subsequent patches, breaks Windows Update. Not all the time, but often enough that I got burned twice.
Good news: Microsoft offers free technical support for Windows Update and that support provided a solution to my problem.
While consumers are conditioned to call their hardware manufacturer for technical support, Microsoft offers free support for Service Pack 3 for Windows XP, IE7 and Windows Update. Support for SP3 and IE7 is offered on the phone (866-234-6020), although, I had a hard time qualifying. Support for Windows Update is offered by email.
(Credit:
Microsoft)
To request assistance with Windows Update, start at the Windows Update website (Tools -> Windows Update in IE6 and IE7) and click on the "Get help and support" link in the gray stripe on the left. Then click on "Send a problem report".
The best way to do this is with Internet Explorer on the computer with the problem. This allows Microsoft to download an ActiveX control that gathers assorted debugging information and sends it back to them. In my case, this debugging information proved critical.
A Microsoft technician responded to my plea for help well within their 24 hour goal.
My problem was particularly annoying because there was no error code, thus nothing to search the net for. The error message simply referred to "a problem on your computer". In addition, a review of the update history (click on "Review your update history" in the left side gray stripe) showed no failures at all. I had even checked the system event logs and come up empty.
It turns out that Windows Update has 2.5 activity log files.
In addition to the "update history", there are two plain text log files in the C:\WINDOWS folder. The "half" is a file called "Windows Update.log" which doesn't seem to be used any longer. I checked four XP machines and in each case the file had almost no data and hadn't been updated in a long time.
Update: A reader named Joseph pointed out that this is from an older version of Windows Update.(July 27, 2008)
But the other log file, "WindowsUpdate.log" is a gold mine of information (this file has no spaces in the name). It was included in the debugging information sent to Microsoft and revealed that my problem was an error 0x80004002.
The Fix
Windows Update was resuscitated with the oldest trick in the book, re-installing the software.
Microsoft's first suggestion was to download version 3 of the Windows Update "Agent" (file WindowsUpdateAgent30-x86.exe) to the root of the C disk, then run it with Start -> Run and the following command:
C:\WindowsUpdateAgent30-x86.exe /wuforce
The installation was quick and painless. On both computers, this fixed the problem.
The link to this stand-alone version of the Windows Update agent may change over time. A technician at Microsoft suggested getting the software from here. This fix is also offered here, for a similar Windows Update problem.
How widespread is this problem?
There's no way for me to know how widespread this problem is. If you've had problems with Windows Update after installing Windows XP SP3 leave a comment below.
I don't use Automatic Updates, but if you do, and find the yellow shield never goes away, you may be experiencing this problem. To see, try running Windows Update manually from the website to insure it can install patches.
A brief search turned up forum postings at Microsoft.com from others with this problem. This thread, XP SP3 Preventing any other Windows Update Installs, started almost 3 months ago.
The thread includes an email from Microsoft technical support with three possible fixes. One of them, involving re-registering DLLs, was my fallback if the first suggestion didn't work. Scott Dunn from Windows Secrets covered re-registering Windows Update DLLs last September in Stealth Windows update prevents XP repair.
Finally, let me repeat a warning about upgrading to Internet Explorer 7. When you first install IE7, you get a known buggy version. After rebooting, run Windows Update immediately to get the patch shown below
Update July 27, 2008: After installing XP SP3 and all the subsequent patches on three more computers, my best guess is that the problem has to do with the type of license for Windows. On all four machines that were purchased from the same hardware vendor (very different models), Windows Update broke. However, a copy of Windows XP purchased at retail in a shrink-wrapped box had no problems with Windows Update.
See a summary of all my Defensive Computing postings.
On two Windows XP machines of mine, the installation of post-SP3 patches has broken Windows Update.
I first wrote about this yesterday, when it happened on one machine. Today, on a computer with very different hardware, the problem repeated itself.
In both cases the computers had no application software installed. Each had only Windows XP SP2 and a handful of vendor installed utilities. Neither machine had any anti-malware software of any kind, not even a firewall (other than XP's firewall). Both were running Internet Explorer 6.
Each time I started by installing SP3 and rebooting. Next, I ran Windows Update manually and opted to install all the post-SP3 patches, with the exception of Internet Explorer 7. I prefer to install IE7 by itself. The patches install fine, and I reboot again.
At this point Windows Update no longer works.
As I suggested three months ago, it's best to hold off on Service Pack 3.
Update July 27, 2008: This problem is not related to IE6, it was re-produced on two machines running IE7. At this point, I have tried to reproduce it on five computers. My best guess now is that the problem has to do with the type of license for Windows. On four machines that were purchased from the same hardware vendor (very different models), Windows Update broke. However, a copy of Windows XP purchased at retail in a shrink-wrapped box had no problems with Windows Update.
One Windows XP test machine started out with no service packs. I installed SP2, rebooted, installed IE7, rebooted, installed SP3, rebooted and then installed all the post-SP3 patches except for one. One patch had to be omitted because without something to install there is no way to know that Windows Update is broken. Specifically, I chose not to install KB923789, an update to the Adobe Flash player. The post-SP3 patches that I did install were KB951748, KB951978, KB890830, KB951376, KB950762, KB950760 and KB942763. One of them broke Windows Update.
For the fix to Windows Update see Fixing Windows Update on XP SP3
See a summary of all my Defensive Computing postings.
The day Windows XP SP3 was released I advised waiting a long time before installing it. In the three months since, I haven't installed it on a computer that mattered to me. Today, I installed it on a computer that didn't matter much, and it caused a problem. So, I tried to take advantage of the free tech support Microsoft offers for SP3 - and got a lesson in fine print.
The computer shipped with Windows XP SP2 and some vendor utilities installed. It was a good guinea pig for SP3 because there were no user-installed applications and no user-created data files on the machine.
I downloaded and installed SP3 without incident. Then I rebooted and ran Windows Update again to get the latest patches. There were a handful of recent patches, and I installed all of them except for Internet Explorer 7. This too went fine and I rebooted again, little knowing the grief that awaited.
Back to Windows Update to install IE7. As you can see below it found another patch too.
Now however, Windows Update can't install either the patch for the .NET framework or IE7. It politely says that "Some updates were not installed".
Under the error (see below), it says to try again. So I did, but that didn't help. I tried one at a time, but that didn't help either. I rebooted, to no avail.
So I called Microsoft (866-234-6020) hoping to get some of the free tech support for XP SP3 mentioned here. But I didn't qualify.
The free support is for "installation and compatibility". In my case SP3 installed fine so I don't qualify there. And compatibility doesn't seem to include SP3 being compatible with Windows Update.
No Free IE7 Tech Support Either
While on the phone with Microsoft, I have an idea. Because of the problem, I couldn't install Internet Explorer 7 and Microsoft offers free tech support for IE7 too. This page clearly refers to "Free Internet Explorer 7 installation and set-up phone support".
Switching from asking for XP SP3 support to asking for IE7 support stumped the person I was speaking to, and I had to wait on hold while he got a ruling from the judge. Again, I didn't qualify.
Despite the offer of free installation support for IE7 and despite the fact that I couldn't install IE7, the Microsoft person explained that since my problem was really with Windows Update, I didn't quality for the free help.
The patch for the .NET framework did me in. Since it also wouldn't install, this pointed the finger at Windows Update rather than at IE7. Adding insult to injury, Windows Update created the need for this patch by installing the known buggy Service Pack for the .NET framework in the first place, a situation I wrote about back in April (see Don't get burned by Windows Update).
Lawyers reading this, must find it a hoot. Internet Explorer 7 is installed with Windows Update and there is free telephone support for installing the product. But if Windows Update is the problem, no free support.
After hanging up, I tried Microsoft Update instead of Windows Update, but it failed in the same way. When turning off the machine, automatic updates tried to install a patch, but that failed. At the next boot, automatic updates wanted to install both IE7 and the patch for the .NET framework. I let it try, but it failed in the same way. At the next shutdown, Windows again tried to install a patch. It's confused.
Microsoft offers free tech support for Windows Update too. But that's not on the phone, only by email. I went down that route, filling out the necessary forms and accumulating the required data.
I don't expect it to lead anywhere. For one thing, as you can see from the screen shots above, there is no error code, just a generic warning about "a problem". I checked the event logs and there were no error messages there either. Debugging errors without an error code is really hard, especially by email.
I think it's time for some more Linux postings.
Update: July 22, 2008: This was not a fluke, it happened again on another machine.
See a summary of all my Defensive Computing postings.
The Internet is littered with stories about the soon to be released third service pack for Windows XP. Here's an uncommon wrinkle. Don't install it when it's officially released on the 29th. Not yet, it's too soon.
I say this at the risk of not being a team player. Fellow CNET blogger, Robert Vamosi, recently wrote "Starting April 29, all Windows XP SP2 users should upgrade to SP3..." If this is my last posting, you'll know why.
A fundamental tenant of Defensive Computing is not to install newly released software. With Windows XP SP3, the reason to wait is software incompatibilities. Even though SP3 has underdone much testing, it's a big world and there are bound to be problems with some software. By waiting, you let everyone else find and fix the problems before you face them.
If you are using software that's impacted adversely by SP3, you don't want to be among the first people to call the software vendor for help. It's far better to call a couple months later when the problem and the solution are well known and grooved in.
Deciding when to install new software involves balancing the risk vs. the reward. While the risk with SP3 should be small, so too is the reward. In fact, the reward is pert near zero for anyone who is up to date on Windows bug fixes. Granted, this is one person's opinion, and reasonable people may disagree, but from what I've read, the new features added to XP by the third service pack are a big yawn.
The suggestion to wait on installing SP3 is not based on specific problems, issues or incompatibilities. That said, it's not hard to find them.
Just today, ComputerWorld noted that Mac users need new versions of Apple's Boot Camp and VMware's Fusion to be compatible with XP SP3. On The Personal Computer Show this week, the host, Joe King, told of problems using a Trend Micro anti-malware suite of software with SP3. If you go to TrendMicro.com and search for Windows XP SP3, there's nothing there about compatibility issues with the new service pack. It's too soon.
How long to wait? I'd give SP3 at least a couple months, maybe three or four.
How to Install a Service Pack
When the time comes to install SP3, the right approach is to first make a disk image backup of the partition containing Windows. Anything else is risky. No doubt SP3 was designed to be un-installed should the need arise, but putting your full faith in this would be a mistake.
Also, the installation process is going to exercise the heck out of the file system, so I suggest first running a thorough Check Disk. If you have any other hard disk diagnostic utilities, it would be good to insure the hard disk is healthy before installing the service pack. And a defrag can't hurt. At the very least, make a restore point.
Update. April 30, 2008: I told you so. On April 29th, Ina Fried wrote that Windows XP SP3 has been delayed to a newly discovered software incompatibility. See XP update delayed over glitch. As XP SP3 gets distributed to more and more people, we can expect still more software incompatibilities to surface.
Update. May 9, 2008: From ComputerWorld: XP SP3 cripples some PCs with endless reboots. One of the problems described in this article is a mistake by HP - running software meant for Intel processors on computers running AMD processors. Normally, this is not a problem, but for some reason it causes a problem after installing XP SP3.
Update. May 9, 2008: FYI: From the Microsoft Knowledge Base How to remove Windows XP Service Pack 3 from your computer.
Update. May 22, 2008: FYI: XP SP3 triggers false positives in security apps by Scott Dunn.
Update. July 23, 2008: After taking my own advice for three months, I installed SP3 on a guinea pig machine and it broke Windows Update. The next day, on a different computer, the same thing happened. See Post-SP3 patch breaks Windows Update.
Note: Paul Thurrott wrote an excellent Windows XP Service Pack 3 FAQ
See a summary of all my Defensive Computing postings.
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