I was having a very productive day yesterday when a Windows Update pop-up informed me that important updates had been installed on my computer and that a reboot was necessary. This was a pretty normal event - I have Windows Update set to automatically install updates. So I closed down my applications and proceeded to reboot my system (a 6 month old Dell E6400 running Vista (business). As the system tried to reboot, the infamous "blue screen of death" flashed before my eyes and the system through me into a start-up recovery program. I selected some of the options to fix the reboot problem, check memory and other functions. This entailed multiple attempts at rebooting - followed each time by the same wonderful blue screen. Eventually I settled on a system restore to get to a stable version of the operating system. After another blue screen the system finally seemed to correct itself and Vista came up. This took a couple of hours elapsed time followed by another hour or so running chkdsk and other tasks (like backing up my file changes made that day) to correct any problems.
Trying to debug the problem, I noticed that the update history told me that the installation failed (BTW, I already knew that) with an error code of 80242016 for the Cumulate Security Update for Internet Explorer 7 For Windows Vista (KB961260).
This afternoon - yep, you guessed it. Windows Update is back again telling me that I need to reboot (ok, yes I should have reset the auto-update to not automatically install things - duh). My system has not yet rebooted. What I find interesting is that in the update status, it is telling me that the install is pending but the update failed - this time with an error code of 80242014.
So - beside being a little upset at myself for forgetting to change the auto-update setting - I have a question for those Microsoft folks that read my blog. BTW, I've pinged my own internal help desk group to help me figure out what to do next to stop/remove the update - but until then there is this sense of impending doom ... I am so looking forward to repeating all the fun I had yesterday.
But my question is: why - if update status is already saying that the update is in error - why would it still be pending and trying to force a reboot? If it already knows that there is an error - shouldn't there be an obvious option to cancel the reboot? The greater question of course relates to why this update is causing my system to blue screen and throw me into a very unfriendly (from a user experience perspective) start-up recovery program.
Once again - I've backed up any file changes I've made today - I'm pretty sure that I'm in deep do-do again. BTW - the "get help for this error" is really kind of useless - just thought I'd let you know that as well. Oh, and BTW - please update the TechNet phrase for this security bulletin: "Known Issues. None."
Get a Mac! :-)
Seriously though, I was working in XP (in Parallels on my Mac) yesterday when windows auto-installed an update and gave me the "you need to reboot" pop-up. And every five minutes, I got that annoying pop-up, having to constantly click "reboot later" as if I was hitting a "snooze" button so I could work for five more minutes. Sigh....
Posted by: Irwin Lazar | February 12, 2009 at 05:41 PM
I should mention that my machine has 64 bit Vista installed ...
Yep - you can postpone if for 4 hours but still ... annoying.
Our help desk just prevented the updated from being installed so I should be all set.
Posted by: Mike Gotta | February 12, 2009 at 05:57 PM
I told a friend of mine to install openSUSE 11.1, because she was totally pissed of at Vista.
She installed it, and was very happy how everything worked. She could even run her old DOS apps which refused to run under XP and Vista.
I told her that it might not be the ultimate solution though, and she might need to install Windows 7 on a vmware or openSUSE VM after the summer if she wants to play some AAA games. But it's better than dual boot anyway.
Posted by: Mika Heinonen | February 12, 2009 at 06:18 PM
Hi Mike,
I also have a E6400 with Vista 64bits and the same problem, but it started a long time ago.
Now I've found a routine for each time there is a Windows Update. You have to reboot, get a BSOD, reboot in safe mode, start a session, close the session and then reboot back to normal mode.
Posted by: Romain M-P | February 13, 2009 at 08:49 AM
Hmm, I have for many years wondered on whether Microsoft has ever considered employing people with interaction design capability (sorry if I offend anyone with that statement - but seriously though ...).
Our company recently turned on auto updates and at the end of my day when I'm about to go home the system prompts me to install updates - sometimes I feel like it's doing the same damn one all the time. One question from my .... Why the hell would I run an update when I want to pick my notebook up and head home. Wouldn't it be more sensible to do the update the next time I switch on in the morning - i.e. time for a coffee before starting work. All joking aside, updates should b optionally applied at a given time. If a critical one IS installed - the user only needs to be told once - and not with interruption to typing which is a real suck when it comes to Windows generally - outlook does the same - every time it fails to sync as your off line - bang another pop up dialog box. Incidentally - if a real critical patch is applied, surely I am at no real greater risk 5 minutes after the patch as opposed to the 5 minutes and greater prior?
Right, grumble over .... Still Seriously though - while I am aware Vista is a vast improvement to XP in relation to user experience - I want my engine running smoothly given the years of subscription to Microsoft Software Development!
Posted by: Jason | April 22, 2009 at 08:46 AM