Windows Update Is In The Toilet

Try this fix.

2017-06-10 Let's get to the point.
1. Use WSUS to fix Windows Update
2. I may make WSUS sound difficult - it is not.
3. Give WSUS time to update each section.
4.It will tell you when you need to reboot and if running again is needed.
5. It will tell you when updates are all done.
* If storing or not using a PC for long periods - turn Windows Update off. You do not want to get into a "reverting" loop. Then use WSUS before turning Windows Update back on.

2017-06-09 Download "Win7 SP2" which is a roll up to April 2016. I've had this not work when WSUS worked fine.

Here is a good site for fixing update options if you wish to fool with it.

Windows Update is mostly broken for Windows 7. On some machines, if they have been kept up to date, things may be fine but not always. If you grab a machine that has not been used and/or updated for awhile the thing is a boat anchor. Windows Update will grab resources and never make any real progress. Just grab WSUS Offline Update and your Win7 will be up to date in short order.

Whether you are installing a fresh system or trying to get beyond a hopeless update, WSUS is the answer.

Each time you want to update run the UpdateGenerator.exe file. The first time you run it in each session it may update the program and you will need to run it again.

Once the update is downloaded you will go into the "client" directory and run UpdateInstaller.exe. This may also need to be run more than once due to updates requiring a reboot before installing more. You will be given hints as to what to do but it does not hold your hand. Just run it until you get the completed successfully notice.

 I may seem to hang on 6 of 9 updates or whatever. Give it a good amount to time (maybe even overnight) but if it does not complete, close the shell window and reboot. Then run UpdateInstaller.exe again. It should now say installing 1 of 4 (if 6 of 9 was were the numbers). Do this as many times as it takes to finish but sometimes it takes a long time. You can check if it is working by opening Resource Monitor from the Task Manager. But just because TrustedInstaller.exe is not showing does not mean it is stuck. If there is a lot of CPU or Drive activity it is probably still working.

But eventually you should get a completed notice

Windows 7 Update Reset Script

https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/scriptcenter/Reset-Windows-Update-Agent-d824badc

Comodo Firewall

Comodo Firewall

2017-06-17 I have quit using this. It is impossible to install without excessive pain.

I am determined to use and tame this thing. I tried Tiny Wall and it is easier to use in that it is a front end for Window's own firewall. TW refused to allow local network activity so I went to Comodo. Turning off TW to use the network did not work because the settings stuck to Window's firewall, which needed to be reset to allow local network.

Comodo can be irritating with popups depending on what you are doing. Normally it is quiet and on those sporadic popup fests you can just click allow. Sometimes the "allow" is remembered (it seems) and sometimes not. For example with Private Internet Access VPN, I had to manually label three files and "trusted".

The best way to have handled this is when I installed PIA. On the first alert popup just choose treat as installer (because it was an installer). The non-installer popups are not as clearly handled.

If you did not do the "treat as installer" action and installed PIA by repeatedly clicking "allow" you will get popups every time you start PIA.

Here is how to fix it.

Scrolling down the file list is fairly fast and the untrusted files are quickly obvious. Or just click the top of the file rating column and the list will sort by type. I did need to do this three times for the settings to stick - what's up with that - but it does the trick.

Using Comodo can raise you paranoia level. It catches activity that would be gratefully revealed if not initiated by the user. As long as you understand how to tame the beast, you could learn to like it.

How To Determine SATA Version

Crystal DiskInfo will tell you

The interface is first and the HD is second.

User Benchmarks

Checking if User Benchmarks might be useful

My Lenovo T400S
PC Performing as expected (51st percentile)
UserBenchmarks: Game 11%, Desk 29%, Work 17%
CPU: Intel Core2 Duo P9600 - 23%
GPU: Intel Mobile Series 4 Express Chipset Family - 0.7%
SSD: Intel SSDSA1NW160G3 160GB - 39.7%
RAM: Unknown 2x4GB - 19.1%

My Office Desktop
Overall this PC is performing above expectations (71st percentile)
UserBenchmarks: Game 12%, Desk 72%, Work 41%
Asrock Z77 Pro3
CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K - 82.8%
GPU: Nvidia GeForce 8600 GTS - 1.5%
SSD: Plextor M3 128GB - 77.6%
HDD: WD Blue 1TB (2012) - 90.5%
HDD: WD Blue 1TB (2012) - 87.7%
USB: Seagate Backup+ Desk 5TB - 57.4%
RAM: G.SKILL RipjawsX DDR3 1600 C9 2x4GB - 60.5%
MBD: Asrock Z77 Pro3

Acer Predator G9-791

Performing above expectations (70th percentile)
UserBenchmarks: Game 52%, Desk 64%, Work 50%
CPU: Intel Core i7-6700HQ - 68.2%
GPU: Nvidia GTX 970M - 52.1%
SSD: Liteon CV1-8B128 128GB - 68.1%
HDD: HGST Travelstar 7K1000 2.5" 1TB - 73.8%
RAM: Hynix HMA41GS6AFR8N-TF Kingston KHX2133C13S4/8G HMA41GS6AFR8N-TF Kingston KHX2133C13S4/8G 32GB - 73.3%
MBD: Acer Predator G9-791

Dell OptiPlex 7010
Overall this PC is performing above expectations (66th percentile)
UserBenchmarks: Game 13%, Desk 61%, Work 35%
CPU: Intel Core i5-3550 - 71.3%
GPU: Intel HD 2500 (Desktop 1.05 GHz) - 2.8%
SSD: OCZ Trion 150 240GB - 73.5%
HDD: Seagate ST31000340AS 1TB - 49.5%
RAM: Hynix HMT351U6CFR8C-PB 2x4GB - 57.9%
MBD: Dell OptiPlex 7010