Slow to download updates

[Ken G]

My XP Pro SP3 is set to do automatic updates. Its been downloading updates
now for 13 hours and its up to 46%. I'm on 1.5k broadband and everything else
is running perfectly. A broadband speedtest shows normal speeds. How can I
see what its trying to download? The little shield icon just says downloading
updates, but there's nothing to open to see what its actually doing.

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

With the Notify Only (and sometimes with the Automatic or Download but
Notify) option enabled, you'll only see AU's yellow "Updates are ready to be
installed" icon when /all/ of the "approved" updates have downloaded.

If some but not all of the approved updates have downloaded, you may
encounter a "Click to install important updates and then shut down" button
when you go to turn off your computer. Using it will install the
already-downloaded updates...but there's no way of knowing which updates
they are...at least not without doing a little digging in windowsupdate.log.

Absent any serious numerical Errors in your windowsupdate.log (cf.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/902093), you may be seeing a delay (i.e., in
downloading all approved updates) caused by excessive demand on the servers
("Update is not allowed to download due to regulation"). See...

• Updates are not downloaded or the “Automatic Updates” icon does not
display the status of downloads when you enable the Automatic Updates
service
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/910340

In most cases, you can install all of the updates manually via
Windows/Microsoft Update website (WinXP) or by running Windows Update
manually (Vista) instead: Understand that by doing so, you're pushing all
other Automatic Updates users further back in the queue...which may explain,
at least in part, why Automatic Updates hasn't brought them in for you yet.

[Believe me: The update servers are SWAMPED right now, with so many
computers needing so many updates!]
--
~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)
MS MVP-IE, Mail, Security, Windows Client - since 2002
www.banthecheck.com

[TDJ]

Was there any reply to this? I am getting the same thing.

[jweh]

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

Yes. See
http://groups.google.com/group/microsoft.public.windowsupdate/msg/1f4ac1f4da2a3072

[Ken G]

No - no replies. It finally took over 24 hours and as far as I can see there
was nothing out of the ordinary in the list of installed updates when it had
finished.

Have you had any information on this?

(There was a reply from jweh but he/she didn't say anything)