Failed Windows Updates Causing Slowdowns? - Comments Page 4

Always love your articles which are often a great help.
Always love your articles which are often a great help.
This one leaves something to be desired though as the instructions seem to only apply to Windows 8.
To get to the folder you mentioned (on Windows 7), I had to:
right-click Start,
left-click computer,
left-click on Drive C
Scroll to and open the windows folder,
Scroll down and open the SoftwareDistribution folder.
When opening the Download folder there is 11 files and 15 folders are we to delete all of them?

This is extraordinarily useful information. Having lately experienced slowdowns, I found and deleted 6 updates from the last two months. Several updates since also left fails in the folder. Updated a second computer after 16 mos. of no updates with 124 updates, 2/3 of which ended up in the fail folder, which I deleted. I found on both computers that subsequent updates did NOT bring up the deleted failed updates. Thinking that this may be because the updates were still in the Recycle trash, I deleted them from there. Deleted updates still don't come up in a check for updates. Getting fails to download any of attempted updates, I ran the Windows Update troubleshooter (link below), which claimed to fix some errors, but further problems led me to this page: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/910336, where I also deleted the file and folder in SoftwareDistribution > DataStore as directed. This caused Windows Update to immediately fail to be able to even check for updates with Windows Update error 0x8024402C. I restored the DataStore items from Recycle and Update works again, to what extent the future will tell.

I'm also guessing this is for Win8?? How do you do this in Win7?

EDITOR'S NOTE: No need to guess. The instructions apply equally to Win7 or Win8.

Thanks Bob. I have experienced slowdowns on my Win10 systems, and was wondering why. I knew there had been updates failing, particularly Windows Defender updates when I had another AV in place. I uninstalled the other AV and downloads were fine after that. Nevertheless, I had a number of failed downloads in the folder you described, which I deleted, and things seem much better already. Thanks again!

Ditto to Bob D.'s comment. I don't see anything referring to failed updates. Do we delete them anyway?

EDITOR'S NOTE: Yes.

Bob,

This did not solve my problem and Win10 never found any need to update those files that failed to install.

My computer is still hanging up randomly!

I use Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) and I see that the definition updates are stored in the Download folder. I know you don't recommend using MSE from reading your other articles.

If I follow your advice and delete the Download folder contents, do you think I risk damaging my MSE's ability to protect my PC and/or receive updates?

I tried to use the fix for both my Vista laptop and my windows7 PC, neither could find the file softwaredistribution\download. Is there something else I should be doing?

EDITOR'S NOTE: Look for C:\windows\SoftwareDistribution

I have to agree with Ray Bobo. What are you suggesting I do? Delete every update I've ever gotten? I don't see how to tell what updates are failed.

EDITOR'S NOTE: You can safely delete everything in C:\windows\SoftwareDistribution\downloads
That won't remove all your updates. Think of this folder as a temporary cache that's being cleaned out.

Windows 7 - I'm trying your suggestion above, but is there any reason why CTRL+A doesn't work for me to select all the files & folders? I had to delete them individually.

I done this on my wife's PC, which is newer than mine, but hers still takes 3 times as long to shut down. In real time that translates to up to 2 minutes, which is not a lot of time in one's life, but my PC takes less than 30 seconds. What else can be causing this? iDrive backup disk?

I'd like to echo OldGeezer's comment on timely arrival of this article, Bob: just when the refurb'd PC, which I'd recently set up for my nonagenarian Dad, slowed to a crawl.
I had just uninstalled the desperately annoying Win10 nagger, and set updates to “notify only”.
Apparently this left several auto-downloaded, but uninstalled, files jamming the works.
All processes, especially start-up, were slowed; but happily I'd remembered reading your article!

I couldn't find a folder icon by the Start button, on my Dad's Win7Pro PC.
So I modified your instructions; and led Dad's clicking through this version of it: (with beginners' notes in brackets)

MyComputer (click desktop icon; or use MyComp' in Start-button menu)
C: (the hard drive)
Windows (folder for Win7 operating system files)
Software Distribution (folder for additional files, including Win10 crapware)
Download (folder for downloads awaiting installation)
xxxxxx; xxxxxx; xxxxxx (select all these files for deletion)

This process was so effective on Dad's machine; that I repeated it on my own PC: giving me an appreciable speed benefit, too.

Another big thankyou, Bob, from Brummagem in the Midlands of England: or Tolkien's Middle Earth.

Step 1 of your Simple Solution for Windows 7 is go to the icon for WINDOWS EXPLORER as there is no File Explorer in Windows 7.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Correct, they changed it to File Explorer in Windows 8 and 10.

I deleted all the folders ran windows update and it said there where no updates. There were 7 files in this folder 3 of them were empty. The other 4 had about 39 bytes. I was afraid of messing something up and I restored them from the recycle bin. Should I delete them even though there where no new updates?

Looked up recent updates before following the suggested actions and deleted everything. Re-initiated the updates. Hey Presto! No-delay-startup! Couldn't have worked better.
I have Hibernate programmed for the Power button. It too worked as it should for the first time ever. Had this new W10 PC 3 years now. Running really well.
Thanks so much for this article. So valuable.