Ms Update Dissapeared?

[blim]

OK,here's one for you all. This morning I turned on the computer (The well behaved one, not the possessed one) and the MS Update icon-thingy came up. Thanks to BT, I expected to see it. Didn't install them yet, wanting to wait till after I ran some errands.

Came home 3 hours later, told Son they needed to be installed, and he said, "what updates? There's no updates". Clicked the task bar and.... no "shield" icon. Poof, gone!

I suppose we can just go to MS site and re-download them (if I can find them, I usually can't make heads or tails out of microsoft.com, which is why I like the auto updates!), but I figure they're already downloaded somewhere around here taking up space. Most importantly, I want to know what happened??

Has this happened to anyone else? Bracing myself for the "this would only happen to Liz....",

Liz

[bar5]

Liz:

You probably don't see MS update icon (shield) because it is not finished downloading. Sometimes, especially when there are a lot, it may stop downloading. It will continue next time you come on line, maybe not right away, but it will continue until it is finished.

It will pick up where it left off. Wait and see. Let us know. If you see it again, hold your cursor over it and see the % of download completed.

Barb

[handplane]

Liz,

To confirm if you have them or not.

Go to control panel/add and remove.

Scroll to bottom of page to see if you have any updated installed on 8/11/05.

I show 6 installed on 8/9/05.

[blim]

Nope, Handplane, not in Add/Remove programs, last goodies were from July--but thanks for pointing that out. I never noticed the dates before (I don't go there often) Must have been added when I installed SP2??.

Thanks, Barb, I'll wait and see, I guess!! A day or two won't hurt anything!

Liz

[rv56]

And to add if you like....

You can also go to Windows Update and on the left once the site loads is a"Options".

And under "Options" you can click on "Review your update history" and you will see the other two updates plus all your others.

Take care Liz...

[bar5]

Liz:

Why don't you download Belarc Advisor, and than you can see at a glance what is on your computer, and it has all the "key Numbers" for your software, at least most of them.

Belarc

Look for MS #896423, 896727, 899587, 899588, 899591. Total of 6 on 8/9/05.

Belarc is a very handy tool to have, and a lot quicker to find out what is on your computer.

Just a thought. What rv56 said is a very good idea and easier than you think.

Barb

[Chachazz]

Moving this to "Windows Support" forum, folks!

[blim]

Thanks, RV, I'll try that tomorrow when I'm more awake.

Thanks, Barb, I didn't know Belarc had that, too!! I've got to get that thing downloaded Been wanting to, but forgetting (wrote a note!)

Thanks, Chachazz--as usual, I never know just where to put my "weird problems"!! Hope it's not too much trouble to move this where it should be.

Liz

[martymas]

hi liz you can also go to win support

type QFECHECK

download and install it takes 12 secs

and then go to the command prompt

and type qfecheck

press enter and all your

updates wil appear

if any needs to be reloaded it will tell

you which numbers.

saves going to bel-arc

marty

[Chappy]

Hi Liz

Thats not uncommon at all, the icon will go away if its not clicked on after awhile.

It will come back after you reboot when it will do another check for updates.

It could also have been you have it set to "Hide inactive icons" on the taskbar.

Right click an open spot on the taskbar, click Properties, and uncheck that box on the taskbar tab.

[blim]

An Update Update!! (I know, .....groan....)

This morning I woke up and saw a note on the keyboard with 8 KBnumbers written down. Sometime after I went to bed, they automatically downloaded and Son installed them with the restart and absolutely no problems at all. Sooooo, I guess the waiting game was the game to play. I'm keeping this information, though, in case it happens again!

Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou all!

Liz

[bar5]

Liz:

Glad to see that you finally got them. I have dial-up and this is what happens to me all the time. It will D/L a certain % of them and than come back later and do the rest. So everything is really working like it suppose to.

Don't forget that Belarc. it really is a handy tool. It will have your key #'s for most of your software. Then I would print out just a copy of those and stash it some place in case you need them for re-installation for whatever reason.

Great feeling when everything works, huh?

Have a good day

Barb

[thesidekickcat]

Hello Barb,

I just found out this week the new updater thing with Microsoft has that nice feature to pick up where it left off. (I was reading the info before I downloaded the updates to the updater that installed itself sometime, though I much prefer to do these things on my own!!!)

But that is sure a nice feature to not lose the part of update you did get. There is a huge (31+MB I think) "roundup" package to my Windows 2000 that is estimated to be 4 to 5 hours on my slow dial-up. My isp cuts me off at 4 hours and has been freeze crashing computer when it does. So I think even with the new feature, that huge update will have to wait.

As I manually did a few smaller critical updates, I was pleased with another new feature that speeds up the updates. That is a real blessing for everyone on dial-up.

Thanks too for the Belarc link, I will go do that today and print a copy out. Who knows when it will be needed.

Liz, glad you got the updates one way or another. Icons coming and going would bug me for sure! I have enough trouble noticing and seeing what's going on on this thing without things disappearing.

Have had a couple of things appear without any input on my part this week.

The new Google updated version of toolbar. (I have shortened one stuck up on one of my other bars at top to save space, so have drop down menus for it) I miss the dictionary, but the spell checker is sure useful. Started using it in PM replies today, it caught stuff I hadn't seen in preview. Nice for slow pokey me that never got around to downloading IEspell or whatever it's called. By the way, Google has new privacy policy too folks. And the other unasked, unknown thing was my newly installed Norton anti-virus started a virus scan last night while I was busy (and offline) in the living room watching Monk. I came in at end of show, to see a scan in progress...was beginning to wonder if Liz's gateway was influencing my HP somehow. Ha!

God bless everyone.

[bar5]

Hi Sidekickcat:

I have my Windows update set to "auto download" and notify ready to install. That way I also can see what they are, and I know they have been installed because I did it. The other way to set it auto download and install is ok, as it will notify you to restart. All a matter of preference.

I fully understand dial-up with anything that takes 4-5 hrs. I avoid it as long as I can, than I have to give in and D/L what I need.

I have Nero 6 and am so far behind updating it because it takes 4-5 hrs. My ISP is very lienient as far as time. They have never cut me off. I had an internal modem that kept cutting off, so I took it out and got an external modem, and it hardly ever cuts off. I still hate to tie up my computer for 4-5 hrs.

I live in a very rural area (love it), and the local newspaper said that Broadband was coming to the area this year. I can't wait. Then I can update my Nero. Haha.

Yes, that Belarc is a very hand tool. I high lighted the software that has key#'s and print them. Did not want to print the whole thing that Belarc shows. You never know if you may need that info.

Sorry to get so chatty. Got carried away.

Have a good evening.

Barb

[Chappy]

Hi Liz and Pat

I know you folks with dialup absolutely dread having to reinstall the OS due to the length of time it takes to reinstall the latest Service Pack, and probably have avoided doing so sometimes just because of this.

If you want, I can take you thru making a Slipstreamed OS install CD with the latest SP integrated into the install, so you'll never have that download time again, and having to possibly reinstall the OS will not be such a dreaded ordeal.

Its not as difficult as you may think and its extremely handy to have your OS install CD completely up to date.

[blim]

Hi Chappy,

I have broadband (and love it!!), my dilemma with this reinstall stuff is the fact that I'm a big nooby chicken I read about "slipstreaming" when I was getting the Dell ready to install SP2--some folks heartily recommended it and some had problems with it---I just have never been able to decifer enough to figure out exactly what slipstreaming is!! So, what is it?? I do need to get the updates on the newly reformatted Possessed Gateway (windows98) and I bet there's a LOT of them!! Would slipstreaming be the way to go? I would appreciate any help!!

Pat, if your HP is possessed, at least it sounds like its possessed in a nice way!!! Between the kids hogging the idiot boxes and me not knowing the programs well enough and being chicken , I'm lax about the scanners--having one start all by itself would be handy!! Thats why I always choose auto updates, much to Son's dismay (he "says" it slows down his games. Poor Baby!!) Hmmmm, maybe HP stands for "Happily Possessed".

Liz

[bar5]

sidekickcat:

Forgot to tell you.

When you install Norton Antivirus, it will automatically set up a schedule to scan your computer every Friday at 8pm unless you tell it otherwise. Look in your Task Scheduler and you will see it is set up. Start/control panel/task scheduler. Of course your computer has to be on, not on line, just turned on.

Depending on how many files and folders you have, time to do this can be 1/2 hr to 1 hr.

In my task scheduler I have anti virus, defrag, disk cleanup set up. Anti virus scans once a week, Defrag I analyze once a week, decide defrag if needed, and disk cleanup once a month.

You can set it up any way you want.

Barb

[thesidekickcat]

Chappy that sounds interesting. Yes one of the worries about doing a reinstall for me is the update thing. My Windows 2000 has about 4 service packs, and now this new 'roundup' one, plus various and sundry other things.

With all the computer h..l this thing has been doing lately, I figured I'd end up doing a reinstall sooner or later, or throwing it out the window!!! Have been eyeballing the Sunday ads too though don't really want a new one if I can just get this one to not freeze/crash when isp knocks me off. Though got knocked off a few minutes ago, and Praise God it didn't freeze up. WoW!!!

What is slipstream? how does it save time? Please tell me more, don't know if I am brave enough to learn/do yet another thing but will sure be glad to listen to new how to do it ideas. I did print out a tutorial of how to reinstall, or repair my Win 2000. The site has info for other systems too. Good step by step with graphics too, for dummies like me.

I'll put in the link for anyone reading this that would like that info.

Windows Repair or Reinstall Step by Step instructions

Barb, how do you set the Windows update thing to notify before doing it? I have Windows 2000. Haven't seen anything yet that would let me set that up. But it still sounds like it does the download, just not the install part till you say? So how does that work? And does having temp files set to one day foul things up. Yep I am dense about this stuff, I admit it.

Another thing that bugs me, is the tons of garbage Microsoft also download for that music player thingy even after I uninstalled it they still send me zillions of files of songs info that I don't want with all that trash stuff to be on my computer, and Music Match is just as bad. And Norton doesn't tell who or what is attempting to access the computer, only the degree of risk and some numbers of whoever it is, Big help, Sarcasm intended, As if I know what or who it really is. Grrr!

Ooips I got carried away there, sorry about that. I must be getting hungry so had better go eat pretty soon. I'm tired of computer annoyances and problems lately!!! When do we get to just have fun with these things?

Liz, HP happily possessed hmmm??? I'm not sure if it is happy about what's been happening to it lately as it has sure temper tantrum complained like the spoiled 3 and a half year old that it is, and I know I'm not a happy camper, but I'll have to think of how to make your idea into a positive spin for it after supper.

Thanks Chappy for the offer to help, and thanks Barb for your info too. Liz thanks to you for telling it like it is for us untechnohow people. I'm finally trying out your bolding way. I hope it works, is that the same way to do color too?

Pat.

God bless everyone.

[bar5]

Hey Chappy:

Can I join the class for slipstreaming? I have the SP2 CD. I never used it, as it started D/L SP2 before I could stop it. It took almost 3 days to D/L. If I remember right the size of D/L was smaller than the CD.

Can I make a copy of XP and use SP2 CD and slipstream it, in case I screw up. It always sounded so complicated, so I never did it.

Barb

[bar5]

Pat:

To choose auto update D/L and notify to install:

Right click My Computer, click properties, auto update tab.

You should have 3 choices:

1. D/L updates for me, let me choose to install etc

2. Notify me, but don't D/L or install etc

3. Turn off auto update (which you do not want)

Choose the first one, click apply, OK

That is it.

It will D/L and than a notification will come up and ask you do you want to install?

Now I have XP, and I think they are the same or very similiar to 2000. Look and see.

Barb

[blim]

Pat, the bold worked on my end!! Easy, huh? Thanks to Son! Yep, same with color and italics, too. Never tried the font button, but I assume its the same. If you want to bold and color, just highlight the words, press bold, highlight again (I include the little 's) and press color, preview it to make sure it worked and voila! You're on your way!

Liz

[bar5]

Neat trick Liz. I was doing it the long way.

Ha, got it.

Barb

[thesidekickcat]

Thanks so much Barb for telling me where to look. Unfortunately my 2000 has to be different, so it didn't have an auto update tab. So I thought maybe right clicking on the Windows Update listed in Start menu, and checking properties might find it but it wasn't there either. So then I was determined to find it, so looked in settings, my control panel, then scheduled tasks, nope only two Norton things the scan and net detect whatever that is. So saw automatic updates further down, it wasn't listed alphabetically but a right click and sort by name fixed that, and back to auto updates and lo and behold there it was, and it was turned off. Yea!!! I guess the settings I did on the updates to the updater the other day put it in there. Yea!!! Isn't it neat when even though it is hard to track it down, you find that it is set the way you want? I had tried to reset it months ago, when Pete C on G4 was talking about them going to automatic updates, but alas they had gotten to my computer before then and greyed it out so I couldn't change it. Then I forgot where I'd found it till I found it tonight. So good thing I read all that stuff before I did the update to the update the other day, to get it set the way I wanted, unless they actually found out people wanted to choose what worked for the user....nah it's Microsoft I'm talking about...right. Ha!

Hey folks, I think I just convoluted a post way beyond my usual sidetracked stuff. I think this one might beat my old records. Ha!

See this just proves that computer logic and I are polar opposites, yes I heard that not so quiet voice in the background saying logic and sidekickcat are polar opposites. heeheehee!!! But I found it didn't I, and I know what I said/did even if no one else does! I think.

Hey Liz, that bold color etc thing is fun!. "Oh Oh" they say, "she's got a new toy". Well at least it's more fun than troubleshooting HP's (Liz's definition of HP).

Pat

God bless everyone.

[bar5]

Pat:

Here is a document from Microsoft explaining Windows 2000 Auto Update:

Microsoft Windows 2000

Hope this is better help.

Goodnight, getting late.

Barb

[thesidekickcat]

Thank you very much Barb, will read it later. Cat's medicine overdue, so had better get off the computer and give it to her.

Tomorrow to be mid 90's so may not be on the computer at all. So see you all later.

Good night to you and everyone.

Pat.

God bless everyone.