September 27th, 2007
Microsoft Stealth Update and Windows XP repair don't mix
A fix or two
The issue, as Dunn correctly concludes, is down to the update that Microsoft released upon Windows users stealthily back in late August. On a repaired XP installation this update (identified as version 7.0.6000.381) is not registering itself properly and as a result isn’t working properly. This could mean that systems that have been repaired are left unprotected because they are running at a patch deficit.
Dunn offered two different fixes for this issue. We tested both and concluded that both will work - so if you’re suffering from this problem you’ve got a choice, with the batch file solution being simplest.
Manually register the unregistered DLL files
The first method we tried for fixing the problem was to manually register the following seven DLL files:
- wuapi.dll
- wuaueng1.dll
- wuaueng.dll
- wucltui.dll
- wups.dll
- wups2.dll
- wuweb.dll
There are several ways to do this but the simplest was to create a batch file to automate the process as much as possible. The file is a simple text file containing the following commands:
regsvr32 /s wuapi.dll
regsvr32 /s wuaueng1.dll
regsvr32 /s wuaueng.dll
regsvr32 /s wucltui.dll
regsvr32 /s wups.dll
regsvr32 /s wups2.dll
regsvr32 /s wuweb.dll
Running the batch file registers the named DLL files. After registering the DLL files we tried the Windows Update process again and discovered that it worked fine this time, downloading and installing the 80 updates.
If you’re interested in the batch file to register the DLL files but don’t want to create your own, you can download that from here.
Force an install of an older version of Windows Update files
Another fix is to download an earlier version of the Windows Update files and force a reload of these over the top of the later, buggier versions. You can download Windows Update Agent 3.0 from here (scroll down to Step 2 to find the update).
But fixing this issue isn’t as straightforward as installing the update. Because you’re trying to install old files over newer ones, you have to force the update. To do this you have to run the update from the command line or Command Prompt and use the /wuforce switch.
Again, running this update allows the Windows Update process to download and install updates properly.
Conclusion
This issue highlights why it is vitally important that Microsoft doesn’t release undocumented updates on the sly. Even the best tested update can have unpleasant side-effects, but if patches are documented properly and released in such a way that users (especially IT professionals) know they exist, it offers a necessary starting point for troubleshooting.
What Microsoft did with the stealth Windows Update was not only push an undocumented patch to users (including those who expressed a desire to manually OK any updates), but they also pushed a patch that under certain circumstances doesn’t work properly and can actually kill the whole Windows Update mechanism.
Microsoft needs to urgently address this issue and come up with a better policy for updating all Windows components. This should also be the last update that is sent to users stealthily and the last undocumented patch. Clarity and honestly is of vital importance and Microsoft needs to learn some lessons from this episode. When users state a preference for not wanting any updates installed on their systems without first OKing them, there’s a reason for that - so that testing can be done and care taken to make sure that future problems are avoided, or at least mitigated.
Thoughts?
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Adrian is a technology journalist and author who has devoted over a decade to helping users get the most from technology. He also runs a popular blog called The PC Doctor. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations
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| 09/27/07
