Windows update

[Donnywolf]

Those who saw my last thread on PC problems may advise again please

Nothing I did could prevent me having to have a new Hard Drive fitted and using my recovery disks to restore Laptop to original condition

However it is 2 and a bit years old now so is there a way I can catch up with all the Windows updates that I have missed in the intervening period - as surely I otherwise miss all the improvements made in that time to Security and other such stuff

It seems like evry other week Windows wants me to do "downloads" so I must be WAY behind where I should be

Thanks again DW

[Dagenham Rover]

I fit doesn't pick them up automatically when you go on line try  Start, All programs,  Windows update

[Donnywolf]

Hi DR

Thanks for the reply. As I said before I am a PC duffer so all help gratefully recieved

However I accidentally stumbled on Windows update on Contolr Panel and tried it but it failed

I tried a few other times / ways and eventually found Error 8024a000 being displayed

I ran that through Google and it looks like I wont be able to do the updates without typing in something akin to War and Peace ! It does say "you may wish to print this Page before you start" !

[Rios]

It depends which version of Windows you have installed.  If it's XP then you need at least Service Pack 3 for Windows Update to work, but you can find this on Microsoft's website.  It's a big update and takes forever to install and has been known to brick your machine if you have a virus or a w**kered registry!  Note, that if you're still running XP now then I'd be preparing to buy something newer soon as all support for XP stops next year... and it's already the least secure OS out there with updates, never mind without!

Same goes for Vista or 7, download the newest Service Pack, install it, reboot the PC and then run Windows Update in the control panel.

If it aint that, then you need to read the War and Peace and instructions and follow them... sometimes fixing stuff isnt easy. 

Edit : actually having read you post again, it's unlikly the above will fix it as you do seem to be getting some updates... so the war and peace option does look like your only option!   

[Donnywolf]

Thanks for the reply

My Laptop is Vista - Home premium.

It has had issues for a while (such as not being able to complete Virus checks) and my local shop informed me it had several "bad sectors" and they put in a new Hard Drive

It is working great now and the issues I had with some software not running have all been resolved - and presumably - running the Recovery disks I made at time of purchase fixed most of those issues ... but

... they reckoned at the shop I would get Windows updates which would take "ages" to install but of course I cant get any.

Is it worth doing your suggested download of the latest from Microsoft do you think ?

[Rios]

You should make sure Vista has Service Pack 2 installed.  Back up anything you wouldn't want to lose beforehand.... it doesn't happen very often but installing a Service Pack is a big thing, especially if you're computer is a bit unstable anyway.

Main support (ie new features) has already ended for Vista, but as long as you have the latest SP installed you should continue to receive patch updates until 2017.

Also that error code means something slightly different than it does with XP which is what you probably picked up with in Google if you didn't put Vista in front of the error code.  The most common seems to be to do with Intel Rapid Storage and the restoring of factory disks to a new and bigger hard drive... sounds familiar!

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en/itprovistadesktopui/thread/45c67633-0df1-483b-b387-2f4d980ff08c

There are several alternative fixes if it's not the Intel Rapid thing, including the automatic Microsoft one which does actually fix things (unlike most of Microsoft's wizards) :

http://support.microsoft.com/mats/windows_update/
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929833

[Filo]

Can you install the operating system onto a new hard drive with just the recovery disc, or in my case a memory stick?   

[Dagenham Rover]

I think it depends,   but I have

[Rios]

Can you install the operating system onto a new hard drive with just the recovery disc, or in my case a memory stick?   

Depends on the manufacturer, but in essence yes.  Acer for example ask you to insert DVD's (or USB sticks) when you first switch the laptop on to create the recovery disks.  Dell don't, but provide you with a Windows re-install OEM DVD.  Either way you boot off that media and it should squirt a fresh image onto the hard disk.  None of them save or transfer your data however.  The worst ones (step forward Panasonic!) by far are the ones that have a hidden partition on your hard disk, meaning if your hard disk goes west you don't have anyway of re-installing on a new one!

[Filo]

Mines a toshiba, so I assume I`m OK, if I took a system image now on a memory stick are you saying that it won`t save all my data?


P.S lads got an advent that PC world said the HD had died so paid £120 for a new HD, it lasted 4 months and the same thing happened again, I`m not sure the original HD died as they gave me that back when the did the new HD, I`ve had the original HD running via usb on my laptop and it shows on my computer as an empty drive, no operating system on it at all, I wonder if Advent do rescue discs?

[Rios]

Manufacturer rescue discs normally just squirt a factory image which is hidden away on your hard drive onto DVD/USB sticks.  They don't copy settings or data, just set your equipment back to when you first got it out of the box.

What you're talking about doing is cloning.  I use Clonezilla for this and it takes an exact copy of the entire disc (not just the windows installation) and then puts that image on another hard disc.  It's not particularly easy to use and there are pitfalls (you can't use a smaller sized physical disc) but I implemented it at work... and now windows re-installs take 10 minutes instead of the 2 hour rebuilds previously.

£120 for a hard drive???  Is it gold plated? 

[Dagenham Rover]

£120 for a hard drive???  Is it gold plated? 

I thought everything in PC World was gold plated   

[Filo]

Manufacturer rescue discs normally just squirt a factory image which is hidden away on your hard drive onto DVD/USB sticks.  They don't copy settings or data, just set your equipment back to when you first got it out of the box.

What you're talking about doing is cloning.  I use Clonezilla for this and it takes an exact copy of the entire disc (not just the windows installation) and then puts that image on another hard disc.  It's not particularly easy to use and there are pitfalls (you can't use a smaller sized physical disc) but I implemented it at work... and now windows re-installs take 10 minutes instead of the 2 hour rebuilds previously.

£120 for a hard drive???  Is it gold plated? 

When I looked at the price of the hard drive it was about £40, the rest was for PC world to do it, they told me the pre installed operating system was licensed to them so only they could re install it, i`ve since discovered they were telling me a load of shit

[Donnywolf]

Mine cost 78 quid for the Samsung HDD fitting - and running diagnostics beforehand to "prove" my old HDD was faulting

[Donnywolf]

You should make sure Vista has Service Pack 2 installed.  Back up anything you wouldn't want to lose beforehand.... it doesn't happen very often but installing a Service Pack is a big thing, especially if you're computer is a bit unstable anyway.

Main support (ie new features) has already ended for Vista, but as long as you have the latest SP installed you should continue to receive patch updates until 2017.

Also that error code means something slightly different than it does with XP which is what you probably picked up with in Google if you didn't put Vista in front of the error code.  The most common seems to be to do with Intel Rapid Storage and the restoring of factory disks to a new and bigger hard drive... sounds familiar!

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en/itprovistadesktopui/thread/45c67633-0df1-483b-b387-2f4d980ff08c

There are several alternative fixes if it's not the Intel Rapid thing, including the automatic Microsoft one which does actually fix things (unlike most of Microsoft's wizards) :

http://support.microsoft.com/mats/windows_update/
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929833

Thanks v much for this Rios

I tried to put in SP2 this morning and it seemed to be going well until time to "run it" whereupon it stopped with the Dialogue Box saying Catastrophic error

The error looked like 8000ffff

I took off McAfee in the hope that it was something simple like that (thats all I know except turn it on turn it off !) and that did not work either

Tried 3 times in total and have now given up. I will perhaps turn it into a games machine for wife and have a new Laptop Windows 8 for me.

Cheers again

[Rios]

Could be wrong DW, but that error looks like you already have SP2 installed.

[RobTheRover]

Donnywolf, if your hardware is good, why not just forget about the screwed up Vista installation and install W7 over the top.  £49 + VAT for Win7 Home Premium at LambdaTec.com

You might like W8, but I suspect you wont take to it immediately.

[Donnywolf]

Thanks Rob

I spotted at the time it was offering Windows 7 as a download but being a PC "thicky" I just presumed I could not have that

May go back to shop and see if they can do it . HDD was I am sure a 64 so will need to check I can get that upgrade

Would I be even sicker if I coughed up that amount and it still not work

Cheers anyway - great idea - hope I can get it to work

Donnywolf

[MrFrost]

Why people take their PCs to PC World to be repaired is beyond me. They are renown for ripping people off. £120 for a fitted hard drive is getting on for 3 times the cost it should be.

[Filo]

Why people take their PCs to PC World to be repaired is beyond me. They are renown for ripping people off. £120 for a fitted hard drive is getting on for 3 times the cost it should be.

We go to pc world because we don`t know where else to go, I`ve since learned it`s pretty easy to do myself, the hard drive change that is. It`s the operating system that confuses me a little, the £49 windows 7 that Rob mentions, would I be able to install that on a blank HD, or is that just an upgrade edition?

[RobTheRover]

Wolfie, you have PM