Member Avatar for tech291083

Hi,

Is it ok to shut down the pc having Windows XP home edi midway through updates? I hope when one does so the update that have been downloaded till the shut down is ordered are installed and only the remaining ones are downloaded when it is booted up again. Please guide me as this is very annoying on a slow internet connection. Thanks...

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by jbennet

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A few practical points and fixes that build on what asked and the replies from and — aimed at anyone finding this thread years later.

Windows XP is past its support lifecycle (security updates ended in 2014), so you may not get the same update behaviour or available patches today as in 2008. For official lifecycle details see Microsoft’s product lifecycle page: Windows XP lifecycle.

How the client handles downloads: the Windows Update client uses the Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS) to fetch files. BITS can resume interrupted transfers, but downloads can still fail or restart if a file is corrupted, the Update Agent is old, or metadata changes. See Microsoft’s BITS overview for how transfers are managed: .

If a download repeatedly restarts or updates fail after interruption, reset the download cache and try again. Common steps (run from an elevated command prompt or follow the same steps via Services.msc):

net stop wuauserv
net stop bits
ren %windir%\SoftwareDistribution SoftwareDistribution.old
net start bits
net start wuauserv

Renaming the SoftwareDistribution folder forces Windows Update to rebuild its download cache (it removes update history shown in the control panel but does not remove already installed updates).

If staying online for long downloads is impractical, consider an offline updater tool that downloads update packages once and lets you apply them locally across reboots (for example, WSUS Offline Update). Also, when you do perform actual package installations, make sure the PC has stable power and avoid interrupting the install phase — interrupted installs (not interrupted downloads) are the main cause of trouble. Finally, strongly consider upgrading to a supported OS when possible; it’s safer and avoids these legacy-update complications.

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Member Avatar for jbennet

not really, it could lead to problems

if you have a slow interet connection just go to microsoft update its easier

Member Avatar for hotmatrixx

Hey, jbennet. sorry mate I have to correct you a little bit here. windows update on dialup takes 94 hours. without any dropouts.


I think what they are asking is can they turn off the PC while the pc is DOWNLOADING updates - this is fine. if you have automatic updates on it will resume from where it left off the next time you connect. (AU also slows down your connection a lot.) the only time you should NOT turn it off if if it is partway through INSTALLING these updates - and it will tell you this clearly when it does.

Member Avatar for jbennet

why not just order a cd with Sp3 on it?

Its free to NZ i think

Sp3 includes everything apart from IE7, NET, and some very recent updates.

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