Anyone else had this with Microsoft Update

[Pookster]

Hi guys,

I was wondering if anyone had installed Microsoft Update on there thinkpad to find that it seems to cause a seriously high ammount of CPU spikes though the SVCHOST.exe I fixed the problem by reverting back to Windows Update for windows XP but I was wondering if anyone else had this with a thinkpad running XP.

I have it installed on my ThinkCenter desktop PC at work and it seems fine no spikes or anything but my ThinkPad is a different story.

Anyways look forward to the input,

Pookster

[richp]

The only major issues I have ever had with MS update is they don't know how to do hardware drivers. They have hosed more sound cards and video card setups than I can shake a stick at. That usually require going to the manufacturers site and downloading THEIR drivers to fix it. It just happened to me yesterday when I updated a rarely used P3 1gig machine at the house that has printers hooked to it, stupidly I downloaded the nvida drivers for the nvidia MX card from the update choices and BAM, all I had was 4bit color and 2" diameter icons... 25meg download, two reboots and 20 min later it was fixed.

[Cloud!]

I have the exact same "problem". It isn't that big of a problem for me, but it is an annoyance. I think it's nice that it updates all MS products, that's why I can live with it.

If anyone has a solution, other than reverting to Windows Update (or changing to Linux, etc.), I would like to hear it.

[Stargate199]

The only time that I see the CPU spike because of this is when my computer(s) are doing the automatic update. That seems to take up a lot of CPU when it does that. If it is becoming a problem for, disable the automatic updating in the control panel.

[tomh009]

It's very annoying indeed.

It's even more annoying if your domain policies prevent you from changing that setting.

[GomJabbar]

I was wondering if anyone had installed Microsoft Update on there thinkpad to find that it seems to cause a seriously high ammount of CPU spikes though the SVCHOST.exe I fixed the problem by reverting back to Windows Update for windows XP but I was wondering if anyone else had this with a thinkpad running XP.

I have it installed on my ThinkCenter desktop PC at work and it seems fine no spikes or anything but my ThinkPad is a different story.

I find the above confusing. Are you asking about Windows Automatic Updates? Using Windows Update? Or are you asking about Windows Live OneCare?

Nearly everyone uses Windows Update to get the latest security patches and other Windows updates every month. This can be set up to run Automatically, or one can launch Windows Update manually, choosing either Express or Custom operation.

Windows Live OneCare is:

Windows Live OneCare works continuously, automatically, and quietly in the background on your PC, ever vigilant against threats but never in the way, allowing you to have fun and be more productive. OneCare updates itself automatically to counteract new viruses and other threats and works with Microsoft Update to help ensure that your computer is up to date with the latest critical security updates from Microsoft.

http://onecare.live.com/standard/en-us/ ... efault.htm

[Wiz]

I find the above confusing. Are you asking about Windows Automatic Updates? Using Windows Update? Or are you asking about Windows Live OneCare?

I think Pookster is talking about "Microsoft Update". When you start windowsupdate manually from Internet Explorer you can see the "Get Microsoft Update Today" (unless you already got Microsoft Update installed). The main difference between the two is that Microsoft Update also include updates for office i think. So everytime you start windowsupdate when Microsoft Update is installed it will switch to Microsoft Update automatically. I assume that Automatic Update will use Microsoft Update instead of windowsupdate when Microsoft Update is installed and that's when the issue with 100% CPU occur.

I have seen this as well on my computer when i run Microsoft Update manually that the CPU reach 100%, but it doesn't last very long on my computer so doesn't bother me.

[GomJabbar]

Thanks for clearing that up Wiz.

Sometimes posters tend to be careless with terms, but Pookster was using exactly the correct term. When Pookster wrote Microsoft Update, I was reading Windows Update. I couldn't imagine why there was such a post on Windows Update. One doesn't install Windows Update. My bad.

Microsoft Update

Now you can get updates for Windows, Office and other Microsoft applications all in one place. Microsoft Update is a new service that brings you all the features and benefits of Windows Update plus downloads for other Microsoft applications including Office.

[murray1]

I did have the same problem as all of you. I recently found a method that worked for me as well as others. I have posted it under hardware/software

Here is a link
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=38974

There are two solutions on there. I only have tried the first and it worked for me. Another is part way down, and is a link to microsoft itself.