Windows Server Update Services
Perceptive Reeaders, do you remember this from the July 1, 2014 archives.
Here is your scenario:
You are presently on a Windows 2008 Domain… Try again you say?
How about a Windows server 2003 domain? If you say anything earlier, then it is something to reevaluate. As an FYI, Windows Server 2003, like the old Windows XP, (still feels strange calling Windows XP old), is fast approaching the end of its life cycle date. See the reference date below.
Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2 Standard Edition (32-bit x86)
Life cycle support Extended in Date July 14, 2015
Either way, back to the issue at hand on a problem you can sometimes run into with (WSUS) Windows Server Update Service clients.
1) You perform an upgrade of Windows XP to Windows Vista.
2) You perform an upgrade of Windows Vista to Windows 7.
3) You perform a system restore on any Windows client operating system.
Sometimes the client system will get a requested software update stuck in the registry that will keep requesting a security, critical, or some other update; after you know it was already installed and no longer needed. If you restart the system about 3 times and it keeps repeating the notification to download and install the persistent update, this next step will save you time on further troubleshooting tips. Hopefully, you will get to the point where a problem of this type will quickly become recognizable for Windows workstations. “Time, to save some time.”
Do the following steps and this will most likely solve your problem.
1) Turn off WSUS service on the workstation
2) Rename “SoftwareDistribution” in the “Windows” directory to OLD
3) Do a GPUPDATE /FORCE command.
4) Restart the workstation and make sure your WSUS service starts again.
- After the above steps, a new SoftwareDistribution folder will be created with the appropriate settings and it should take care of your problem. For Network Administrators, depending on your network’s group policy software updates scheduled times, you may not receive new updates until then (Like if you schedule for weekend 2 am\pm installs). After it is working, to save you space, delete the OLD SoftwareDistribution folder
Additional note: Even though this is taking into consideration your system is joined to a domain, you may still will want to create a local WSUS MMC to view WSUS settings to see if you have static old settings that need changing. Save the MMC on your desktop until no longer needed.
*Additional Note- Just because I drew attention to the Windows 2008 and 2003 domains, this problem can still appear on a client joined to a Windows Server 2012 domain.