Solved Suspicion That Disc Cleanup Has 'Broken' Windows Update.

Mooly

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I first noticed a problem with Windows Update (WU) a few days ago. The timeline and 'evidence' is this.
(my WU settings are to 'notify only')

1/ All had been running smoothly until a single optional update appeared (Synaptic finger print driver).
2/ Driver installed and Windows restarted. All good.
3/ Disk clean-up including system file clean-up was carried out. (I always do this following updates).
4/ From this point on WU failed to do a daily check.

I didn't troubleshoot this issue at the time, I rolled back to a June 6th disk image).

5/ All well following the rollback. WU checks as normal and picks up all the June updates. (no Synaptic driver in this list)
6/ Disk clean-up performed again. Remember this is now on an earlier image that we know is good because all worked normally for days past this point before.
7/ Again, WU now appeared broken. Two days have elapsed with no auto check.

The only common factor in this is the running of the disk clean utility.

Today I changed the WU settings to 'never check for updates' and applied them. I then reset them back to 'notify only' and immediately WU launched into an update check and picked up the list of optionals that I believe appeared yesterday.

So all very odd. I will have to wait until tomorrow to see whether it works as normal from this point on.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W10 x64 pro and W8.1 x86
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Vostro 3750/Acer 9301
    CPU
    Intel i5/AMD Turion 64
    Memory
    4Gb/2Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel i5 internal/NVidia GEFORCE GO 6100
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Hard Drives
    250Gb SSD and 120Gb
    Mouse
    HP Z4000
    Internet Speed
    76 down, 20 up
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    MS Edge
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Looks like this is still broken. No update check has run this morning.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W10 x64 pro and W8.1 x86
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Vostro 3750/Acer 9301
    CPU
    Intel i5/AMD Turion 64
    Memory
    4Gb/2Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel i5 internal/NVidia GEFORCE GO 6100
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Hard Drives
    250Gb SSD and 120Gb
    Mouse
    HP Z4000
    Internet Speed
    76 down, 20 up
    Browser
    MS Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
Have you tried the classic maintenance (Windows updates tend to break things lately):

fsutil resource setautoreset true c:\
fsutil usn deletejournal /d /n c:
Dism.exe /online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup
sfc /scannow
Dism.exe /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
sfc /scannow
Dism.exe /Online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup /ResetBase
pause
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8.1.1 Pro x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo E525
    CPU
    AMD A4-3300M @ 2,0GHz
    Memory
    6GB DDR3 1333MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD Radeon HD 6480G 512MB shared
    Sound Card
    Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.1
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    WD 465GB
    Cooling
    Fusion Tweaker
    Keyboard
    Logitech K360
    Mouse
    Logitech M705
    Internet Speed
    50/50 MBps
    Browser
    Yandex
    Antivirus
    No AV & No Firewall
    Other Info
    Headphones: Sennheiser RS170
Have you tried the classic maintenance (Windows updates tend to break things lately):

fsutil resource setautoreset true c:\
fsutil usn deletejournal /d /n c:
Dism.exe /online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup
sfc /scannow
Dism.exe /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
sfc /scannow
Dism.exe /Online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup /ResetBase
pause

Well I've been doing a bit of detective work. Earlier today I ran SFC (which found uncorrectable errors) and then I ran DISM restore health and rebooted following that with another SFC. Now DISM reported all was fixed and OK but the second SFC still reports errors. Now I saved the CBS logs before and after DISM and it appeared the same errors were still present.

I didn't try any of the fsutil commands, I didn't know about those tbh.


What I did next was run a Microsoft Elevated Diagnostics file called 'WindowsUpdateDiagnostic' that was kindly suggested by someone on TechNet. That found errors in WIndows Update.


1/ Service registration missing or corrupt... fixed.
2/ Windows Update Error 0x80070490......... fixed.
3/ Problems installing recent updates........... fixed.

and resetting of Windows Update data store.

So I guess its wait and see time again.

Edit... all these problems definitely occur from running the full Disk Clean routine. The base image used to keep investigating this issue works normally until the clean up is run.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W10 x64 pro and W8.1 x86
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Vostro 3750/Acer 9301
    CPU
    Intel i5/AMD Turion 64
    Memory
    4Gb/2Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel i5 internal/NVidia GEFORCE GO 6100
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Hard Drives
    250Gb SSD and 120Gb
    Mouse
    HP Z4000
    Internet Speed
    76 down, 20 up
    Browser
    MS Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
Well...... I don't know is the honest answer. The reset tool left WU interface reset to 'Never' for both the last update check and last time updates installed. Update history is intact. I was hoping it would check today but it hasn't and so I forced a manual check which ran OK. Now its another waiting game......

I wish I knew where to look to see if WU is enabled. I searched for WU topics and altering frequency of updates and so on, and there are several references and topics (not on eightforums) , but all seem to need the group policy editor which isn't present in home versions of W8.1. The registry settings applicable to the group policies also aren't where all these articles say they are. Its frustrating to have a problem that can't be verified or checked and that only allows one attempt per 24 hours to resolve with another 24 hour wait to see if its been fixed.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W10 x64 pro and W8.1 x86
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Vostro 3750/Acer 9301
    CPU
    Intel i5/AMD Turion 64
    Memory
    4Gb/2Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel i5 internal/NVidia GEFORCE GO 6100
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Hard Drives
    250Gb SSD and 120Gb
    Mouse
    HP Z4000
    Internet Speed
    76 down, 20 up
    Browser
    MS Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
There are various registry locations, I use this one:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\WindowsUpdate\Auto Update]
"AUOptions"=dword:00000002
"AutoInstallMinorUpdates"=dword:00000001
"IncludeRecommendedUpdates"=dword:00000001
"NoAutoUpdate"=dword:00000000

You could also check policies in registry, I delete them to prevent problems.

[-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\ActiveDesktop]
[-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\Run]
[-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System]
[-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Windows]
[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\ActiveDesktop]
[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\Run]
[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System]

There are also Windows Update tasks in Task Scheduler, I have deleted mine, so check yours.

Windows cleanup tool is just odd, I prefer CCleaner + WiseCare Free, they are more reliable.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8.1.1 Pro x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo E525
    CPU
    AMD A4-3300M @ 2,0GHz
    Memory
    6GB DDR3 1333MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD Radeon HD 6480G 512MB shared
    Sound Card
    Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.1
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    WD 465GB
    Cooling
    Fusion Tweaker
    Keyboard
    Logitech K360
    Mouse
    Logitech M705
    Internet Speed
    50/50 MBps
    Browser
    Yandex
    Antivirus
    No AV & No Firewall
    Other Info
    Headphones: Sennheiser RS170
Thanks Tairiku, I've just looked in regedit and none of those items are present. The policies 'folder' is empty, nothing there at all and the AUupdates path has none of those options either... but it has others. There was one showing

I'm just going to have to wait and see what happens.
 

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My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W10 x64 pro and W8.1 x86
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Vostro 3750/Acer 9301
    CPU
    Intel i5/AMD Turion 64
    Memory
    4Gb/2Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel i5 internal/NVidia GEFORCE GO 6100
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Hard Drives
    250Gb SSD and 120Gb
    Mouse
    HP Z4000
    Internet Speed
    76 down, 20 up
    Browser
    MS Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
Apologies... I had another look and clicked the 'Auto Update' folder. I don't know why I didn't view the contents of that, think I was expecting to see the items you listed without having to do anything.

Anyhow, I see this and in particular notice the time of next detection (which is well under the 22 hours minimum since forcing an update check). So all being well (fingers crossed) it should check tomorrow morning when I power up.
 

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My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W10 x64 pro and W8.1 x86
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Vostro 3750/Acer 9301
    CPU
    Intel i5/AMD Turion 64
    Memory
    4Gb/2Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel i5 internal/NVidia GEFORCE GO 6100
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Hard Drives
    250Gb SSD and 120Gb
    Mouse
    HP Z4000
    Internet Speed
    76 down, 20 up
    Browser
    MS Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
Good news. All seems to have worked this morning. Update check was performed as normal. I will be very interested to see if further use of the disk clean utility breaks this again... or was it a one off weird issue. I'm going to let things settle and run for a while before trying again.

I wish I had known about the reg key before applying the Microsoft file to fix this this as I would have liked to have seen what it was set at regarding next update detection time.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W10 x64 pro and W8.1 x86
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Vostro 3750/Acer 9301
    CPU
    Intel i5/AMD Turion 64
    Memory
    4Gb/2Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel i5 internal/NVidia GEFORCE GO 6100
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Hard Drives
    250Gb SSD and 120Gb
    Mouse
    HP Z4000
    Internet Speed
    76 down, 20 up
    Browser
    MS Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
Hi Mooly here is a Event Viewer custom view for Windows Update attached that you can import to your viewer. Just download and unzip it, then open properties to unlock it. Open Event Viewer under actions click Import Custom View.

001.png

Maybe it'll be easier for you to keep an eye on WU then:).

View attachment Windows Update Custom View.zip
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Update Pro in Hyper-V/Windows 10 Pro 64 bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Cliff's Black & Blue Wonder
    CPU
    Intel Core i9-9900K
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus X Hero
    Memory
    32 GB Quad Kit, G.Skill Trident Z RGB Series schwarz, DDR4-3866, 18-19-19-39-2T
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS GeForce RTX 3090 ROG Strix O24G, 24576 MB GDDR6X
    Sound Card
    (1) HD Webcam C270 (2) NVIDIA High Definition Audio (3) Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    BenQ BL2711U(4K) and a hp 27vx(1080p)
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080 x 32 bits (4294967296 colors) @ 60 Hz
    Hard Drives
    C: Samsung 960 EVO NVMe M.2 SSD
    E: & O: Libraries & OneDrive-> Samsung 850 EVO 1TB
    D: Hyper-V VM's -> Samsung PM951 Client M.2 512Gb SSD
    G: System Images -> HDD Seagate Barracuda 2TB
    PSU
    Corsair HX1000i High Performance ATX Power Supply 80+ Platinum
    Case
    hanteks Enthoo Pro TG
    Cooling
    Thermaltake Floe Riing RGB TT Premium-Edition 360mm and 3 Corsair blue LED fans
    Keyboard
    Trust GTX THURA
    Mouse
    Trust GTX 148
    Internet Speed
    25+/5+ (+usually faster)
    Browser
    Edge; Chrome; IE11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender of course & Malwarebytes Anti-Exploit as a
    Other Info
    Router: FRITZ!Box 7590 AX V2
    Sound system: SHARP HT-SBW460 Dolby Atmos Soundbar
    Webcam: Logitech BRIO ULTRA HD PRO WEBCAM 4K webcam with HDR
Thanks Cliff, that looks great. I had no idea you could do that.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W10 x64 pro and W8.1 x86
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Vostro 3750/Acer 9301
    CPU
    Intel i5/AMD Turion 64
    Memory
    4Gb/2Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel i5 internal/NVidia GEFORCE GO 6100
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Hard Drives
    250Gb SSD and 120Gb
    Mouse
    HP Z4000
    Internet Speed
    76 down, 20 up
    Browser
    MS Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
Thanks Cliff, that looks great. I had no idea you could do that.
Do you mean import/export views? I found that one day when I bored and digging deeper into Windows 7. You can do that with a few of the Administrative Tools programs.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Update Pro in Hyper-V/Windows 10 Pro 64 bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Cliff's Black & Blue Wonder
    CPU
    Intel Core i9-9900K
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus X Hero
    Memory
    32 GB Quad Kit, G.Skill Trident Z RGB Series schwarz, DDR4-3866, 18-19-19-39-2T
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS GeForce RTX 3090 ROG Strix O24G, 24576 MB GDDR6X
    Sound Card
    (1) HD Webcam C270 (2) NVIDIA High Definition Audio (3) Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    BenQ BL2711U(4K) and a hp 27vx(1080p)
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080 x 32 bits (4294967296 colors) @ 60 Hz
    Hard Drives
    C: Samsung 960 EVO NVMe M.2 SSD
    E: & O: Libraries & OneDrive-> Samsung 850 EVO 1TB
    D: Hyper-V VM's -> Samsung PM951 Client M.2 512Gb SSD
    G: System Images -> HDD Seagate Barracuda 2TB
    PSU
    Corsair HX1000i High Performance ATX Power Supply 80+ Platinum
    Case
    hanteks Enthoo Pro TG
    Cooling
    Thermaltake Floe Riing RGB TT Premium-Edition 360mm and 3 Corsair blue LED fans
    Keyboard
    Trust GTX THURA
    Mouse
    Trust GTX 148
    Internet Speed
    25+/5+ (+usually faster)
    Browser
    Edge; Chrome; IE11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender of course & Malwarebytes Anti-Exploit as a
    Other Info
    Router: FRITZ!Box 7590 AX V2
    Sound system: SHARP HT-SBW460 Dolby Atmos Soundbar
    Webcam: Logitech BRIO ULTRA HD PRO WEBCAM 4K webcam with HDR
On the right side of Event Viewer you can attach a task to that custom view like maybe a warning toast or email when a specific event happens. Event Viewer is really a very powerful tool, just a little complicated when using in conjunction with other tools. It's really there to find specific events and not, as most people do, to browse all critical(usually meaningless) events.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Update Pro in Hyper-V/Windows 10 Pro 64 bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Cliff's Black & Blue Wonder
    CPU
    Intel Core i9-9900K
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus X Hero
    Memory
    32 GB Quad Kit, G.Skill Trident Z RGB Series schwarz, DDR4-3866, 18-19-19-39-2T
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS GeForce RTX 3090 ROG Strix O24G, 24576 MB GDDR6X
    Sound Card
    (1) HD Webcam C270 (2) NVIDIA High Definition Audio (3) Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    BenQ BL2711U(4K) and a hp 27vx(1080p)
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080 x 32 bits (4294967296 colors) @ 60 Hz
    Hard Drives
    C: Samsung 960 EVO NVMe M.2 SSD
    E: & O: Libraries & OneDrive-> Samsung 850 EVO 1TB
    D: Hyper-V VM's -> Samsung PM951 Client M.2 512Gb SSD
    G: System Images -> HDD Seagate Barracuda 2TB
    PSU
    Corsair HX1000i High Performance ATX Power Supply 80+ Platinum
    Case
    hanteks Enthoo Pro TG
    Cooling
    Thermaltake Floe Riing RGB TT Premium-Edition 360mm and 3 Corsair blue LED fans
    Keyboard
    Trust GTX THURA
    Mouse
    Trust GTX 148
    Internet Speed
    25+/5+ (+usually faster)
    Browser
    Edge; Chrome; IE11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender of course & Malwarebytes Anti-Exploit as a
    Other Info
    Router: FRITZ!Box 7590 AX V2
    Sound system: SHARP HT-SBW460 Dolby Atmos Soundbar
    Webcam: Logitech BRIO ULTRA HD PRO WEBCAM 4K webcam with HDR
I've never really had much need to use event viewer in the past tbh, however this last issue has been a real exception where I needed to do a bit of detective work. Its usually simple things like check disk logs I look at, such as where I have left chkdsk running and its rebooted and then I want to see what the final outcome was.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W10 x64 pro and W8.1 x86
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Vostro 3750/Acer 9301
    CPU
    Intel i5/AMD Turion 64
    Memory
    4Gb/2Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel i5 internal/NVidia GEFORCE GO 6100
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Hard Drives
    250Gb SSD and 120Gb
    Mouse
    HP Z4000
    Internet Speed
    76 down, 20 up
    Browser
    MS Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
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