Windows Updates fail to install, again

[Fulvio]

This is an old problem, experienced by several people, as I found from Searches.
As far back as 2009, I reported that Windows Updates failed to install, although the downloads were there.
In many cases, the updates were installed on Shutdown, although not yesterday. I was informed, almost instantly that the updates (two Windows XP updates, plus the Removal tool) did not install. And, on the update page that

There was problem with the computer

. No hint was given. Searching the FAQ gave no results.
I contacted Microsoft before, twice, and all I got was a link to download and install the update(s), manually.
This time, I decided to do it the hard way, since I was getting no help from Microsoft. It took me about three hours of searches, using the needed KB as a tool. I got a lot of hits, regarding failures, as far back as September the eight. I have had the updates to be processed, either automatically, or allowing me to decide. It had mattered little which way. I have not been informed, nor did I know that there had been an automatic update.
And my searches showed issues with WinXP, Vista, and Win7.
I was able to get the manual updates from different newsgroups, and now Secunia PSI tells me that I am ok.
I will inform Microsoft of these persistent failures, and report, if I get a satisfactory reply.

UserAgent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 5.1; rv:7.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/7.0

[Antony]

I am starting to think that it might be an easier solution when you have time someday: perform a clean installation of your Windows, then re-install all the applications and documents.
Might be painful, but it might solve the issue of Windows Update.

UserAgent: Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; U; Intel Mac OS X 10.6; en-US; rv:1.9.2.22) Gecko/20110902 AlexaToolbar/alxf-2.14 Firefox/3.6.22

[Fulvio]

Still doing the same thing, regularly. May be a reinstall could fix the problem, but at this stage of the game, I could care less. Would it not be for Secunia PSI, I would never know if there is an update. This morning Secunia reported that I was not up to date with Visual C++, which does not update in WinXP. The file downloaded, but failed to install. But, it install on Shutdown. A few hours later, there was a security update for WinXP. Same results, but so far no inkling of an installation on Shutdown.

UserAgent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 5.1; rv:7.0.1) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/7.0.1

[Amrad]

Hello Fulvio,

May be a reinstall could fix the problem, but at this stage of the game, I could care less.

So, just how much less could you care, then?

Regards,

Dave.

UserAgent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 5.1; rv:7.0.1) Gecko/20110928 Firefox/7.0.1 SeaMonkey/2.4.1

[James]

An aside:

I know... "I couldn't care less" is the correct phrase whereas most of us get caught up in the "I could care less" which you so cleverly caught.

UserAgent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; rv:8.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/8.0

[Amrad]

Hello James,

I know... "I couldn't care less" is the correct phrase whereas most of us get caught up in the "I could care less" which you so cleverly caught.

Nothing particularly 'clever' about it! It's one of a number of written (and spoken!) mistakes that irritate me, for example:

"Is all" should be "is that all"
"From <number> through <number>", should be "from <number> through to <number>"
"Alot" should be "a lot"
Than/then

Not forgetting all the homonyms that are frequently misused!
There/their
Hear/here
Wear/where

Et al!

Regards,

Dave.

UserAgent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 5.1; rv:7.0.1) Gecko/20110928 Firefox/7.0.1 SeaMonkey/2.4.1

[James]

lay and lie
subject/verb agreement
its, it's
adding an apostrophe when in fact it is not required
and so forth...

I hear you, Dave. I taught for 32 years. Halfway through that period I was told to ditch the spellers and grammar books. We were told in no uncertain terms that we were no longer permitted to teach formal grammar or spelling lessons. I've been retired now for many years and those days are but a fond memory.

UserAgent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; rv:8.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/8.0

[Fulvio]

Wow! Thanks for the lesson! It, surely, clarified the situation. But, indeed I could care less than more!
As for my problem, I did a search for the KB in question, and downloaded the file from the Microsoft site.
Very simple. Open the file, and when done I get a cryptic message, i.e. that the "setup was completed (or something like that}". I decide to check the usual Start|...., and I get the choice to install the update, by turning off the computer, not restarting. I shutdown, and the update installs. The computer shuts down, and then I have to turn it on to see if anything happened. I, surely, would like to know where Microsoftputs these uninstallable updates!

UserAgent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 5.1; rv:8.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/8.0

[Amrad]

Hello James,

lay and lie
subject/verb agreement
its, it's
adding an apostrophe when in fact it is not required
and so forth...

The list is almost endless! as for the apostrophe, there is one simple rule that covers all cases, it goes in place of the omitted letters - that shouldn't be hard to remember, surely?

Another common one is where people write 'use' instead of 'used', for example:

"You'll get use to it." instead of "You'll get used to it."

Another one is "In stride" instead of "In his/her/your/their stride."

I've also seen "excepted" used instead of "accepted", for example: "credit cards excepted"!

I hear you, Dave. I taught for 32 years. Halfway through that period I was told to ditch the spellers and grammar books. We were told in no uncertain terms that we were no longer permitted to teach formal grammar or spelling lessons. I've been retired now for many years and those days are but a fond memory.

That's incredible! If everyone's spelling was according to what they thought it should be, where would that leave us? In a world where it was impossible to communicate with other people through writing. I find it hard to believe that whoever was responsible for educational standards would even suggest such a thing! Is it any wonder (there's another: wonder/wander!) that literacy standards seem to be falling?

Regards,

Dave.

UserAgent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 5.1; rv:7.0.1) Gecko/20110928 Firefox/7.0.1 SeaMonkey/2.4.1

[Amrad]

Hello Fulvio,

Wow! Thanks for the lesson! It, surely, clarified the situation. But, indeed I could care less than more!

Are you saying that it doesn't matter that what you wrote was not what you meant and that you don't care? Following that sort of philosophy is the road to misunderstanding and confusion!

Regards,

Dave.

UserAgent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 5.1; rv:7.0.1) Gecko/20110928 Firefox/7.0.1 SeaMonkey/2.4.1

[Fulvio]

Dave and everyone else,
I could claim ignorance, because I did not speak Engligh until I came to the USA, age 19. And, after sixty years, and everything, I do make mistakes. But, although I, rarely used the phrase, it makes me uncomfortable. It seems to be a double negative, and it surely cannot say "I could care more".
But, for heheck of it, I went to my trusted Merriam-Webster, and looked up "could care less", and, amazingly, I found this:{corruption of phr. could not care less. Then the definition-[colloq.].
This tells me that it is an acceptable phrase in an informal setting.
I looked up other words mentioned, and they did not show up, so the must be errors.
If using that phrase caused

misunderstanding and confusion

, then you are beyond help.
If you wish to continue, it is up to you, but I am done. I think that I gave enough of an explanation.

By the way, I hope that my main point was not missed, by this nit-picking.

UserAgent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 5.1; rv:7.0.1) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/7.0.1

[Amrad]

Hello Fulvio,

But, although I, rarely used the phrase, it makes me uncomfortable. It seems to be a double negative, and it surely cannot say "I could care more".

No, it isn't a double negative but it doesn't mean what people think it means! If I said "I could not care less about Firefox.", for example, that means I do not care about it at all. If, on the other hand, I said "I could care less about Firefox.", that means I do care something about it, hence my question, "So, just how much less could you care, then?"

But, for heheck of it, I went to my trusted Merriam-Webster, and looked up "could care less", and, amazingly, I found this:{corruption of phr. could not care less.

QED!

Then the definition-[colloq.]. This tells me that it is an acceptable phrase in an informal setting.

Given the number of people who (mis-)use that statement, I suppose I have to accept Merriam-Webster's definition but I don't like it! Why would people say "I could care less" when what they actually mean is: "I could not care less"? It makes no sense to me. I guess it may just be laziness but who knows for certain?

I looked up other words mentioned, and they did not show up, so the must be errors.

The words mentioned are certainly often used in error, I come across them in things I read on the net on an almost daily basis! For example, there is a person on a forum I regularly visit who only uses the word then, never the word than. If I were to right "I bought a new widget today, then I went home and compared it to the old widget. It's a lot better than the old widget." he would write, "I bought a new widget today, then I went home and compared it to the old widget. It's a lot better then the old widget." While it's true that the correct spelling can be determined from the context in cases such as this, there are bound to be cases when it can't, that is, at least partly, why I think that spelling and grammar are important!

If using that phrase caused

misunderstanding and confusion

, then you are beyond help.

It wasn't that particular phrase that I thought would cause "misunderstanding and confusion" but the philosophy that those kind of mistakes didn't matter and about which that one "could care less" [sic]. I did, of course, know what you meant, it was just my way of pointing it out!

By the way, I hope that my main point was not missed, by this nit-picking.

It is not nit-picking, it is pointing out that literacy standards seem to be prevalently low, these days.

Regards,

Dave.

UserAgent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 5.1; rv:7.0.1) Gecko/20110928 Firefox/7.0.1 SeaMonkey/2.4.1

[James]

Hey, Fulvio.

I'm sure none of this discussion was meant in a nit-picking or demeaning sense. The truth of the matter is, we all make mistakes (spelling, grammar). It's our human nature. Spelling, grammar, syntax... they're all important. Errors in these areas can lead (and have lead) to misunderstanding.

It seems to me (Dave will have to confirm this) that Dave's pointing this out was meant more as a gentle poke in the ribs. We really shouldn't take ourselves too seriously. Geeze... I can't tell you how many times a day I have to swallow my pride and admit to something stupid I've said or done. So, I admit it, pick myself up and dust myself off and try a bit harder. It's no big deal. I am who I am; just a regular guy trying to get by as best he can. And when someone points out that I goofed, then I try to admit to it and correct it. Sometimes, I fail due to my pride (not a good thing) and only later when it turns around and bites me in the behind do I realize that I made a mistake after which it's a bit more difficult to make amends. Thankfully, I have a priest that I can unload to (as well as my wife... LOL).

Anyway, I hope you're not offended. I can assure you that my participation in the thread was not meant to belittle or ridicule. I respect you, Fulvio. And I respect all of the regular participants of our little SillyDog 701 family. We've been together for a long time now and I'm hoping that we all have that mutual respect for one another even if we are only virtual acquaintances/friends.

UserAgent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; rv:8.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/8.0

[Fulvio]

James,
initially, I was annoyed, not because the alleged error was pointed out, but because the entire thread was hijacked by the "Grammar Police". And, after having confirmed that I was not incorrect, I will keep using that phrase, but with circumspection.
Yes, often, I am wrong, and I do a lousy job of proofreading, but the rules of this site, which do not allow changes after a certain time are a major cause of errors, on my part.

Going back to the original subject, Secunia PSI, still, tells me than that update, KB2544893 is not installed.
Windows Updates tells me that I do not have any update coming. My Add/Remove says that I have the update, but it is v.2. And Secunia PSI cannot figure out that I use Seamonkey as default browser, so it does not allow me in its Forum. And, by the way, they say that the update is for WinXP Pro. I have WinXP Home.

UserAgent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 5.1; rv:7.0.1) Gecko/20110928 Firefox/7.0.1 SeaMonkey/2.4.1

[James]

I'm not sure what to tell you, Fulvio. I will say that a few weeks back I unceremoniously dumped Secunia. I honestly could not see that I needed it any longer and frankly, it had made mistakes in the past. Now my case is undoubtedly different than yours in that my Windows OS automatically updates itself "if" there is a critical update. It informs me of such (just as it did this morning) and indicates that it will update when I turn the computer off. In addition, I use FileHippo update checker (usually I run it on a weekly basis... the weekends) and it will check all of my programs and provide updates for any programs that need such. Hence, you can see that Secunia is no longer needed by me and so it's gone.

As for the KB file that you've been told you need... if it's in you add/remove list I wouldn't concern myself anymore. Don't you just love to hate these machines?! LOL

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