Tutorial: How to use Autopatcher with new installations of Windows 7

Windows 7 Releases Both (x86) And (x64)
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liquidspark
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Tutorial: How to use Autopatcher with new installations of Windows 7

Post by liquidspark »

Summary:

Use Autopatcher to install Internet Explorer 11, the spelling and hyphenation packages, and optionally Microsoft Silverlight. Then right-click on the Windows Task Bar and select the popup menu item to open Task Manager, go under the Services tab, click "Services..." at the bottom to open Services, switch back to Task Manager and click on the Processes tab, click the button or checkbox to show processes from all users, scroll down to TrustedInstaller, in the Windows Start Menu, type in "installed" and open "View installed updates", switch back to Services and stop Windows Update Service, stop and start Background Intelligent Transfer Service, stop and start Cryptographic Services, and start Windows Update Service. Keep all those windows open: Installed Updates, Windows Task Manager viewing TrustedInstaller under the Processes tab, and Services with Windows Update selected. Download and install all the updates you want with AutoPatcher. While it is installing, watch the TrustedInstaller process: if AutoPatcher hangs between 96% and 99% and TrustedInstaller has no CPU or Memory changes for a few seconds at that point, click Restart in the Services window to restart the Windows Update Service. That will skip the current stand-alone installer process. When done, restart the computer and retry all the AutoPatcher installations which failed, using the same approach, restart and repeat this approach as needed, then use the default Windows Update program to find and install any additional updates, restart your computer, and you're done.

NOTE: If you see TrustedInstaller using too much memory, switch your computer to sleep and wake it up again, and all that extra memory use will be gone. Or just end the TrustedInstaller.exe process in Task Manager and restart the Windows Update Service.

Now what AutoPatcher should have is a thread watching the status of TrustedInstaller, so that while AutoPatcher is waiting (around 96-99%), it will automatically restart the Windows Update Service if TrustedInstaller has no CPU or Memory usage changes within 20 seconds. It should also restart the Windows Update Service if an installation hangs at that 95% to 99% point for 3 minutes. It should queue the cancelled modules to be installed after all the others have finished. This could be a user option on the Installation Progress view, to limit the installation time for each module to 3 minutes and postpone it until the end of the queue if it reaches that limit. There were about 30 of the first 100 queued updates that stalled or took too long...

Here's a tip for identifying a stalled TrustedInstaller.exe module installation: if TrustedInstaller is using 12-13 % CPU (or possibly 100% divided by the number of Sub-Multiprocessors in your computer's CPU -- mine has 8, so that's 100% / 8, which is around 12-13%) for 20 seconds or more, and you see the memory use fluctuate around the same few amounts, then skip that module installation by restarting the Windows Update Service.

Details:

1. (You can skip steps 1 and 5.) Boot Windows into safe mode with networking: in the Start menu, type in "config" and open the resulting System Configuration program, then under Boot, choose Safe boot and Network, click OK and click Restart.

2. Open Autopatcher and download whatever modules you want, including Internet Explorer 11, and the spelling and hyphenation packages if available.

3. Use Autopatcher to install all the modules if you booted into safe mode; if you did not boot into safe mode, you should only install Internet Explorer 11, the spelling and hyphenation packages, and optionally Microsoft Silverlight. If you are in safe mode, then you will get some error message windows, effectively skipping over most of the updates. The updates will include the spelling and hyphenation packages and Internet Explorer 11's KB updates. Everything else that installs is only the additional software you select; no other updates are installed while you are in safe mode, because the wusa Windows Update Standalone Installer cannot be used while in safe mode.

4. When it is done, exit Autopatcher without restarting. Including Microsoft Silverlight, you should have 15 updates listed in the "View installed updates" area of Control Panel.

5. If you are in safe mode from step 1, then open System Configuration again and under General, change it to Normal startup, click OK and click Restart.

6. Open Task Manager (hold control-alt-delete, type "taskmgr" in the Start menu, or right-click on the task bar strip and choose Start Task Manager). Go under Processes and click to show processes from all users. If it's a button, you have User Account Control settings on; if it's a checkbox, you have User Account Control settings off. scroll down until you see TrustedInstaller.exe, or around that area when you click to sort the column alphabetically by Image Name. Leave that open.

7. Open Services: in the Start menu, type in "services" and open the resulting Services program; or in the Task Manager window, click on the Services tab and the "Services..." button at the bottom, then switch back to the Processes tab and scroll back down to TrustedInstaller.

8. In Services, Stop the Windows Update service if it is running. Stop the Background Intelligent Transfer Service and start it again. Stop the Cryptographic Services and start it again. Scroll back down to the Windows Update service and start it again. Leave the window open with that Windows Update service selected.

9. Open Installed Updates: in the Start menu, type in "installed" and open the resulting View installed updates program. Look at the number of installed updates at the bottom; you can right-click to the right of the list and Refresh to update the entries (as they are recorded in the registry), or simply click the Refresh arrows icon in the window's address bar. Leave that open. You should currently have about 15 updates installed, as it says at the bottom of the window.

10. Open Autopatcher and apply all the updates. If an update hangs at anywhere from 96% to 99% for over 10 seconds, or when you see in Task Manager the TrustedInstaller.exe process's CPU usage stay at 0 and memory use not change for a while, then in the Services window, restart the Windows Update service, and Autopatcher will continue. You can then refresh the installed updates window and see if that update was installed. Repeat this procedure until Autopatcher goes through all the modules. When you get some Windows Update restart message windows at the bottom right of your screen, you could click "Postpone" or just wait and restart the Windows Update service when you see TrustedInstaller.exe idling. For example, the first update will probably need to be skipped by clicking on "Restart" for Windows Update in the Services window, since TrustedInstaller stays at "00" CPU use and its Memory use doesn't alter while AutoPatcher's installation bar is moving. Don't hesitate; if you see that TrustedInstaller has no activity for a few seconds, just restart the Windows Update service and try that update later. A few updates take around 5 minutes to install, but they can be safely interrupted anyway.

11. After you have gone through all the updates in this way, you will lack those updates that required a restart (indicated by the Windows Update restart message box in the bottom right hand corner). Connect to The Internet and try to use Windows Update to install them; otherwise, run Autopatcher again and install them, restarting afterwards.
Last edited by liquidspark on Mon Apr 04, 2016 11:16 pm, edited 5 times in total.
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TheAPGuy
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Re: Tutorial: How to use Autopatcher with new installations of Windows 7

Post by TheAPGuy »

Good write up.
What sort of error windows do you get. I assume they are from the updates trying to doe something but, finding some things not working in safe mode.
liquidspark
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Re: Tutorial: How to use Autopatcher with new installations of Windows 7

Post by liquidspark »

It says that the wusa Windows Update Standalone Installer cannot work in safe mode.
liquidspark
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Re: Tutorial: How to use Autopatcher with new installations of Windows 7

Post by liquidspark »

I edited the OP; note that section in red is my suggestion for a very useful addition to AutoPatcher.

...and I just now elaborated upon the red text.
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Re: Tutorial: How to use Autopatcher with new installations of Windows 7

Post by TheAPGuy »

hmm... I will see what can be done. I know this is a huge issue often. However cutting the thread when it might actually be installing something can be catastrophic. IF I create such a thing I will probably have a pop-up giving you the choice to do it and tell you... if it screws up the install, you were warned.
liquidspark
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Joined: Tue Dec 22, 2015 10:29 pm

Re: Tutorial: How to use Autopatcher with new installations of Windows 7

Post by liquidspark »

The most recent version of Autopatcher solves all these problems. Here's all I did this time:

- Install Windows 7 SP1 from the DVD.
- Download autopatcher from autopatcher.net.
- Run autopatcher and check the box for downloading the most recent version of autopatcher, proceed with the update and re-run autopatcher.
- Check the box for Windows 7 SP1 x64 and proceed with the download, then use the default checked items to install and restart the computer.
- See if Windows Update reports any available updates. If not, then use the default checked items again and repeat that procedure until Windows Update starts working. Use task manager to identify any few stalled installations and restart the Windows Update service as previously mentioned in order to terminate them, if necessary. I only needed to terminate about 7 times, then I was able to use Windows Update to install updates normally.
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