WINDOWS VISTA UPDATES 32 BIT

Hi BluesBlaster:

If your initial "Checking for updates..." phase of Windows Update hangs for long periods of time without throwing an error, this is a widespread problem that currently affects many Vista SP2 users.

Some users find that "Checking for updates..." will eventually run to completion if you let it run for several hours, but there is also a workaround posted on Dalai's webpage at http://wu.krelay.de/en/ that speeds up Windows Update for most affected users. This workaround requires users to pre-install the Windows kernel-mode driver (Win32K.sys) updates listed on that webpage if any are missing from your system before running Windows Update.  I've used Dalai's workaround for the past three Patch Tuesdays (the second Tuesday of each month) and it's reduced my "Checking for updates..." search for available updates from 6 or 7 hours down to approx. 25 min.

The step-by-step instructions posted 16-Jun-2016 in m#l's thread Updates not working, it has been searching for updates for hours are based on Dalai's workaround and will guide you through the process of installing the standalone update packages (.msu files) for your missing Win32K.sys update(s).

As of today (11-Sep-2016) the current list of Win32K.sys updates on Dalai's webpage is: KB3078601 (rel. 18-Aug-2015); KB3109094 (rel. 07-Dec-2015); KB3145739 (rel. 12-Apr-2016); KB3164033 (rel. 14-Jun-2016); KB3168965 (rel. 12-Jul-2016); KB3177725 (rel. 09-Aug-2016). You only have to install the updates that are missing from your system, so if you were fully patched as of the end of July 2016 you should only have to manually install the latest KB3177725 (MS16-098: Security Update for Windows Kernel-Mode Drivers: August 9, 2016) before you run Windows Update to install your remaining August 2016 Patch Tuesday updates.  Dalai's list will likely be revised this coming Tuesday evening when the September 2016 Patch Tuesday updates (and a new Win32K.sys update) are released on 13-Sep-2016, so you might want to wait a few days to try this workaround.

Dalai has posted some background information at http://wu.krelay.de/en/info.htm that explains why the Windows Update Agent (WUA) is currently hanging during the "Checking for updates..." phase of Windows Update.  The current WUA v7.6.7600.256 for Vista at C:\Windows\system32\wuaueng.dll has not been updated by Microsoft since June 2012.
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32-bit Vista Home Premium SP2 * Firefox v48.0.2 * NIS v22.7.1.32 * MBAM Premium v2.2.1
HP Pavilion dv6835ca, Intel Core2Duo T5550 @ 1.83 GHz, 3 GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS