Windows 10: Windows Update preparing/running during active hours

Discus and support Windows Update preparing/running during active hours in Windows 10 Installation and Upgrade to solve the problem; Good afternoon, This is a followup to the followup of my original question from 2017, both of which have been locked for inactivity. I am having... Discussion in 'Windows 10 Installation and Upgrade' started by MS_Allergy, Nov 13, 2019.

  1. Windows Update preparing/running during active hours


    Good afternoon,


    This is a followup to the followup of my original question from 2017, both of which have been locked for inactivity. I am having essentially the same exact problem, which never went away.


    "From [the original] thread:


    "1) Background processes related to Windows Update were affecting my computer performance during my active hours."


    There was no clear resolution or followup to the original thread, although it appears Windows now schedules restarts outside of active hours.


    Unfortunately I still have performance issues, during active hours. Occasionally the entire system freezes - I have turned off the option that makes the screen turn off and can see an incorrect date and time in the bottom right corner. After I perform a hard reset Windows starts installing updates. I look at the event logs which always seem to have windows updates in the last entries. Specifically the last event logged is "The start type of the Windows Modules Installer service was changed from demand start to auto start", and the preceding dozen entries are the same/reverse message or sourced from WindowsUpdateClient.


    If I am unlucky the system will start updating while I am using it. I wouldn't care except when performance gets bogged down and gets in the way of my work. I want to say ten or twelve times in the past year I have had very slow system performance where I would wait minutes on end to open a folder on the hard drive or to render a web page in Google Chrome. Each time I open the task manager to find 99% disk usage by the Windows Modules Installer Service. [...]


    What can I do to prevent this from happening in the future?"

    :)
     
    MS_Allergy, Nov 13, 2019
    #1

  2. Windows Update preparing/running during active hours

    Hi,

    Thank you for writing to Microsoft Community Forums.

    I understand it can be frustrating when your devices get into such situation, but we will try to get it sorted for you. Thank you for the detail information provided on the post.

    To have a clarity on the issue, we would like to know some information.

    • What is the make and model of the PC?
    • What is Windows 10 version and built currently installed?
    • Did you setup any task in task scheduler?
    • Please help us with the screenshot of the system information page of the PC. Press
      Windows + R key from the keyboard and type msinfo32 and
      follow the steps mentioned in the screenshot
      posted by Shawn ‘Cmdr’ Keene on Oct 2, 2015 to post the screenshot.

    However, we would like you to refer the
    Configure active hour section in this Manage device restarts after updates
    article as suggested below.

    1. Please refer the Configuring active hours with Group Policy section,
      if you are running Windows 10 Pro or higher version.
    2. Please refer the Configuring active hours through Registry
      section, if you are running Windows 10 Home.

    Disclaimer: Important this section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious
    problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs.
    Load or Unload Registry Hives

    In addition, we would also like you to follow the first 10 steps from the

    Tips to improve PC performance in Windows 10
    article.

    We await your response.

    Aditya Roy

    Microsoft Community – Moderator
     
    Aditya_Roy, Nov 13, 2019
    #2
  3. Windows Update preparing/running during active hours

    Good afternoon,

    My computer was running very slowly all morning. I opened Task Manager and Resource Monitor: processes such as System, Modern Setup Host, and Windows Update were eating up the CPU and Disk. Usages were constantly between 90-100% and I counted 50 seconds
    to open the Documents folder in File Explorer.

    At 2:00 PM the performance issues disappeared.

    At 2:31 PM I checked Settings->Update & Security->Windows Update, and it said Windows is 98% done preparing for a feature update for version 1709.

    At 2:34 PM Windows notified me that the update is ready to install. I clicked the button to schedule the update. The notification disappeared, but after that nothing happened.

    Luckily I checked Settings->Update & Security->Windows Update, where it said in red text the update is scheduled for 3:34 PM today (surprise!). I clicked Restart Options and changed the scheduled time to 9:00 PM.

    Of note, my Windows Update active hours have always been set from 8:00 AM to 9:00 PM. This is a desktop computer in an office setting with an unmetered connection, and it is left on (logged out) 24/7.

    From what I can tell, there are two problems here:

    1) Background processes related to Windows Update were affecting my computer performance during my active hours.

    2) Instead of asking me when to schedule the update, Windows scheduled it for an hour later - still during my active hours.

    What can I do to prevent these problems from coming up in the future?
     
    MS_Allergy, Nov 13, 2019
    #3
  4. Windows Update preparing/running during active hours

    Windows Update preparing/running during active hours

    Again, my active hours are from 8:00 AM to 9:00 PM. From what I can tell, there are a few problems I had today:

    • The computer was in an unresponsive state around 2:45 PM today. This could have been a power outage or an error installing an update over the weekend, or both.
    • After I did the hard reset at 3:30 PM, Windows started updating. This prevented me from using the computer when I needed it. If the issue causing (1) interrupted an update, Windows should realize that 3:30 PM is within active hours and revert to a usable
      version of Windows. If (1) had nothing to do with updates, then Windows should realize that 3:30 PM is within active hours and wait until the next restart to update.
    • Turns out the update failed to download. I don't think I should be locked out of Windows, during active hours, while an update is downloading.
    Details:

    This afternoon around 2:45 PM I found my computer in an unresponsive state, I had not used this computer since the previous Wednesday. The lights on the tower and mouse were on but the monitor was in standby mode (the tower's power
    light was solid and the disk light was off). I checked display cables and tried to wake the computer with the mouse and keyboard. No effect.

    At 3:28 PM I finally did a hard reboot.

    At 3:32 PM, I guessed the system was having trouble booting because the motherboard's splash screen showed for a second time. It turns out we're preparing for an update, please don't turn off the power. 1% complete. I have immediate
    work to deal with so I leave to use someone else's computer.

    It's now 5:00 PM and I'm able to log in. There's an error with an update. I checked my installed updates history:

    2018-01 Cumulative Update for Windows 10 Version 1709 for x64-based Systems (KB4056892) (3)

    Last failed install attempt on ‎1/‎9/‎2018 - 0x80240034

    2018-01 Security Update for Adobe Flash Player for Windows 10 Version 1709 for x64-based Systems (KB4056887)

    Successfully installed on ‎1/‎9/‎2018

    Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool for Windows 8, 8.1, 10 and Windows Server 2012, 2012 R2, 2016 x64 Edition - January 2018 (KB890830)

    Successfully installed on ‎1/‎9/‎2018

    I checked the event log for update errors, and found two:

    1/9/2018 3:54:49 PM - Installation Failure: Windows failed to install the following update with error 0x80070020: 2018-01 Cumulative Update for Windows 10 Version 1709 for x64-based Systems (KB4056892).

    1/9/2018 3:46:44 PM - Installation Failure: Windows failed to install the following update with error 0x80070020: 2018-01 Cumulative Update for Windows 10 Version 1709 for x64-based Systems (KB4056892).

    According to Windows Update common errors and mitigation, error 0x80070020 means "Update failed to download."
     
    MS_Allergy, Nov 13, 2019
    #4
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Windows Update preparing/running during active hours

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