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General discussion

Computer is frozen during Windows Update

Jul 21, 2008 1:06AM PDT

I left my computer installing the latest update to windows vista overnight and when i came back to it this morning, it says "installing service pack: stage 3 of 3 - 0% complete. Do not turn off your computer." But it is not progressing. My question is should I reboot or can i do anything else? I'm running an HP pavillion dual core with vista. thanks

Discussion is locked

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What Type Of Internet Connection?
Jul 21, 2008 6:03AM PDT

If you're on a dial-up connection, then it may never complete because the download is fairly large. (It appears to be installing Service Pack 1 for Vista.) Or it may take a really long time to finish.. If you're on a broadband connection and there has been no progress for hours, then yes, you might as well shut it down and restart..

Unfortunately, that doesn't mean all things will be good as interrupting a SP installation isn't a good thing. Still, if need be, you should be able to run a System Restore. You haven't told us what preparation you made prior to updating. Did you check to make sure all the drivers were updated? Did you run virus and spyware scans to be sure the computer was free of such Did you eliminate all the junk files from your Temp folders and then run a Disc Defrag?

Hope this helps and let us know more.

Grif

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I Have The Same Windows Update Problem
Sep 17, 2012 2:02PM PDT

I too had my Dell XP One freeze up while trying to download the Windows Vista update with the Service Pack Update showing stage 3 of 3 - 0% complete. I now cannot reboot my computer and get into Windows nor can I run System Restore or the available System Repair available when attempting to reboot. I use broadband connection and have tried everything I can think of to resolve this problem aside from taking it to a repair business. I need your help to resolve this problem please.

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Although This Discussion Is From 4 Years Ago
Sep 20, 2012 10:40AM PDT

...in your particular situation, the problem may be related to malware, or simply a conflict with various software on the computer.. Prior to installing a service pack on Vista, especially SP1, it was important to visit the Windows Update site and install the updates listed there.. And although not generally recommended for any other situation, it was important to check the Windows Update site for any drivers that might need to be updated also.. Once identified, DON'T use the Windows Updates drivers listed, if possible, but visit the driver manufacturer's website and download, then install their latest drivers for the needed devices.

Unfortunately, since you can no longer get the computer to boot, I see no other option than to perform and clean reinstall of the operating system.. If your Dell has a recovery partition, I'd use that, or recovery discs will work as well. Once the full recovery is performed, you should be able to use your backups to reinstall personal programs and files to the machine. You can then move forward to update to the newest service pack..

Hope this helps.

Grif

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i think you should use stande alone update
Jul 21, 2008 9:01AM PDT

hi i had downloaded the stand alone update of windows vista sp1 and update it without use windows update to download it first . of cource the computer can't be used while the update because it is a update the change some of the main windows things what ever it took 1 hour thenm my computer worked normaly with the update (realy faster) so download the stand alone update