Windows Update Crashing

Question

Hi All,

I have been experiencing problems when attempting to update Windows using Microsoft Update on a fresh install of Windows 7 - and have run out of ideas!

The first occurrence was on a fresh install of Windows 7, no other programs were installed at and the computer was successfully connected to my works domain (which is running Windows Server 2003). The update never worked (I cannot remember the error code), after trying several ideas (logging in a the local administrator, resetting Microsoft Update, running virus checks) I settled on re-installing Windows.

At first the second install was working fine, however after installing a few programs (Security Essentials, Office 2003, Web Platform Installer) it stopped again (I assume the problems must be related)

This time I looked in more detail at the event log and discovered that Windows Search was also crashing. I decided to temporarily disable the Windows Update service and concentrate on getting the Windows Search service working.

The reoccurring error message in the event log is:

Faulting application name: SearchIndexer.exe, version: 7.0.7600.16385, time stamp: 0x4a5bcdd0Faulting module name: ESENT.dll, version: 6.1.7600.16385, time stamp: 0x4a5bda4f Exception code: 0xc0000005 Fault offset: 0x00048296 Faulting process id: 0x61c Faulting application start time: 0x01cb953b72d47a96 Faulting application path: C:\Windows\system32\SearchIndexer.exe Faulting module path: C:\Windows\system32\ESENT.dll Report Id: baf5bec8-012e-11e0-9d80-0019bb4b770c

The service appears to crash, restart, rebuild the corrupted index then crash again. I enable the Windows Update service and tried again and I noticed this error:

Faulting application name: svchost.exe_wuauserv, version: 6.1.7600.16385, time stamp: 0x4a5bc100Faulting module name: ESENT.dll, version: 6.1.7600.16385, time stamp: 0x4a5bda4f Exception code: 0xc0000005 Fault offset: 0x00048296 Faulting process id: 0xf88 Faulting application start time: 0x01cb953f3c4f7c75 Faulting application path: C:\Windows\system32\svchost.exe Faulting module path: c:\windows\system32\ESENT.dll Report Id: 7bc7ed79-0132-11e0-9d80-0019bb4b770c

This suggests to me that the problem could be related to ESENT.dll as both services seem to require it when they crash.

I have also run SFC and CHKDSK, neither of which showed any problems.

Thanks for reading (and sorry for the length of the post), any help you can provide me with will be greatly appreciated!

Regards,

Jonathan Crocker

Answer 1

[1] MSE is able to update manually and complete a scan, however I have noticed Windows Defender service refuses to start, with seemingly no error in the event log.

[2] the computer [remains] behind a hardware and software firewall but was connected to the local network from first boot

[3] I also mentioned that I had managed to get Windows Search running, this turns out not to be the case, that service is still reporting the same errors as before

[4] This problem is likely due to faulty hardware. Please contact your hardware vendor for further assistance diagnosing the problem.

A1. MSE disables Defender by default; see http://blogs.msdn.com/b/securitytipstalk/archive/2010/08/26/microsoft-security-essentials-vs-windows-defender.aspx

A2. Is this "software firewall" the Windows Firewall or a third-party firewall? If the latter, what is the name of this application?

A3. Are any third-party toolbars and/or "system search" utilities (e.g., Google Desktop Search) installed? Are any third-party Windows themes installed?

[Clean boot troubleshooting technique might help you identify the troublemaker(s):http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929135]

A4. Have you looked into this "faulty [incompatible?] hardware" possibility? Was, e.g., WinXP or Vista originally installed on the computer-in-question and did you run the Win7 Upgrade Advisor before you installed Win7 Pro?

It's interesting that MSE is auto-updating & can be updated manually. (Technically, MSE updates via the Automatic/Windows Update "tunnel" but not via AU itself.) Speaking of which, is MS Office and/or Silverlight and/or any Windows Live Essentials applications
 installed on this computer?

*[Note to self: Flip to WU?]*

* * *

~Robear Dyer (PA Bear) ~ MS MVP (IE, Mail, Security, Windows & Update Services) since 2002 ~ Disclaimer: MS MVPs neither represent nor work for Microsoft

Answer 2

Hi,

I have tried running the fix-it utility using both modes, however neither have made a difference. Before I also mentioned that I had managed to get Windows Search running, this turns out not to be the case, that service is still reporting the same errors as before.

MSE is able to update manually and complete a scan, however I have noticed Windows Defender service refuses to start, with seemingly no error in the event log.

The mystery deepens...

When attempting to run an update several other services crash and are restarted:

• Windows Management Instrumentation service
• Themes service
• Shell Hardware Detection service
• Remote Desktop Configuration service
• System Event Notification service
• Task Scheduler service
• User Profile Service
• Multimedia Class Scheduler service
• Server service
• IP Helper service
• Group Policy Client service
• Certificate Propagation service
• Computer Browser service
• Background Intelligent Transfer service
• Application Information service
• Application Experience service

This only happens when I manually check for updates and all of these services carry the same message:

The ... service terminated unexpectedly. It has done this 1 time(s). The following corrective action will be taken in 120000 milliseconds: Restart the service.

Once I disable Windows Update and Search the computer runs perfectly fine with no errors in the event log.

I will be willing to install Windows again if you believe this problem cannot be corrected, however as I have already done this once before I am sure will come back, although I could setup the system in smaller stages and see if anything specifically triggers it.

Many thanks again for your help.

Regards,

Jonathan Crocker

Answer 3

Perhaps a reset might help: Open Internet Explorer (only) to http://support.microsoft.com/kb/971058 & run the Fix It in DEFAULT and then AGGRESSIVE modes; reboot & test [1]

Q: Has Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) been auto-updating roughly once every 24 hours AND can you update MSE manually?

=================================================================

[1] Full Disclosure: Running the Fix It in AGGRESSIVE mode will delete your Update History but not the list of Installed Updates (which shouldn't be a problem in your case).

Answer 4

Hi,

Please find my answers below:

1. Windows 7 was a clean install both times
2. The OS is Windows 7 Professional 32 Bit, fully licesnsed and activated
3. The latest reinstall clean, have not tried a repair install
4. Latest install was on the 2nd December (last Thursday)
5. I was able to install MSE using Windows Update and was one of the first updates applied, the computer remained behind a hardware and software firewall but was connected to the local network from first boot, all other computers on the network contain some form of virus checker and MSE showed no threats after a complete scan
6. No external storage device was plugged into the computer before MSE was installed

7. No third-party virus checker has been installed

8. No third-party virus checker has ever been installed, the CD contains only Windows 7 and is direct from Microsoft

Additional information:

I seem to have got Windows Search running stably by switching off the offline file cache, however when trying Windows Update again the same error occurred as before. Another error that appears to be occuring regularly is:

wuaueng.dll (3836) SUS20ClientDataStore: The database page read from the file "C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\DataStore\DataStore.edb" at offset 4587520 (0x0000000000460000) (database page 139 (0x8B)) for 32768 (0x00008000) bytes failed verification due to a page checksum mismatch. The expected checksum was [deadbeefbaadf00d:cbcdcbcdd2f30db5:b387b38729e9458f:00a7ff581f051d72] and the actual checksum was [3ad83ad8ce5f0649:cbcdcbcdd2f30db5:b387b38729e9458f:00a7ff581f051d72].The read operation will fail with error -1018 (0xfffffc06). If this condition persists then please restore the database from a previous backup.This problem is likely due to faulty hardware. Please contact your hardware vendor for further assistance diagnosing the problem.

I thought perhaps the hard drive was causing this problem so I ghosted it to another HDD but the same error occurred. I have since swapped back to my original HDD after ruling it out as the cause.

My computer is the HP Compaq dc5750 Microtower using the AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200 CPU with 2Gb RAM and an ATI Radeon HD 3400 GPU with 1Gb RAM.

Many thanks for your help with this matter!

Regards,

Jonathan Crocker

Answer 5

...after trying several ideas (logging in a the local administrator, resetting Microsoft Update, running virus checks) I settled on re-installing Windows

Please answer all of the following diagnostic questions by number in your very next reply (no need to quote this post):

1. Did you originally upgrade to Win7 or is it a new computer?

   • Is my PC running the 32-bit or 64-bit version of Windows?

      http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/find-out-32-or-64-bit

2. Is it a Win7 64-bit computer?
3. Was your last "reinstall" a clean install or a Repair Install (AKA In-Place Upgrade)?
4. When (approx. date) did you reinstall Win7?
5. After the reinstall, how long was the computer connected to the internet or any local networks (i.e., other computers) BEFORE you installed Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) and attempted to get the computer fully-patched at Windows Update?
6. After the reinstall, did you insert a flash drive or SDCard or connect the computer to an external drive BEFORE you installed MSE and attempted to get the computer fully-patched at Windows Update?
7. Has a Norton or a McAfee application ever been installed on the computer?
8. Did a Norton or a McAfee free-trial come preinstalled on the computer when you bought it? (Doesn't matter if you never used or Activated it.)

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~Robear Dyer (PA Bear) ~ MS MVP (IE, Mail, Security, Windows & Update Services) since 2002 ~ Disclaimer: MS MVPs neither represent nor work for Microsoft