Installing updates

[Craig234]

My SSD was filling. If I was comfortable upgrading it to another SSD I would, but I'm not. SO I wanted to free space.

I saw there was a lot of space - 1gb - in a file that's apparently for windows updates and that updating might reduce it.

So I did a Window update, it installed like 75 of 81 updates and then ran out of space. It said to complete the updates hit 'restart now'.

So I did. It rebooted, I had 2GB free space - but now when I do updates, it says 'downloading 6 updates' but hangs on 0kb downloaded.

It also shows about 30 updates status 'failed'. Any ideas? Windows 7.

 

[UsandThem]

Maybe Windows has determined there is not enough space to install. It uses free space for pagefile, crash reports and such If you are within 2 GB of hitting your SSD max, your computer will run like a dog. You don't want to exceed 75% use of your SSD total.

You need to free up some disk space by deleting old files.

http://www.wikihow.com/Free-up-Disk-Space-(Windows-7)

and then to see if you can delete some more advanced items:

http://www.hanselman.com/blog/GuideToFreeingUpDiskSpaceUnderWindows7.aspx

 

[xgsound]

As you have found the updates did not increase free space. You may have to free up more space, at least temporarily, to do anything including completing the updates or cloneing your drive to a larger SSD.
Get a large flash drive or a USB HDD and move/ backup some large files and folders until you can operate better or move to the larger drive.
YMMV
In case you're interested, here is an EBAY Intel SSD 535 480GB for $129. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-535-S...128761?hash=item3d1ac51579:g:zZAAAOSwxp9W-yeV There are cheaper SSDs, but Intel has a very solid reputation in this area.

Jim

 

[VirtualLarry]

OP, updates pretty-much NEVER "free up space". They just take up more.

You could try doing Disk Cleanup, or use CCleaner, and clean out your tempfiles and internet cache files.

Other than that... get a bigger SSD.

(How big is your current SSD, anyways? I started with 30GB SSDs for Win7 64-bit. Had like 2-3GB free.)

 

[Craig234]

I did disk cleanup, it didn't help much.

It gets a bit weirder. After a while, there was a popup saying to reboot again to do more updates - so I did.

Now, the update program says there are 74 more updates to do, but the free space has gone from 2GB to 500MB (the update downloads are 250MB).

Another weird thing I noticed yesterday was some system files showing tomorrow's date.

Now I'm seeing a lot of space used in a couple places I'm not sure about cleaning up.

One is \window\logs\cbs. I have no idea what that is, but there's a 1GB file called "cbs.log" with today's date.

It looks from a search like it's a legitimate Windows log file and has caused people some confusion in threads like these:

[link]http://www.sevenforums.com/performance-maintenance/371252-large-size-cbs-log-files-creating-never-before.html[/link]
[link]http://superuser.com/questions/803842/why-is-cbs-log-file-size-20-gb[/link]

Or there's \windows\softwaredistribution\datastore\datastore.edb that's 900MB with today's date.

A search finds a web page talking about an optional update to address this that's not in my update list:

[link]http://superuser.com/questions/539411/pc-boots-then-writes-giant-datastore-edb-file-slowing-the-computer-down[/link]

But especially interesting is that in the directory ...\windows\temporary internet files\low\content.ie5 there are a bunch of files with names like RYS4EW8 taking up 1.7GB.

I made that one up, they're 8 digit random letters and numbers, dated today.

Thanks for the info on the SSD but I've had an upgrade sitting here for years, just not comfortable how to migrate my old OS SSD (80GB, ~8 years old) to the new drive.

 

[Craig234]

Or appdata\local\temp has 600MB in random files, most dated before today.

But 'disk cleanup' doesn't remove them. Seems pretty limited.

I ran it just now saying it'd delete 71MB.

After it ran I had 10MB less space.

 

[Craig234]

Just got ccleaner... not going to delete everything it lists, but 1200 Windows log files at 98MB for example hopefully is ok...

The big one is IE temporary internet files at 1.8GB and 16,000 files.

But disk cleanup didn't touch it.

 

[Craig234]

After running ccleaner, it went from 800MB free to 4GB - time to run the updates again!

And the same problem. It just hangs downloading on 0KB downloaded.

 

[UsandThem]

Time to replace that drive.

Even if you have to pay someone to do it (Geek Squad). A SSD that is 8 years old, and has been running near capacity is a concern.

If you buy a Samsung SSD, their cloning program is easy as it comes.

1. Hook the drive up (you can buy a $12 cable at Amazon where you can plug it into a USB port instead of an internal SATA port), the program shows your old drive as the source and the Samsung as the target.

2. Click ok or start.

3. After it is finished shut down your computer.

4. Unplug two cables (power and SATA) from old drive. Remove old drive (probably 4 screws).

5. Put new drive in using same screws, and same power cable and SATA cable.

6. Turn on computer.

7. Open a cold beverage and smile now that you have enough room where Windows Update can actually work.

 

[Ketchup]

Is the computer ready to uograde to 10? 10 has a smaller footprint than 7, one you clean out the old install info.

Todo backup is what I always for cloning to a new drive. Very easy to use.

TBH, I don't think you are going to be able to do much more until you swap drives. You simply have a pretty small drive, and removing log and cbs files generated by the OS is not going to fix that.

 

[Craig234]

I only use the SSD for the OS and storing one thing, so it doesn't grow other than updates. But it would be good to replace as getting higher risk.

I use a HDD for actual programs.

Thanks for the tips. Do you know exactly what cable I'd need? I have USB (1.0 I think), and it so happens a Samsung 830 256MB drive is the one I have, if I can find it.

The situation gets stranger. After minutes of sitting at 0KB downloaded for minutes, I left it there for hours just to see if anything would happen. It did.

When I came back it said it had installed 74 updates, 1 failed, reboot.

I did, and click check for updates, and it hung on that.

As for Windows 10, in theory I could upgrade, it's reserved. Just put it off if I don't need to. Dealing with all the risks and preserving data and so on.

 

[UsandThem]

I only use the SSD for the OS and storing one thing, so it doesn't grow other than updates. But it would be good to replace as getting higher risk.

I use a HDD for actual programs.

Thanks for the tips. Do you know exactly what cable I'd need? I have USB (1.0 I think), and it so happens a Samsung 830 256MB drive is the one I have, if I can find it.

This is the cable:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00HJZJI84/ref=psd_mlt_bc_B00HJZJI84

I've used it on USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 (much slower), but I've never used it on a USB 1.0 port. I'd imagine it would still work, but it would S-L-O-W.

Might be better off hooking the new SSD to an internal SATA and power connector, do your clone, and then just replace the old SSD.

The only thing with doing it this way is to make sure after cloning is done, that the new SSD is installed on the same SATA port as the old drive (if old SSD was installed on SATA 0, 1, 2, or 3) make sure the new SSD is placed on the same connection so it will boot.

In layman's terms: Make sure SSD cable is plugged into the same spot that your old one was.

 

[tcsenter]

Something wrong or corrupted with CBS.log that large. Try deleting it and everything within the %windir%\Logs\CBS\ directory as follows:

- Stop both Windows Update and Windows Modules Installer services
- delete contents of \Windows\Logs\CBS\ and \Windows\Temp (skip any files that report currently in use)
- Try running CCleaner again
- restart machine

If still having problems, try:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/2509997


Particularly #4 and #5.

 

[UsandThem]

Something wrong or corrupted with CBS.log that large. Try deleting it and everything within the %windir%\Logs\CBS\ directory as follows:

- Stop both Windows Update and Windows Modules Installer services
- delete contents of \Windows\Logs\CBS\ and \Windows\Temp (skip any files that report currently in use)
- Try running CCleaner again
- restart machine

If still having problems, try:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/2509997

Yeah, your current SSD could be starting to go out or there could be some corruption. You didn't say what brand your current SSD is, but depending on the brand, you could download their drive utility to see the health of the drive (Intel, Samsung, Sandisk have them on their websites). Or you could download and run something like this:

http://ssd-life.com/eng/SSDLife-Freeware.html

There is also this one:

http://download.cnet.com/CrystalDiskInfo/3000-2086_4-10832082.html

Lastly, you can scan your system using system file checker if the above utilities show your SSD is healthy:

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/1538-sfc-scannow-command-system-file-checker.html

 

[VirtualLarry]

Time to replace that drive.

Even if you have to pay someone to do it (Geek Squad). A SSD that is 8 years old, and has been running near capacity is a concern.

If you buy a Samsung SSD, their cloning program is easy as it comes.

1. Hook the drive up (you can buy a $12 cable at Amazon where you can plug it into a USB port instead of an internal SATA port), the program shows your old drive as the source and the Samsung as the target.

2. Click ok or start.

3. After it is finished shut down your computer.

4. Unplug two cables (power and SATA) from old drive. Remove old drive (probably 4 screws).

5. Put new drive in using same screws, and same power cable and SATA cable.

6. Turn on computer.

7. Open a cold beverage and smile now that you have enough room where Windows Update can actually work.

THIS! Excellent summary. (Also, Samsung 850 EVO 500GB is an awesomesauce SSD. Get one, if you can afford it! They range from $130 on extreme sale / ebay, to $150 on sale at Newegg, to $180 or more list, BestBuy.)

 

[VirtualLarry]

This is the cable:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00HJZJI84/ref=psd_mlt_bc_B00HJZJI84

I've used it on USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 (much slower), but I've never used it on a USB 1.0 port. I'd imagine it would still work, but it would S-L-O-W.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/apricor...gray/3459621.p?id=1218404120715&skuId=3459621

This is what I use. Same basic device, but it comes with cloning software that boots itself off of USB, and works fairly well.

Note that the software version as included with the SATA wire doesn't work properly, you NEED to follow the instructions to download the newest version and write it to a small-ish (4-8GB) USB flash drive. The newest version handles OS installations that use UEFI.

Note that if your BIOS is UEFI, and also allows booting off of devices (HDD, DVD, etc.), that the cloning software, I guess as a sort of failsafe, DELETES the UEFI boot items for devices, and leaves you with ONLY the UEFI boot option for "Windows Boot Manager", etc.

 

[UsandThem]

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/apricor...gray/3459621.p?id=1218404120715&skuId=3459621

This is what I use. Same basic device, but it comes with cloning software that boots itself off of USB, and works fairly well.

Note that the software version as included with the SATA wire doesn't work properly, you NEED to follow the instructions to download the newest version and write it to a small-ish (4-8GB) USB flash drive. The newest version handles OS installations that use UEFI.

Note that if your BIOS is UEFI, and also allows booting off of devices (HDD, DVD, etc.), that the cloning software, I guess as a sort of failsafe, DELETES the UEFI boot items for devices, and leaves you with ONLY the UEFI boot option for "Windows Boot Manager", etc.

I never knew Best Buy carried that kind of item. Pretty smart on their part, and since it includes boot software, a pretty good deal.

 

[UsandThem]

I came across this article that might explain why you might be having Windows 7 update issues:

https://www.yahoo.com/tech/windows-7-computer-woefully-date-174813966.html

 

[Craig234]

Thanks for the responses.

It's interesting, once again (or twice) leaving it to update a while, coming back, rebooting, it's now cleanly installed all the updates - and has 4.3gb free.

So 'free space' reduced free space, and installing more updates increased free space.

The warnings on the best buy product sound worrisome. I wonder if there's an easy to find out whether my USB ports are 1.0 or 2.0.

I don't think that Windows 7 bundle is the issue - I've been updating, so it shouldn't be using the bundle.

I have a Samsung 850 EVO for my 'next computer' and an 830 for this one. Somewhere.

 

[UsandThem]

Thanks for the responses.

The warnings on the best buy product sound worrisome. I wonder if there's an easy to find out whether my USB ports are 1.0 or 2.0.

Do you have a prebuilt computer (Dell, HP) or did you build it yourself? How old is it? If you built it, could you look at your order history and see what motherboard you used?

If you can't find any of that info, you could use this to at least tell what chipset your motherboard uses:

http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html

USB 2.0 has been out since 2000, and USB 3.0 since 2008. So if your computer isn't that old, you most likely have USB 2.0 or USB 3.0.

I don't think that Windows 7 bundle is the issue - I've been updating, so it shouldn't be using the bundle.

I'm not sure if the Windows bundle article I posted earlier is causing issues or not. I only thought of your issue because in your original post where you stated Windows Update found 81 updates for your system. If you have been updating your system on a regular basis, I'm not sure why Windows would have found so many updates for your system since I believe Microsoft has ended mainstream support for Windows 7, and is now only providing security updates for it until 2020.

I am on Windows 10, so I have no idea of what Windows 7 updates have been doing in the last 7 months.

 

[Dahak]

Thanks for the responses.
The warnings on the best buy product sound worrisome. I wonder if there's an easy to find out whether my USB ports are 1.0 or 2.0.

Unless the machine is older than 2000, its highly unlikely that its usb 1.0

Another option to free up some space is if you are sure that you are not going to uninstall any updates, you can make sure this is installed
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/2852386

and when you run the disk cleanup, you can click on system files and it will remove the old WU files/

 

[Craig234]

I think it's from 2008 (homemade), so they're probably 2.0 then.

 

[tcsenter]

What is the chipset, mobo? Edition of Windows 7?

 

[Craig234]

As far as I can tell, MSI MS-7577, American Megatrends Inc. 1.4, Windows 7 ultimate

 

[tcsenter]

As far as I can tell, MSI MS-7577, American Megatrends Inc. 1.4, Windows 7 ultimate

That BIOS (1.4) is like seven or eight versions/releases behind.