50 copies of wuauclt.exe process, and can't restart

Hi

That's happens on occasion. Re-starting Explorer via the Task Manager would have fixed that.

Still problems with the wuauclt.exe Windows Update file?

I still have numerous copies of the process, but firefox is not crashing anymore. I still can't restart my computer without either holding the power button or waiting 45 minutes.

SystemLook

• Double-click SystemLook.exe to run it
• Copy the contents of the Codebox below into the main textfield
  

  :filefind
  
  wuauclt.*

• Click the Look button to start the scan
• When finished, a notepad window will open with the results of the scan. Post the contents of the log in your next reply

Note: The log can also be found on your Desktop entitled SystemLook.txt

SystemLook v1.0 by jpshortstuff (11.01.10)
Log created at 11:10 on 01/08/2010 by Keith McCall (Administrator - Elevation successful)

========== filefind ==========

Searching for "wuauclt.*"
C:\WINDOWS\ERDNT\cache\wuauclt.exe --a--- 53472 bytes [17:04 19/01/2010] [00:24 07/08/2009] 62BB79160F86CD962F312C68C6239BFD
C:\WINDOWS\Prefetch\WUAUCLT.EXE-399A8E72.pf --a--- 19842 bytes [20:11 01/04/2009] [05:04 01/08/2010] 4511CC75C1D0521943DFC3C41ECD4752
C:\WINDOWS\ServicePackFiles\i386\wuauclt.exe ------ 111104 bytes [22:22 24/10/2008] [00:12 14/04/2008] ED7262E52C31CF1625B65039102BC16C
C:\WINDOWS\system32\dllcache\wuauclt.exe --a--c 53472 bytes [20:52 24/10/2008] [00:24 07/08/2009] 62BB79160F86CD962F312C68C6239BFD
C:\WINDOWS\system32\wuauclt.exe ------ 53472 bytes [20:52 24/10/2008] [00:24 07/08/2009] 62BB79160F86CD962F312C68C6239BFD

-=End Of File=-

Hi

Uninstalling then re-installing Service Pack 3 may fix this issue.

• Click Start, click Run, copy/paste c:\windows\$NtServicePackUninstall$\spuninst\spuninst.exe in the Open box then click OK
• When the Windows XP Service Pack 3 Removal Wizard starts, click Next
• Follow the instructions on the screen to remove Windows XP SP3

Then re-install Service Pack 3. You can download it from here:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=5b33b5a8-5e76-401f-be08-1e1555d4f3d4&displaylang=en

I could not uninstall it. It got stuck at "inspecting current configuration." Will re-installing it get rid or the original? Or is there some other way to uninstall it?

Try uninstalling it via Add or Remove Programs

• Click Start >> Run, type appwiz.cpl then press Enter
• Click to select the Show Updates check box
• Scrool down to Windows XP Service Pack 3 then click Remove
• Click Finish to restart the computer after the removal process is complete

I had the same problem. My computer doesn't freeze, but there is never any progress. When I start it, a box comes up that says that it detects programs on my computer that may not work properly without SP3. It ask me if I want to continue so I clicked yes, the pop up box goes away, but then nothing else happens.

Are you on dial up or broadband internet connection?

I have wireless broadband.

OK, thanks. I was thinking if you had dial-up it may be hindering the Windows update process.

Back to the uninstalling of Service Pack 3. A couple of things to try. First, disable all of the wuauclt.exe processes first as it's possible the uninstallation may being hindered by the failed/unfinished updates. You can disable them by doing the following:
End a Process Using Task Manager
Open Task Manager by pressing crtl + alt + delete keys simultaneously or by right clicking the taskbar at the bottom of your screen & then clicking Task Manager

• Click Processes
• Click Image Name to alphabetize the list
• Find the following processes

wuauclt.exe

• If present click on each one of the processes above
• After clicking on the process, click End Process
• Repeat steps for each process listed above
• Close Task Manager

You can also try rebooting your computer into Safe Mode & attempt the uninstall as something may be interfering with it while in Normal Mode.

Let me know how you go.

It wouldn't let be end the processes. I got it uninstalled in safe mode. I could not reinstall it in normal mode, so I reinstalled it in safe mode. I think that there is only one wuauclt.exe process and it does not seem to be multiplying. I still can't restart my computer or open automatic updates.

So when exactly is it freezing.... During the shutdown after you click Restart or after it boots back up?

Are you get any error messages when trying to open Automatic Updates. What exactly is happening there?

When I click restart, it sometimes freezes instantly. Usually, though, It gets to "windows is shutting down," and it never gets past. Its fine when it reboots. There are no errors when I try to open Automatic Updates just nothing happens. I can't do it in the security center either. When I use the security center, that program becomes unresponsive, and its says that run dll has become unresponsive.

Also, there are now multiple copies of wuauclt.exe again. It seems to have slowed down considerably though.

Hi

I think the reason for the multiple wuauclt.exe processes is because windows is trying to update but it cannot due to a problem with Automatic Updates... & possibly the the Security Center.
What is the exact error message you are getting when you try to open the Security Center?