Vista SP1 - Windows Can't Check for Updates - at my wits end

My Vista SP1 machine has been displaying a message that reads "Windows can't
check for Updates" in the system tray for more than month. When I check for
installed updates, I see this problem has existed since July 9, 2008 yet it
appears at least the security updates have been downloading and installing
(set for daily WU and install at 3:00 a.m.) but some other updates simply
fail. I've worked with two levels of Microsoft support folks and have
followed their suggestions wth no success. Now they want me to uninstall SP1
and tell me I may have to change my BIOS. This is beyond my skill level and
I'm hoping there's a simpler way.
Has anyone had this same problem? How did you resolve it?

Yes, I've had the same problem, but only for the past few days. The icon in
the tray says "Window's can't check for updates" but when I double click it,
it brings up the Windows Update window and that tells me that the most recent
check WAS today at 8:50am. So I don't know if that message in the tray is
even accurate or not. There is no error code or anything like a lot of people
get.

I also started getting another error message at the same time a few days
ago. I only get it when I restart the system. It says "Configfree has stopped
working". I don't know if that's related in any way, but like I said, it
started happening at the exact same time that the windows update message
started popping up.

"NancyB" wrote:

> My Vista SP1 machine has been displaying a message that reads "Windows can't
> check for Updates" in the system tray for more than month. When I check for
> installed updates, I see this problem has existed since July 9, 2008 yet it
> appears at least the security updates have been downloading and installing
> (set for daily WU and install at 3:00 a.m.) but some other updates simply
> fail. I've worked with two levels of Microsoft support folks and have
> followed their suggestions wth no success. Now they want me to uninstall SP1
> and tell me I may have to change my BIOS. This is beyond my skill level and
> I'm hoping there's a simpler way.
> Has anyone had this same problem? How did you resolve it?

I am also having the same problem mine is since 2/20 but some updates come
through and some fail. I don't know if some of my that were trying to
install were actually part of sp1 and had not been installed yet, and after
installing sp1 they could not install because they were already installed....
that was probably confusing but nonetheless I have the same problem and also
do not have a solution.


"NancyB" wrote:

> My Vista SP1 machine has been displaying a message that reads "Windows can't
> check for Updates" in the system tray for more than month. When I check for
> installed updates, I see this problem has existed since July 9, 2008 yet it
> appears at least the security updates have been downloading and installing
> (set for daily WU and install at 3:00 a.m.) but some other updates simply
> fail. I've worked with two levels of Microsoft support folks and have
> followed their suggestions wth no success. Now they want me to uninstall SP1
> and tell me I may have to change my BIOS. This is beyond my skill level and
> I'm hoping there's a simpler way.
> Has anyone had this same problem? How did you resolve it?