Starting in mid-April, we started seeing an intermittant problem with
some Windows XP workstations running Windows Update and/or Microsoft
Update (which is Windows update for the OS plus MS Office and other
installed products). The symptoms seem to indicate that the Windows
Update or Microsoft Update is the source, as it always happens late
Tuesday and early Wednesday on weeks when Micosoft releases critical
patches. What we see on PCs and laptops is this:
A user boots their laptop or PC, logs in to the network and the local
workstation account, and then waits for their desktop to appear. The
system almost immediately begins to slow down, and after anywhere from
one to five minutes, reaches a point where 100% of CPU is consumed, and
no programs can be opened. If we manage to get Task Manager open, we
find one of the generic windows networking processes (svchost.exe) is
eating up all remaining available memory on the system until all 100% is
in use. Also, the Windows Update icon usually appears in the lower
right of the task bar, indicating it is downloading updates, but is at
0% downloaded. Killing the offending svchost.exe process manually makes
the Windows Update icon go away, and returns the system to normal CPU
and resource usage. However, manually attempting to run Windows Update
or scheduling it to run at a specific time results in the same problem:
when Update kicks in, a svchost.exe process appears and consumes all
remaining C PU, and the system slows to a crawl and eventually locks
up.
We've had some luck rebooting "stuck" machines and having them complete
the update process after sitting at max CPU for anywhere from 5 to 15
minutes. We don't have all our WinXP machines trying to get updates
from Microsoft at the same time of day, so it isn't an issue of
bandwidth or load. Also, the problem is intermittant, in that a PC that
had problems one week will run Updates without a hitch the following
week.
A search of Microsoft's Knowedgebase on WinXP and Update didn't produce
much useful information or any solutions. Has anyone seen something
like this, and is there a setting adjustment or obscure patch that
anyone is aware oft? If you've seen this problem and have any
suggestions, I'd love to hear about how you resolve it.
John A. Resotko
Head of Systems Administration
Michigan State University College of Law
208 Law College Building
East Lansing, MI 48824-1300
email: [log in to unmask]
Phone: 517-432-6836
Fax: 517-432-6861
Current Chairperson of the
MSU Network Communications Committee
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