 |
 |
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