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the computer (vista) wants to do one of those automatic updates when you shut down the system

I shut down, and it says to not turn the power off, update 1 of 4 being installed..............and it stalls there all night

Any suggestions?

Turn off the power.
Also, set your firewall to refuse access to microsoft updates. Get them when you want them not when they first become available.

Although I'd say you should at least update the security ones anyway

i disagree with Geewizz, sounds more like a patch isnt applying for some reason.

Could be a service is still running which shouldnt be.

So blocking automatic updates isnt the best solution, sounds more like something local. Plus configuring a firewall to stop automatic updates isnt hard but its not simple and could cause more issues than it solves.

Could be corrupted files (vista being famous for them) backup and a reinstall might get rid of the problem (pre-Service Pack 1 mess I would wager)

What do you use the machine for?

I should explain why I recommend blocking windows updates.
When the patches are first issued they are installed in hundreds of thousands of machines and the people who get them first are acting as testers. Although they seldom cause issues, I find it's safer to wait for a couple of days and seeing if there are any problems with them before downloading and installing them myself. That way, if there is an issue, microsoft release an amended update and I avoid the troubles.
Blocking automatic updates maes a lot of sense because it allows you to download and install tested updates at your own convenience.

You have a point but personally I just turn automatic updates off, and set it to "notify" only, not sure if Vista allows that.

Do know that the mandatory reboots that XP keeps nagging me about are damned irritating!!
As are the automatic reboots it uses if you aren't watching...great way of losing work My computer, not Microsofts!!

And people wonder why I use linux more and more, no nagging (one simply notification and an icon in the tray), no automatic reboots, and no malware win all round, only problem is no games

will wait a few days and try again, cheers

Vista does have the facility to turn off automatic updates which is what I do, easier and not as drastic as blocking them with your firewall.

when i switched on MILs brand new laptop, it needed 42 updates

Its common, better that they find any problems and fix them rather pretending they dont exist unlike certain fruity manufacturers

asinine wrote:Vista does have the facility to turn off automatic updates which is what I do, easier and not as drastic as blocking them with your firewall.

That depends on what firewall you use and how you use it, and also on how familiar you are with your PC and its OS.

I'd disagree: switching one setting or setting up rules for your firewall. Both have the same effect. No brainer.

stay away from xp service pack 3 as it is messing up computers with constant rebooting but not all computers are affected.

microsoft know that they have caused the problem but have not fixed it.

If you have this problem just plug in a usb memory stick and it will boot not sure why but it works I found this on a another site.

never had that problem yet timelord and have been running it for months on several diff computers

Hi scot-canuck

Service pack 3 has been changed

please type xp sp3crashes my computer or computer keeps rebooting and read for your self