[W7] Can't automatically search Windows Update for device drivers

  • Thread starter Thread starter Sharky.
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Sharky.

Sharky.

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I've encountered my first not-minor issue with Windows 7. It will not let me automatically search Windows Update for device drivers or get realistic device icons... because I can't save the settings.

wtfbsz.png

That's the status I'm stuck in. If I select any other option and hit "save changes", a command window pops up, says *something*, and then promptly disappears before I can see what it says. The settings end up not changing.


I can't find anything like this on Google, and I'm hoping someone here knows what's going on.
 
Is it a User Account Control box popping up? Unlike as they don't typically close themselves, but worth a shot...
 
I did not have this issue with Windows 7. Auto updates worked fine for me. That's odd.
 
TB - I have UAC switched off, I can't stand that abomination of a "feature".

I'll turn it back on and see if that makes any difference.
 
I managed to fix this, and the cause was rather... unusual. I had added "Take Ownership" into the Explorer context menu. The shell popping up when I tried to hit save changes in that WU window in post #1 was the prompt triggered by Take Own, trying to give me ownership of some WU-related file... probably wupdate.exe itself.

I tried to start Resource Monitor from Task Manager's Performance tab when I also saw a shell pop up and close... at that point I had an idea of what that might've been from. A few (ultimately successful) attempts at trying to print-screen before the shell closed later, I had found the culprit. After removal of the offending registry keys and a reboot, problem solved. :)
 
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