XP SP3 installed via WSUS does not show as installed

I approved XP SP3 for two machines yesterday. It downloaded on both and
installed on one last night.

The downloaded machine shows SP3 as downloaded but not installed.

The installed machine shows SP3 as the SP level, shows it as not needed, but
does not show it as installed.

I forced a check-in and the last status reported time changed but the status
did not change.

Won't be much help if it doesn't report installed status.

Tom S

Tom Steger wrote:

> The installed machine shows SP3 as the SP level, shows it as not needed, but
> does not show it as installed.

Not all updates correctly report as installed via WSUS. You may need to use
another mechanism if you want to verify that SP3 is fully deployed.

Harry.

That, is a bummer...and will hopefully be fixed.

Tom

"Harry Johnston [MVP]" <harry@scms.waikato.ac.nz> wrote in message
news:%23kUCJ9UsIHA.2064@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
> Tom Steger wrote:
>
>> The installed machine shows SP3 as the SP level, shows it as not needed,
>> but does not show it as installed.
>
> Not all updates correctly report as installed via WSUS. You may need to
> use another mechanism if you want to verify that SP3 is fully deployed.
>
> Harry.

"Tom Steger" <me@work.com> wrote in message
news:#b$KZOhsIHA.5472@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...

> "Harry Johnston [MVP]" <harry@scms.waikato.ac.nz> wrote in message
> news:%23kUCJ9UsIHA.2064@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
>> Tom Steger wrote:
>>
>>> The installed machine shows SP3 as the SP level, shows it as not needed,
>>> but does not show it as installed.
>>
>> Not all updates correctly report as installed via WSUS. You may need to
>> use another mechanism if you want to verify that SP3 is fully deployed.

> That, is a bummer...and will hopefully be fixed.

As loathe as I am to use WSUS to deploy service packs on my SOHO network,
I'm going to approve SP3 via WSUS and install it on one system tonight so
that I can screencap the necessary documentation and send it up to the WSUS
team.


--
Lawrence Garvin, M.S., MCITP, MCBMSP, MCTS(x4), MCP
Senior Data Architect, APQC, Houston, Texas
Microsoft MVP - Software Distribution (2005-2008)

MS WSUS Website: http://www.microsoft.com/wsus
My Websites: http://www.onsitechsolutions.com;
http://wsusinfo.onsitechsolutions.com
My MVP Profile: http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/pro...awrence.Garvin

"Lawrence Garvin [MVP]" <onsite@postalias.news> wrote in message
news:55124A28-A51D-4CA6-B3A2-D49F1A09F94A@microsoft.com...

> "Tom Steger" <me@work.com> wrote in message
> news:#b$KZOhsIHA.5472@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...

>> "Harry Johnston [MVP]" <harry@scms.waikato.ac.nz> wrote in message
>> news:%23kUCJ9UsIHA.2064@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...

>>> Tom Steger wrote:
>>>
>>>> The installed machine shows SP3 as the SP level, shows it as not
>>>> needed, but does not show it as installed.

>>> Not all updates correctly report as installed via WSUS. You may need to
>>> use another mechanism if you want to verify that SP3 is fully deployed.

>> That, is a bummer...and will hopefully be fixed.

> As loathe as I am to use WSUS to deploy service packs on my SOHO network,
> I'm going to approve SP3 via WSUS and install it on one system tonight so
> that I can screencap the necessary documentation and send it up to the
> WSUS team.

Following an "Install Update and Shutdown" scenario, and powering the system
back on -- within 5 minutes my WSUS Server Admin Console showed the Service
Pack 3 as "Installed".

I could not reproduce the reported behavior on my system.


--
Lawrence Garvin, M.S., MCITP, MCBMSP, MCTS(x4), MCP
Senior Data Architect, APQC, Houston, Texas
Microsoft MVP - Software Distribution (2005-2008)

MS WSUS Website: http://www.microsoft.com/wsus
My Websites: http://www.onsitechsolutions.com;
http://wsusinfo.onsitechsolutions.com
My MVP Profile: http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/pro...awrence.Garvin

"Lawrence Garvin [MVP]" <onsite@postalias.news> wrote in message
news:uSQelE8sIHA.5268@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
> "Lawrence Garvin [MVP]" <onsite@postalias.news> wrote in message
> news:55124A28-A51D-4CA6-B3A2-D49F1A09F94A@microsoft.com...
>
>> "Tom Steger" <me@work.com> wrote in message
>> news:#b$KZOhsIHA.5472@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
>
>>> "Harry Johnston [MVP]" <harry@scms.waikato.ac.nz> wrote in message
>>> news:%23kUCJ9UsIHA.2064@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
>
>>>> Tom Steger wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> The installed machine shows SP3 as the SP level, shows it as not
>>>>> needed, but does not show it as installed.
>
>>>> Not all updates correctly report as installed via WSUS. You may need
>>>> to use another mechanism if you want to verify that SP3 is fully
>>>> deployed.
>
>>> That, is a bummer...and will hopefully be fixed.
>
>> As loathe as I am to use WSUS to deploy service packs on my SOHO network,
>> I'm going to approve SP3 via WSUS and install it on one system tonight so
>> that I can screencap the necessary documentation and send it up to the
>> WSUS team.
>
> Following an "Install Update and Shutdown" scenario, and powering the
> system back on -- within 5 minutes my WSUS Server Admin Console showed the
> Service Pack 3 as "Installed".
>
> I could not reproduce the reported behavior on my system.
>
>
> --
> Lawrence Garvin, M.S., MCITP, MCBMSP, MCTS(x4), MCP
> Senior Data Architect, APQC, Houston, Texas
> Microsoft MVP - Software Distribution (2005-2008)
>
> MS WSUS Website: http://www.microsoft.com/wsus
> My Websites: http://www.onsitechsolutions.com;
> http://wsusinfo.onsitechsolutions.com
> My MVP Profile: http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/pro...awrence.Garvin

Hello Lawrence,

My scenario was slightly different in that I allowed the update to install
automatically at the configured install time (4 a.m.) rather than perform
"Install Updates and shut down".

The status on the WSUS console for SP3 on both machines seems to be stuck
on:

Windows XP Service Pack 3 (KB936929)
Event reported at 5/8/2008 4:25 AM:
Installation successful and restart required for the following update:
Windows XP Service Pack 3 (KB936929).

and reports "Not Applicable" even after several restarts.

I will try the automatic install on a few more machines and also do a manual
"Install Updates and shut down" and see what happens.

Tom

"Tom Steger" <tsteger_nospam@co.pierce.wa.us> wrote in message
news:#TpnEzFtIHA.2068@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...

> "Lawrence Garvin [MVP]" <onsite@postalias.news> wrote in message
> news:uSQelE8sIHA.5268@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...

>> Following an "Install Update and Shutdown" scenario, and powering the
>> system back on -- within 5 minutes my WSUS Server Admin Console showed
>> the Service Pack 3 as "Installed".
>>
>> I could not reproduce the reported behavior on my system.


> My scenario was slightly different in that I allowed the update to install
> automatically at the configured install time (4 a.m.) rather than perform
> "Install Updates and shut down".
>
> The status on the WSUS console for SP3 on both machines seems to be stuck
> on:
>
> Windows XP Service Pack 3 (KB936929)
> Event reported at 5/8/2008 4:25 AM:
> Installation successful and restart required for the following update:
> Windows XP Service Pack 3 (KB936929).
>
> and reports "Not Applicable" even after several restarts.

This could be a manifestation of a unique combination of issues that's
resulting in the installation not being properly reported after the restart.

It could also be that the WUA thinks it's still doing a restart, and your
manual restarts did not help.

This could be a quirk in the SP3 installation process, or it could be a
preexisting issue with the WUA.

Generally I don't like the idea of installing Service Packs as an automated
event, because Service Packs are notoriously finicky about other things that
might be executing on the system at the same time (like AV scans, Defender
scans, Desktop Search indexing, etc.)

It could also be that the installation was =partially= successful ==
successful enough to prevent detection of the SP as needed, but not
successful enough to actually cause the WUA to report the installation as
successful. Also, the WUA is dependent upon the error codes returned by the
SP installer to know the installation was successful. If the SP installation
returned an error, the WUA might not think it's installed.

I would suggest uninstalling the SP on any such machine, and re-executing
the SP installation -- either via Install Updates and Shutdown, or a
scheduled event, though I would recommend the former for service pack
installations.



--
Lawrence Garvin, M.S., MCITP, MCBMSP, MCTS(x4), MCP
Senior Data Architect, APQC, Houston, Texas
Microsoft MVP - Software Distribution (2005-2008)

MS WSUS Website: http://www.microsoft.com/wsus
My Websites: http://www.onsitechsolutions.com;
http://wsusinfo.onsitechsolutions.com
My MVP Profile: http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/pro...awrence.Garvin

"Lawrence Garvin [MVP]" <onsite@postalias.news> wrote in message
news:AFF1A4FD-4323-48B2-AE6E-5291C2A26EF1@microsoft.com...
> "Tom Steger" <tsteger_nospam@co.pierce.wa.us> wrote in message
> news:#TpnEzFtIHA.2068@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
>
>> "Lawrence Garvin [MVP]" <onsite@postalias.news> wrote in message
>> news:uSQelE8sIHA.5268@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
>
>>> Following an "Install Update and Shutdown" scenario, and powering the
>>> system back on -- within 5 minutes my WSUS Server Admin Console showed
>>> the Service Pack 3 as "Installed".
>>>
>>> I could not reproduce the reported behavior on my system.
>
>
>> My scenario was slightly different in that I allowed the update to
>> install automatically at the configured install time (4 a.m.) rather than
>> perform "Install Updates and shut down".
>>
>> The status on the WSUS console for SP3 on both machines seems to be stuck
>> on:
>>
>> Windows XP Service Pack 3 (KB936929)
>> Event reported at 5/8/2008 4:25 AM:
>> Installation successful and restart required for the following update:
>> Windows XP Service Pack 3 (KB936929).
>>
>> and reports "Not Applicable" even after several restarts.
>
> This could be a manifestation of a unique combination of issues that's
> resulting in the installation not being properly reported after the
> restart.
>
> It could also be that the WUA thinks it's still doing a restart, and your
> manual restarts did not help.
>
> This could be a quirk in the SP3 installation process, or it could be a
> preexisting issue with the WUA.
>
> Generally I don't like the idea of installing Service Packs as an
> automated event, because Service Packs are notoriously finicky about other
> things that might be executing on the system at the same time (like AV
> scans, Defender scans, Desktop Search indexing, etc.)
>
> It could also be that the installation was =partially= successful ==
> successful enough to prevent detection of the SP as needed, but not
> successful enough to actually cause the WUA to report the installation as
> successful. Also, the WUA is dependent upon the error codes returned by
> the SP installer to know the installation was successful. If the SP
> installation returned an error, the WUA might not think it's installed.
>
> I would suggest uninstalling the SP on any such machine, and re-executing
> the SP installation -- either via Install Updates and Shutdown, or a
> scheduled event, though I would recommend the former for service pack
> installations.
>
>
>
> --
> Lawrence Garvin, M.S., MCITP, MCBMSP, MCTS(x4), MCP
> Senior Data Architect, APQC, Houston, Texas
> Microsoft MVP - Software Distribution (2005-2008)
>
> MS WSUS Website: http://www.microsoft.com/wsus
> My Websites: http://www.onsitechsolutions.com;
> http://wsusinfo.onsitechsolutions.com
> My MVP Profile: http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/pro...awrence.Garvin

I installed it via "Install Updates and shut down" and got the same results.
It still shows up as "Not applicable" in WSUS after SP3.

I went to the Windows Update web site and looked at Update History and it
shows the installation as successful with the correct date and time.

The WSUS console knows it's installed because it's not listed as "Needed"
but it still doesn't know it's installed.

SP3 changed all the updates it superseded from "Installed" to "Not
Applicable" on the WSUS console and I wonder if it included itself in the
process.

"Tom Steger" <tsteger_nospam@co.pierce.wa.us> wrote in message
news:e89rNaStIHA.2064@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...

> SP3 changed all the updates it superseded from "Installed" to "Not
> Applicable" on the WSUS console and I wonder if it included itself in the
> process.

You may be on to something here, Tom.

But then, that leaves us with the question of: Why some systems.. and not
others?

--
Lawrence Garvin, M.S., MCITP, MCBMSP, MCTS(x4), MCP
Senior Data Architect, APQC, Houston, Texas
Microsoft MVP - Software Distribution (2005-2008)

MS WSUS Website: http://www.microsoft.com/wsus
My Websites: http://www.onsitechsolutions.com;
http://wsusinfo.onsitechsolutions.com
My MVP Profile: http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/pro...awrence.Garvin

That's a question I've asked as well.

The status for SP3 reported to WSUS is "Not Applicable" and the last event
is:

Windows XP Service Pack 3 (KB936929)
Event reported at 5/8/2008 4:25 AM:
Installation successful and restart required for the following update:
Windows XP Service Pack 3 (KB936929).

It looks more like a reporting problem.

I deployed to five systems and all report the same thing.

I'll look at the clients and the server to see what might be causing this.

Tom

"Lawrence Garvin [MVP]" <onsite@postalias.news> wrote in message
news:23E0AA9A-489A-406A-B7ED-03B410577921@microsoft.com...
> "Tom Steger" <tsteger_nospam@co.pierce.wa.us> wrote in message
> news:e89rNaStIHA.2064@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
>
>> SP3 changed all the updates it superseded from "Installed" to "Not
>> Applicable" on the WSUS console and I wonder if it included itself in the
>> process.
>
> You may be on to something here, Tom.
>
> But then, that leaves us with the question of: Why some systems.. and not
> others?
>
> --
> Lawrence Garvin, M.S., MCITP, MCBMSP, MCTS(x4), MCP
> Senior Data Architect, APQC, Houston, Texas
> Microsoft MVP - Software Distribution (2005-2008)
>
> MS WSUS Website: http://www.microsoft.com/wsus
> My Websites: http://www.onsitechsolutions.com;
> http://wsusinfo.onsitechsolutions.com
> My MVP Profile: http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/pro...awrence.Garvin

Tom,

I'm having the exact same problem with all of my 30 test clients. Have you
been able to resolve this problem?

Thanks,
K. Spencer

No.

I also imported and installed Vista SP1 with the same results.

It shows as "Not Applicable" instead of installed.

I was off today but will do some more investigation this week.

Tom

"K. Spencer" <KSpencer@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:9A3B823D-49A4-469A-93DD-2156FB64A4D7@microsoft.com...
> Tom,
>
> I'm having the exact same problem with all of my 30 test clients. Have
> you
> been able to resolve this problem?
>
> Thanks,
> K. Spencer

[gibilix]

I have got about 400 clients in a group where I have approved SP3 for installation. After two days I see only 5/6 with the status of Installed.

Most of them have Not Applicable for SP3, but if you look at the main info box of the computer it reports is a Windows XP with Service Pack 3.

I think there is definitely something wrong with the reporting on WSUS.

gibilix wrote:

> I have got about 400 clients in a group where I have approved SP3 for
> installation. After two days I see only 5/6 with the status of
> Installed.

Anything different about those particular clients that you can identify?
(They're not XP Home edition, for example?)

Harry.

[gibilix]

We have only XP Pro/SP2. Anyway I can check ad see if there anything in common.