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I tried installing Windows 20H2 yesterday and it stuck at 48% for 3hrs before I hit the restart button. That thing they tell you never, ever, EVER do except every online forum says you need to do given you really have no choice.
(which really bugs me. If it's stuck at X% for more than 5 mins, surely it could popup a message letting us know what it's waiting for. Rebuilding an index? Waiting on a device? Waiting on network? At least you'd be thinking "OK, that makes sense")
So I decided to let it run overnight. I went to updates, clicked through the buttons to get it to download and install and it was on it's way. I figured 8hrs would be enough.
Except this morning I wake to a "Click here to start the install".
After all the clicks, after all the time downloading and preparing, the installer felt the need to ask, just one more time, if I really truly wanted to install it. Presumably about 15 mins after I went to bed.
How is it on one hand they restart my machine while I'm using it to install a minor update, but when it comes to an hours long update they suddenly get all coy, even after I've told them to install the damn thing.
Need coffee. And a good book, since I won't be using my main machine today it seems.
cheers
Chris Maunder
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Virtual machines are your friends. 
If you can keep your head while those about you are losing theirs, perhaps you don't understand the situation.
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Not if I want to get work done.
(My experiences running VS and SQL Server under parallels and VMWare on macOS still give me shivers of fear)
cheers
Chris Maunder
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SQL Server does that to me in any environment! I do run W10 and VS on a VM connected to my MacBook but is is slow because I have to do it with an external thunderbolt drive.
A while back, I installed Oqtane on a Linux system with SQL Server Lite (or whatever they call it) and it ran very well, uses a fairly large DB. No SQL Server for ARM (yet). I feel your pain on large updates. I think they used to call them new versions. Something like when we updated from 7 to 10.
If you can keep your head while those about you are losing theirs, perhaps you don't understand the situation.
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Chris Maunder wrote: parallels and VMWare on macOS
I keep hearing that from Apple users.
Does Apple even believe that VMs are useful, and when will they start looking into making sure they perform well under their OS? I've been using VMs on Windows for well over a decade, and given the resources, I can't say performance is an issue - certainly not to the extent where I get "shivers of fear". I don't even think twice about putting together yet another VM to run on my Windows box.
Running VMs efficiently requires lots of hardware, and as we know Apple's sells at a premium. If their machines are so starved for resources that VMs can't run efficiently, there's their opportunity make even more money. What's Apple's holdup?
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Evidently their path forward for Windows users is virtualisation, and I'm hoping that with Windows on Arm, and the Apple M1 chip, virtualisation on macOS on Arm will be way, way faster than previous.
I'd switch to it in a second if it actually worked. Bootcamp on a mac is a waste of potential
cheers
Chris Maunder
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I wasn't even thinking specifically about Windows on a Mac. What about Mac VMs, hosted on a Mac? Is that even a thing today? If it's not, aren't they seeing how/why it's beneficial, and virtualizing a Mac would be useful?
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I'm not sure what VMs would solve in this context. More VMs simply mean more machines that have to be updated separately.
I've pretty much fully bought into the "separation of concerns" idea, so I don't mix my DC roles with my SQL roles or WSUS or web servers or dev boxes or whatever other services. And it's worthwhile - if something goes down, it's just one box that has a single job and doesn't take down my whole infrastructure.
But it does mean that you now have many more machines to maintain. And that doesn't do anything to help in Chris's scenario.
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I hate installing Microsoft products. They're huge, need 3 50GB updates as soon as you install them and the installs are completely opaque.
I look at it as they're giving you a sneak peek at using windows - be prepared for a system that is big, slow, and routinely insults your intelligence.
Real programmers use butterflies
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It seems macOS and even iOS updates are just as big.
(and I'm sitting at 48% again...)
cheers
Chris Maunder
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Sadly, the passing grade is 51%. Go to jail, directly to jail.... etc.
If you can keep your head while those about you are losing theirs, perhaps you don't understand the situation.
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Yep, I had the same thing on my MacMini when I recently updated.
I mean honestly, what Ubuntu does when updating is like magic. Magic!!!
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Is there a log for this update that you can look at? Perhaps there is an issue causing the hang up that would be mentioned in the log.
I use to have to look at install logs for errors back in the olden days.
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MacOS updates are indeed very big now, due to the return to dual-CPU binaries. MacOS 11 is now 12+ GB download.
However, unlike Windows, any time you download a fresh new MacOS install, it will be the latest version with the latest updates. So at least the "download 3 more huge installs to catch up" is mitigated for a newly installed OS image.
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Updated (finally) to Big Sur today. Half an hour to download, about 40 mins to install. Done. Everything worked.
On my 5th attempt at installing Windows 20H2. Failed again so I'm ripping it out and starting from scratch bare metal.
How is this happening in 2021??
cheers
Chris Maunder
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Chris Maunder wrote: How is it on one hand they restart my machine while I'm using it to install a minor update, but when it comes to an hours long update they suddenly get all coy, even after I've told them to install the damn thing.
So right! Inspired true LOL! 
Meanwhile, I'm here on Ubuntu 20.04 updated from 18.04 which was a total system update and I was able to work on my computer the entire time the update ran. Just a reboot at the end and done.
Also, I had a kernel update yesterday that updated while I was doing other stuff. No problem at all.
Question: Seriously why does M$ take over your entire machine for an update?
Answer: Poorly developed software. It's just true. 
Microsoft was supposed to be the consumer product and Linux was supposed to be hobbyist but it seems M$ didn't get the memo. 😁
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raddevus wrote: Microsoft was supposed to be the consumer product and Linux was supposed to be hobbyist but it seems M$ didn't get the memo. 😁
I'd say the memo you didn't get is the one that says MS doesn't care about consumers anymore, except for the Xbox division. Windows's role has diminished tremendously, and while they certainly maintain it and will keep doing so for years to come, this is not where they dedicate their talent pool. Office is still a cash cow because there's no "real" alternative. Even so, it's evolved into a subscription, and the primary target for those subscriptions are businesses, not consumers. Have a look at their current mission statement - the OS no longer matters; they're just trying to reach their customers wherever they might be.
Seriously, as a developer, don't even try to talk to MS these days unless you're doing something Azure-related. This is their focus.
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My guess is you have registry or file system corruption. Windows Upgrades have long been brittle when either the registry or file system are corrupt. My recommendation is to download the retail version from Microsoft and extract it to a USB drive. Then backup your system and reimage, to include deleting the partition table.
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That is a really, really big hammer.
I think I'll just keep using my machine as-is. I hard rebooted, deleted the SoftwareDistribution folder, and windows is no longer trying to get me to update to the latest and greatest.
Given I'm running under Bootcamp, reimaging everything to solve this issue is like knocking down a house to fix a leaky tap.
cheers
Chris Maunder
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Chris Maunder wrote: to solve this issue
WIndows 7 ?
| Ravings en masse^ |
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| "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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W∴ Balboos, GHB wrote: WIndows 7 ?
As much as I'd prefer to stick with 7, have you tried to do a clean install these days, and then bring it up to date?
It's a crapshoot. It may work, it may abort and roll back...but either way you're in for hours. Seriously, I've installed from the same ISO, for multiple VMs, on the same host (so the hardware, even though it's virtualized, is absolutely identical in every way), and one might succeed while another may fail installing updates. It makes absolutely no sense.
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Windows 7 was absolutely horrible when it came to updates. I had more problems with Windows 7 updates than I've ever had with Windows 10.
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Windows 7 Updates: Optional, and if you wanted them, it was WHEN you wanted them
Window 10 Updates: You bought the machine; you paid for the software - but Micro$loth owns it. Basically, you're just considered a donor.
(You did read the OP, and how it happens in the middle of things, at time?)
I've posted this remark many times before: My upgrade from Windows 7 is Linux.
| Ravings en masse^ |
|---|
| "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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Chris, If you have VS Professional MSDN you can put in a ticket.
I had a problem where 2019 wouldn't install, kept erroring out on the same errors & repaired same & rerun & get same errors.
Got some local help & we still weren't able to get it to install.
Finally in desperation, put in a trouble call to MS through my MSDN subscription. Took the fellow about a week, but finally got the 2019 update installed.
You can also put in the ticket w/o the subscription; costs about $400.
Either way I was very pleased and the money was well worth it.
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