Technology Insights

Windows XP: Clear Windows Update Cache, Purge Windows Updates Cache

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A customer laptops in my friends computer shop had some major issues today. One of the major issues on this Windows XP laptop was the fact that Service Pack 3 would not install so after fixing various other things I figured it would be best to clear the Windows Updates cache and then attempt to install the patches including SP3 again. Below is information on stopping the Windows Updates service,  purging the Windows Updates cache, and then restarting the Windows Updates service.

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Windows XP Task Manager Missing Tabs, No Processes, Performance, Networking, or Users Tabs

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I was troubleshooting a Windows XP computer that had been brought in to my friends computer shop this afternoon and noticed something odd going on with the Windows Task Manager. The computer had multiple issues including various viruses, Norton Internet Security installed, hadn’t been upgraded or patched for over a year, and numerous other items going wrong. I will say that Norton Internet Security is probably the worst antivirus software I have ever come across because not only does it take over every aspect of your computer but on top of that it doesn’t even save your computer from getting infected by viruses. After getting the computer in working shape by removing Norton Internet Security and beginning the installation of Windows XP patches I launched Windows Task Manager to view something and when I did the list of running applications displayed but I could not click other tabs that normally appear at the top of the Task Manager. Below I display an image of what the Windows Task Manager looked like and how I easily resolved the issue.