weird folders created every reboot!

[blakelock]

hi all,

every time my computer reboots, a weird folder is created on the c drive. this folder has a random alpha-numeric name and contains a bunch of windows update stuff. when i reboot, another folder is created with the exact same contents but with a different folder name...now i have ~15 of these weird folders. i think it's related to updates because the folders contains files such as:

WUClient-SelfUpdate-ActiveX.cab

WUClient-SelfUpdate-Aux-TopLevel.cab

wusetup.exe

i'm having trouble deleting the folders due to permissions and "folder is being used"...but i'm not concerned about deleting them right now. what i'm really concerned with is stopping their creation! another odd thing is that if i connect an external usb drive, the new folders will be created on the external drive instead of the c drive.

i'm runnning vista ultimate x64 with SP2 on an HP machine with RAID 1 mirroring my hard drive.

help me ob1...

[submix8c]

Automatic Updates... it's "turned on" and is downloading/installing and will refuse to stop until completed, even with reboot as it's considered a "pending update".

Not a problem, just let them complete and the folders will "disappear". If any fail, then you have a problem...

You can always change the setting (read up on it and how it works). I just leave mine "turned off" so it doesn't happen and regularly manually check.

HTH

(report back if there's a problem... resolutions are usually available)

edit - the reason the USB drive is being "selected" is AU "finds" the HDD with the largest free space available, same as an Initial Install selects where to put the Page File. Better leave it connected until updates are completed to keep from horking the AU up...

Edited January 6, 2010 by submix8c

[blakelock]

Automatic Updates... it's "turned on" and is downloading/installing and will refuse to stop until completed, even with reboot as it's considered a "pending update".

Not a problem, just let them complete and the folders will "disappear". If any fail, then you have a problem...

thanks for the suggestion. i am sure that you're right and the problem is related to a fouled-up update attempt. however, i don't think i currently have any unfinished updates. the system does not indicate any updates are pending. also, i looked at the update history and everything looks fine. so i manually ran AU and found a suggested update related to a monitor driver. i installed it, rebooted and, again, another one of these phantom folders was created. i've also turned AU off and rebooted and still get the folders.

any other suggestions? can i "reset" automatic updates or something???

[submix8c]

Once they're "tagged" by AU, it's difficult to stop them. If after the updates finally complete then there's a way to "nuke" the folders. Usually (AFAICR), after updates finally stop, you should be able to just delete them as the "inuse" should be reset.

I had inadvertantly test-installed an XP with AU "on" and had a "floater" that (AFAICR) I was able to delete later (maybe "safe mode"?). (Note - turned it "off" during the Auto-downloads as well).

Err, maybe someone with Vista can help (don't have/not installed).

edit - there's a "special folder" in the Windows directory (SoftwareDistribution) that retains the AU info... the Download goes to there then executes creating the "floaters" which usually disappear after completion and the "uninstall" info is placed in the Windows folder as individual "uninstall" folders.

Edited January 6, 2010 by submix8c

[blakelock]

SOLVED:

woohoo! microsoft actually FIXED a problem (that they created in the first place ) but i'm not complaining. i ran OneCare (it's a microsoft system scanner thingy). it found ~150 registry issues then resolved nearly all of them. after that, the weird folders don't get created anymore! yea.

it seems like it was related to an unfinished/horked-up update. i guess there were registry entries left over from this horked-up update attempt.

cheers.