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Heh. I haven't seen one of those dialogues in a good long while on XP or Vista.

Ya me neither.  This installed fine for me.

Odd. As a fellow install nut I'd expect to see this update request as well but I don't show an update.

I'm using Build 12.0.1347.718

It is Patch Tuesday so perhaps the update server handling your area's ahead of mine.

Ah. The patch only applies if you are using a version of 12.0.1329.0201 or earlier.

Well, my mystery's solved. Apparently I was ahead of the bug.

Now, on to Paul's...

I remember this kind of dialog used to hit me all the time during Windows software/driver installations.  The installer would ask me to location a .ini file which, of course, it should know about without prompting the user.

Mike/Waethorn... what is the root cause of these issues?  Is it poorly written installers?  I experienced it across many different applications and drivers.

Not bashing here.  Genuinely interested in what the experts know about this, since this Windows Update error is essentially the same problem.

Installed fine on all machines at this end. I think the California patch is a little better.  btw Ed and Adrian are having quite the dust up about the "Vista Security totally F***ing useless" headlines that have been running amok while you were gallivanting around Ireland.

John,

There can be lots of reasons.

I've typically seen it in cases where the install files were either deleted or moved after installation.

Sometimes due to a bug in an installer where it stored where the files were for later use and then had a cleanup process that deleted them anyway.

Sometimes due to a user being overly aggressive in cleaning up after an install deleted the setup files.

Sometimes its due to a vendor doing a setup while the hard drive was on a bench in the factory and not thinking through that they didn't tell the setup that the copy shipping with the computer had the files in a different location than the configuration of their imaging lab.

But I'm not an expert on setup programs and they can be very complex little beasts when done well.

Installed just fine for me on my XP and Vista machines,,,

From what I understand, this error is what you'll see if the original MSI file cannot be found.  Normally, most MSIs get copied to C:\Windows\Installer, but if you went and deleted them from there, or ran a "cleanup" tool which did it, then you'd run into this.

It does seem pretty stupid to me that the MSIs need to be kept around in the first place...

whiplash

The discussion that Adrian Kingsley-Hughes been having on Ed Bott's blog is absolutely a train wreck. He really needs to learn how to say, "Sorry folks, I blew it." and stop trying to defend his getting taken in by the bogus SearchSecurity article.

I had this update install just fine last week, on my Vista machine. How strange.

PatriotB6007

The MSIs need to be around for a few reasons:

You need to know what the setup settings and file locations should be to do a "Repair"

You need to know what the setup settings and file locations should be to do an update that isn't a full reinstall.

If you didn't keep the MSIs, you end up having to store all that information somewhere else anyway.

I've seen this happen numerous times with Office service packs (mostly Office 2000/XP "Service Releases" - before they were called "Service Packs"), and Norton stuff back in the XP days.  Haven't seen it happen in a loooong time though.

I would imagine the Windows Installer Cleanup Utility (or whatever the full name is) can cause issues like this.  Programs that modify the registry (Registry Mechanic, CCleaner, anyone?) can also over do it, which is a reason (one of many) why I tell people to stay away from them.

Paul, you just have to post something about this:

gizmodo.com/.../blue-screen-of-death-strikes-birds-nest-during-opening-ceremonies-torch-lighting

Too damn funny...

The BSOD message that is readable looks like the message that I was getting when my CPU overheated in my P4 Prescott. The stock Intel fan [retail box] just wasn't good enough to cool that furnace in an underdesk computer hubby hole, even with extra case fans. Someone had thought it was the vid card. Either way, it was probably a pirated version in China;)

"Either way, it was probably a pirated version in China;)"

Plus, I would put money on the fact that it is a PhotoShop job...

--tayme

I'm leaning towards PS too, but a really funny pic regardless....

I have to say that I did my first re-insall of vista after over a year of beating it up. Hardware issues prompted the re-install. So I went through my routine, resinstalled, applied SP1, joined domain, installed drivers, apps and patches, ran WUpdate and so on. I have to say, that windows was actually behaving very squirrily for the first week. The number one thing that was annoying was the fact that defrag would go on for ever and never finish. Additionally, I installed steam and downloaded a few of my titles. Now, Vista is trying to pre-cache the entire source/materials.gcf file which is several gigs. This means that I have a monsterous disk intensive task running for the first 5 mins after boot up.

Next I noticed that someimes, sidebar would load in a few secs and other times it would take a while longer.

Now, all the kinks seem to be worked out...but this latest one is a bit alarming.

"Plus, I would put money on the fact that it is a PhotoShop job..."

I'll take that bet. How much are you putting down?

"I'll take that bet. How much are you putting down?"

I'll wager $1000 virtual dollars. Now, how are we going to verify? To satisfy me, I would need to see in person...not online...a recording from a TiVo or other DVR from an individual's home system...not something from a TV Network or other entity. The file would need to be date and timestamped with the original date and time. Curoiusly, nowhere have i seen anybody post at what time this occurred, so that I can view it on my DVR and try to find it...of couse, I haven't researched it much...not all that important, as even if it is a ral BSOD...it appears to be one caused by a hardware or driver issue...not an OS malfunction.

--tayme

"The discussion that Adrian Kingsley-Hughes been having on Ed Bott's blog is absolutely a train wreck. He really needs to learn how to say, "Sorry folks, I blew it." and stop trying to defend his getting taken in by the bogus SearchSecurity article. "

I agree. I don't know why he finds it so hard to say he was wrong, which he clearly was. The whole issue was blown out of proportion because some shady publication didn't bother to fact-check with the authors and every tech blog/website carried the story without verifying it. I know sensationalism sells, but this is just silly.

@tayme, losta, and the bunch:

From the previous post:

---------

"In fact, has it been verified that the picture in that article is even authentic and un-doctored?"

Well, apparently the young girl singing and the "footprints" have been doctored, so one can only predict....

www.ctv.ca/.../20080812

And in case the link didn't come thru properly:

www.ctv.ca/.../20080812

shark

Between this cluster fiasco and Randall Stross' mind numbingly bad article a few weeks ago (See Paul's comments at community.winsupersite.com/.../randall-stross-jumps-the-shark.aspx) you really have to wonder whether any major publications even care whether their writers have even the slightest familiarity with the subject they're supposed to cover.

The odd mistake will happen and biases (read Goatberg) will show through but there's absolutely no excuse for putting out factually wrong editorial pieces that could only exist with the combination of no expertise and no research.

How Very odd  :D

Windows throws up some random messages some times, i once installed an update via Windows Update and it thrown up an error saying "This update is not exist" i kid you not! talk about bad English.

Actually Gizmodo claimed that it was real and verified, but does anyone really think that someone would PS this? C'mon gang, a second of BSOD on TV because a crazed Apple fan wanted to try to put MS to shame, especially when most of these problems are not due to the OS, but are do to hardware or sometimes 3rd party driveers? No way Jose! Now really, how many of you have had a BSOD do an OS problem? <crickets chirp again>

"Actually Gizmodo claimed that it was real and verified, but does anyone really think that someone would PS this?"

Sorry, but what kind of credibility does Gizmodo have? They're a freaking tech version of New  York Post, who thrive on sensationalism.  

"C'mon gang, a second of BSOD on TV because a crazed Apple fan wanted to try to put MS to shame, especially when most of these problems are not due to the OS, but are do to hardware or sometimes 3rd party driveers? No way Jose!"

You'll be surprised. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if Steve Jobs himself was involved.

And DWRAM, I know I'm beating a dead horse, but this is how credible Gizmodo is:

gizmodo.com/.../windows-vista-pwned-by-web-exploit-that-cant-be-stopped

Where is the correction? Obviously, like I mentioned in my previous post, their goal is sensationalism and not the truth.

shark

Every so often (and more often recently) you get a story that lets you determine which sources are worth reading and which you can safely skip.

The initial review cycle of Live Mesh was one of these. Those reporters and pundits who actually read the press material saw that it was the initial demo of a web platform. Those that didn't published reviews of Microsoft's new sync app with no realization that the Folder Sync app was to Live Mesh what Write was to Windows. Unfortunately, a good number of "pundits" and "reviewers" wrote articles that showed that, had they been working in 1985, their headline would have been "New Microsoft Write is No WordStar".

We've just been treated to another round. While there were a few who passed with articles that talked about preliminary reports of a new threat technique that could bypass some Vista enhancements there were more that published the All Windows Security Broken and Windows Security Wiped Out - Microsoft Must Start Over style of articles. Even worse, some flat out stole content from the initial "article" on the SearchSecurity website and even quoted their "Expert", Dino Dai Zovi in his "analysis" that this was "Game Over".

The upside is that we can now pretty much rule out any publication that did the scare headlines and "expert quotes" from someone they'd likely never heard of let alone talked to as not competent at anything more than repackaging press releases that they find entertaining.

The downside is that this includes so many.

Funny. Currently, I'm also having problems with Windows Update, but not with that one (currently, I'm logged onto Mac OS X and am too lazy to log onto Windows, so I can't tell you exactly what the update is). It's stuck at preparation, and can't get past it. It's not a huge issue - I don't use Windows much anyway - so I haven't tried every possible thing to fix it. Maybe I'm just overseeing an important button or a dialog. But I doubt that...

On a somewhat related note, I thought this was an interesting observation on one of the reasons Winmobile sucks. I can relate to it as I was forced to replace my serviceable and built-like-a-brick Samsung i730 with a Verizon XV6800 which has less usable memory and I get emails from MS touting the virtues of WM 6.1, which, of course, will never be available from Verizon until they can figure out how to cripple various features.

Another interesting note from the blog it MS’s purchase of the Sidekick’s make. Maybe MS will release it’s own device to put some heat on VZW.

<a href="www.pocketpcthoughts.com/.../the-broken-ecosystem-for-windows-mobile-updates.html">The Broken Ecosystem for Windows Mobile Updates</a>

"C'mon gang, a second of BSOD on TV because a crazed Apple fan wanted to try to put MS to shame"

Because, of course, you have to be a crazed Apple fan to think bad of Microsoft.

Anthony:

"This update is not exist"

Hehe. All Your Base Is Belong to Windows Update ;-)

I've used CCleaner for awhile now and I've not suffered any issues with it. Paul, good luck with finding a fix to this. Very strange.

As for Adrian Kingsley-Hughes, I'm very disappointed in him. He was one of my favorite reads on ZDnet. I'm going to take his future blogs with a grain of salt and caution. He should man up and admit he was wrong.

This knee jerk reaction to anything bad with Windows or Microsoft is not productive at all. It just feeds the misconceptions and adds to the ignorance. Maybe they should start requiring minimum certification levels for tech journalism?

"I've used CCleaner for awhile now and I've not suffered any issues with it."

I've seen too many systems get royally f*'ed over because it tinkers with registry settings that it really shouldn't.  When you see numerous computers a day with the same software installed and relatable problems, a statistical cross-section gives you a feel for what software is beneficial and what is a detriment.

"The discussion that Adrian Kingsley-Hughes been having on Ed Bott's blog is absolutely a train wreck. He really needs to learn how to say, "Sorry folks, I blew it." and stop trying to defend his getting taken in by the bogus SearchSecurity article"

I did appreciate it, though, that you attempted to straigten Adrian up.  Too bad it fell on deaf ears.  His posts range between mildly amuzing and kind of on the poit, through kind of poor information, but thought provoking and relevant, and straight to mind-numbingly bad and unfactual.  I just don't know what to make of him.  

Even people like Ou, who have their areas of expertise and may be average on other subjects, do have their areas.  Adrian seems to know a little about a lot, but just enough to be dangerous.

I had this same problem too. To complicate things even more, I couldn't find the original MSI in the designated folder -- or anywhere else on the system -- so I had to download it from someone's SkyDrive (naturally, I checked the hash to make sure it was legit). All works well now, but given how consumer-oriented WL Photo Gallery is supposed to be, this is unfortunate. For the record, I blame the integrated installer, not Vista's Update app - since I was only getting the error on one of my XP systems. My Vista one was fine.

@anyone-talking-about-the-Opening-Ceremony - apparently, the fireworks were computer-generated too. They had real fireworks going off in the stadium, but the fireworks in the aerial TV shots were computer-generated, since the fireworks wouldn't have been visible through Beijing's smog.

I had the same thing happen to me this past Tuesday except for Microsoft Works. I put in the install CD and it was happy to finish the update.

@Mum - I don't think that it was a second of BSOD on TV...in fact, I don't think it was on TV, I think it was Photoshop'd after the fact and released to the press. It wasn't even a a good Photoshop job...and who knows if it was a crazed Apple fan or not...cold have been anybody.

--tayme

This error is, well, weird.

It never occured me a thing like this nor on Vista or XP, Paul.

It wii get fixed. I just installed the latest Vista updates and now my VPN is working again! So you can be confident that it will get fixed. I just emailed the gang and told them all to update NOW. W were only down a few days.

@ Waeth,

You might be right. I will give you some creedence on this. However, I've seen the program get some top recommendations from several sites.

Do you have an cleaning program that you'd recommend in lieu of CCleaner? I'd be interested in hearing that?

Thanks in advance.