After several weeks of struggling, I decided to concentrate all my energies
into this "repetitive" update problem. Some of this make seem rather simple
in hindsight, and I could have only done it by piecing together all the
various bits of information provided by the folks on the board, including
the MVP's here in windowsupdate.
Running Windows XP Home Edition and always used the Windows Update program
to check for available updates. First mistake- I always trusted Windows it
when it said something installed successfully. DON'T. Always find another
way to verify that the update has installed.
Basic problem here is that 819696 repeatedly offered itself even through
Windows Updater said I had already installed it (ten times) AND had already
installed DirectX 9.0b. After much research, made two important
discoveries. First off, 819696 is for DirectX 9.0a and other versions, but
not for 9.0b. So if 9.0b was installed, why was 819696 still offering up?
First good move- downloaded and installed Belarc Advisor (free for personal
use)- one of the ways you can check if certain updates have installed
properly.
Noticed several patches I had installed about two weeks ago were not
"verifying" correctly- these were unrelated to 819696. Following
information provided in this forum, I uninstalled each patch and it's
registry key and these patches again presented on Windows Update. So far so
good. Installed each patch separately and verified installation with
Belarc.
Next good move (lost and regained knowledge department)- ran DXDIAG in the
RUN box and guess what-- even though Windows Updater reported that DirectX
9.0b had installed, DXDIAG showed current version as 9.0a. Alas, don't
trust Windows when it says something has installed- double check. This time
DXDIAG saved the day.
Next good move- Renamed Catroot2 folder to Catroot2old in Windows/System32
(thanks for that Jupiter) and went to the Microsoft site for DirectX and
downloaded latest upgrade and installed from their web site. After
download, install and reboot, DirectX 9.0b now up and running (as per
DXDIAG). And guess what- Windows Updater no longer pushing the 819696
patch. Hurray!!!
Also found this bit of information useful for future reference (with thanks
to Bill Drake):
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Users with 486-based computers will be asked to update
to DirectX 9.0b -- even though this CPU is not supported
by DirectX9.
The problem occurs with both the Critical Update and the
Recommended update.
If the user is installing multiple "Critical" Updates, the
DirectX patch will try to install and fail -- the Critical
Update process will then fail itself -- and the user will *not*
be informed whether the rest of the updates installed
correctly or not.
If the user is installing multiple "Recommended" updates,
and selects the DirectX 9.0b install as part of that process,
a similar failure occurs as mentioned above for the "Critical"
update process.
Manually downloading the DirectX 9.0b web-update
utility -- and running the downloaded utility manually from
the local hard-disk -- will display an error message noting
that DirectX 8.1 is not supported on 486-based CPUs.
Recommendations:
1. Unfortunately, I am not aware of a simple method to
prevent being repeatedly harassed by the "Critical"
update reminder-system to install an update which
is incompatible with 486-based machines.
The only solution I can offer is to repeatedly decline
this update until MS recode the Windows Update
routines for the DX 9.0b updater to decline the
update on 486-based computers.
2. MS needs to come up with a solution to this problem
that works correctly for people with 486-based
computers.
Furthermore, the existing web-update utility needs
to be properly recoded so its error box refers to the
appropriate DirectX version.
Best I can do for now. <tm>
Bill
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Thanks for putting me on the right track Bill- I am running a Pentium 4m
machine, but your comments about multiple critical updates that can fail
were very enlightening. All the patches that failed, as I mentioned at the
beginning of my post (though reported good by Windows Updater) were part of
a multiple patch scenerio- henceforth, it's one patch at a time, verified by
Belarc or some other source, reboot, recheck, then on to the next patch.
Just seeing so many folks like myself (I am no computer wiz for sure)
struggling with these patches, particularly 819696- well I needed to post
this message in the hopes that someone may gain something from it that will
help them track down and resolve their own 819696 problem.
Final words on the general situation of windows taken from the thread "Whose
Computer Is It Anyway?" Responding to comments regarding a computer
basically running amuck----
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You are certainly venturing into dark and murky waters :-) I feel confident
that if you delve into the mumble-jumble of End User License Agreements and
all of their various caveats and catch-alls, you may (or may not) be
surprised to find that while you may "own" your computer, the companies
whose software you choose to install likely own the proprietary rights to
the software which you just "purchased" (or shall I say, have acquired a
license to use), but also absolve themselves of any direct or consequential
damages or effects of using their software in your operating environment.
To further complicate matters, the aggregate effect of the layers of
software you choose to install, along with their various dll's, registry
keys (overt and covert), etc, ad-nauseum, are absolutely unpredictable on
what the effect of your computer will ultimately be.
So, while the hardware may belong to you, the moment you hit the "I accept"
button of the EULA, you have waived a substantial portion of your rights to
the way that your computer will operate.
A good analogy- just imagine that it has the same effect on your life as
saying "I DO" at the alter. :-)
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It's been a long day- I'm going to bed.
