Downloading W11 updates takes a very long time


Gordonbp

Gordonbp

Member
Local time
9:09 AM
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6
OS
Windows 11 25H2 build 26200.7019
Downloading W11 updates via the "Check for updates" function takes for ever, yet if I download from the Microsoft Update Catalog, the downloads are as fast as expected.
Is this a bug, or is there some setting I need to change?
 
Windows Build/Version
25H2 (OS Build 26200.6899)

My Computer My Computer

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Windows 11 25H2 build 26200.7019AMD Ryzen 7 5700U with Radeon Graphics, 180116GB
OS
Windows 11 25H2 build 26200.7019
Computer type
Laptop
Manufacturer/Model
Acer Swift 3
CPU
AMD Ryzen 7 5700U with Radeon Graphics, 1801
Memory
16GB
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AMD Radeon(TM) Graphics
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1920 x 1080 x 60 hertz
Just guessing it may be the difference in server load and/or allotted bandwidth.
 

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11 Pro 25H2i7-10750H16GB Samsung DDR4 3200Intel + Nvidia RTX3060 Laptop
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11 Pro 25H2
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MSI
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i7-10750H
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MSI MS-17F5
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16GB Samsung DDR4 3200
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Intel + Nvidia RTX3060 Laptop
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Realtek
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Samsung 24" Curved (HDMI)
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1920x1080
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Bitdefender
Have you tried running the Windows update troubleshooter?

WU Troubleshooter.webp
 

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    Windows 11 ProAMD Ryzen 9 8945HS32GB DDR5 SO-DIMMIntegrated AMD Radeon 780M (4.00 GHz)
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    Windows 11 Pro
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    PC/Desktop
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    GMKtec K11
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    AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS
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    32GB DDR5 SO-DIMM
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    Integrated AMD Radeon 780M (4.00 GHz)
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    1 TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD

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    Windows 11 HomeIntel® Core™ Ultra 7 - 255H processor16 GB LPDDR5 SDRAMIntel Arc 140T onboard graphics
    Operating System
    Windows 11 Home
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    Laptop
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    ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED 14" Laptop - UX3405CA-QL192W
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    Intel® Core™ Ultra 7 - 255H processor
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    16 GB LPDDR5 SDRAM
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Arc 140T onboard graphics
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    1920 x 1200 (16:10 WUXGA resolution) OLED Touchscreen
    Hard Drives
    1TB SSD
Update downloads take a long time here too... then it almost zips through installation. Network activity during the download is short blurps of activity at sometimes high speed, followed by much longer periods of next to nothing until finished.

And it doesn't seem to help that I've enabled downloading from other devices on my local network in Download Optimization settings, and this on any of my devices.
 
Last edited:

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System One System Two

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 ProRyzen 7 5800XGSkill 3200, 2x8GBMSI RX 6800 XT Gaming Z
    OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    DIY
    CPU
    Ryzen 7 5800X
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte B550M Aorus Pro
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    GSkill 3200, 2x8GB
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    MSI RX 6800 XT Gaming Z
    Sound Card
    on-board Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    MSI 180hz
    Screen Resolution
    1440p
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 980 Pro, Samsung 870 Evo, generic PCIe NVME, WD 1TB 2.5" laptop spinner
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    Corsair RM 650
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    mATX
    Cooling
    BeQuiet 240mm AIO and a bunch of case fans
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    one that clacks softly
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    logitech
    Internet Speed
    bunches of bps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Windows' own

  • At a glance

    Win11 ProRyzen 7 170016GB DDR4RX-480
    Operating System
    Win11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    DIY
    CPU
    Ryzen 7 1700
    Motherboard
    GA-AB350M G-3
    Memory
    16GB DDR4
    Graphics card(s)
    RX-480
    Sound Card
    In-Built Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung
    Screen Resolution
    1440p
    Hard Drives
    NVME/SSD's
    PSU
    Thermaltake BX1 550W
    Case
    Some junky thing
    Cooling
    ThermalTake Assassin(?)
    Browser
    FF/Edge
    Antivirus
    Whatever Windows does
    Other Info
    Secure Boot enabled updated to 2023 CA keys, TPM2.0 enabled with system drive Bitlocker'd.
A direct download is and has always been faster than WU for 2 reasons.
1. Different servers are used on Microsoft's end. Since the WU servers feeds millions of machines at any given time, it is load balanced.
2. The WU process is not just about downloading files; it also involves other background processes. On the user end, it is often throttled so as to avoid impacting other machine operations while the machine is actively being used.

WU is designed to be run in the background, not with the user sitting and watching its progress. Monitoring traffic shows how the data dribbles in most of the time and it is normal.
 

My Computers My Computers

System One System Two

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 Pro 25H2 26200.8655i9-10900 10 core 20 threads32 gbnone-Intel UHD Graphics 630
    OS
    Windows 11 Pro 25H2 26200.8655
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 7080
    CPU
    i9-10900 10 core 20 threads
    Motherboard
    DELL 0J37VM
    Memory
    32 gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    none-Intel UHD Graphics 630
    Sound Card
    Integrated Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    2x1tb Solidigm m.2 nvme /External drives 512gb Samsung m.2 sata+2tb Kingston m2.nvme
    PSU
    500w
    Case
    MT
    Cooling
    Dell Premium
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Internet Speed
    so slow I'm too embarrassed to tell
    Browser
    #1 Edge #2 Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender+MWB Premium

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 Pro 24H2 26200.8457AMD Ryzen 7 6800U32 gbintegrated
    Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2 26200.8457
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Beelink Mini PC SER5
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 6800U
    Memory
    32 gb
    Graphics card(s)
    integrated
    Sound Card
    integrated
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Crucial nvme
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Internet Speed
    still too embarrassed to tell
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    System 3 is non compliant Dell 9020 i7-4770/24gb ram Win11 PRO 26200.8457
That is intentional so that you can keep on working. You can change that in Windows update settings.

Settings > Windows updates > Advanced options > Delivery Optimisation > Download options.
Default bandwidths seem to be 45% for background and 90% for foreground. You can alter that if you wish.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11
OS
Windows 11
glasskuter said:
A direct download is and has always been faster than WU for 2 reasons.
1. Different servers are used on Microsoft's end. Since the WU servers feeds millions of machines at any given time, it is load balanced.
2. The WU process is not just about downloading files; it also involves other background processes. On the user end, it is often throttled so as to avoid impacting other machine operations while the machine is actively being used.

WU is designed to be run in the background, not with the user sitting and watching its progress. Monitoring traffic shows how the data dribbles in most of the time and it is normal.
Click to expand...
This is actually very strange: I left the optimization settings at 90% bandwith useage during foreground, 45% during background (default). But I was perplexed: what is considered "foreground" for a non-user-interactive downloading process? I assumed it was when monitoring it!

Now I"m even more confused, but bumped available BW to 90% either way since even the remaining 10% of my FO link is quite adequate for anything during the short time an update DL's. Especially since I don't allow getting latest updates, and keep "pause for one week" enabled, so I usually kick updates off manually as I'm ready for the restarts.

We'll see what happens at the next big update.
 
Last edited:

My Computers My Computers

System One System Two

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 ProRyzen 7 5800XGSkill 3200, 2x8GBMSI RX 6800 XT Gaming Z
    OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    DIY
    CPU
    Ryzen 7 5800X
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte B550M Aorus Pro
    Memory
    GSkill 3200, 2x8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI RX 6800 XT Gaming Z
    Sound Card
    on-board Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    MSI 180hz
    Screen Resolution
    1440p
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 980 Pro, Samsung 870 Evo, generic PCIe NVME, WD 1TB 2.5" laptop spinner
    PSU
    Corsair RM 650
    Case
    mATX
    Cooling
    BeQuiet 240mm AIO and a bunch of case fans
    Keyboard
    one that clacks softly
    Mouse
    logitech
    Internet Speed
    bunches of bps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Windows' own

  • At a glance

    Win11 ProRyzen 7 170016GB DDR4RX-480
    Operating System
    Win11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    DIY
    CPU
    Ryzen 7 1700
    Motherboard
    GA-AB350M G-3
    Memory
    16GB DDR4
    Graphics card(s)
    RX-480
    Sound Card
    In-Built Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung
    Screen Resolution
    1440p
    Hard Drives
    NVME/SSD's
    PSU
    Thermaltake BX1 550W
    Case
    Some junky thing
    Cooling
    ThermalTake Assassin(?)
    Browser
    FF/Edge
    Antivirus
    Whatever Windows does
    Other Info
    Secure Boot enabled updated to 2023 CA keys, TPM2.0 enabled with system drive Bitlocker'd.
The download files are nearly 4GB now so will take longer to download than previously.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11 Pro 25H2 (RP channel)AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D 8-core64GB Corsair Titanium 6000/CL30MSI Suprim 5080 SOC
OS
Windows 11 Pro 25H2 (RP channel)
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
MSI
CPU
AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D 8-core
Motherboard
MEG X870E Godlike
Memory
64GB Corsair Titanium 6000/CL30
Graphics Card(s)
MSI Suprim 5080 SOC
Sound Card
Soundblaster AE-9
Monitor(s) Displays
ASUS TUF Gaming VG289Q
Screen Resolution
3840x2160
Hard Drives
Samsung 9100 Pro 4TB (gen 5 x4, system drive/games)
Samsung 990 Pro 2TB
Samsung 980 Pro 2TB
Samsung 870 Evo 4TB
Samsung 870 Evo 2TB
Samsung T9 4TB
PSU
Seasonic PX-2200
Case
Bequiet! Dark Base Pro 901
Cooling
Noctua NH-D15S Chromax black
Keyboard
Logitech G915 X (wired)
Mouse
Logitech G903 with PowerPlay charger
Internet Speed
900Mb/sec
Browser
Microsoft Edge
Antivirus
Windows Defender
As long as it works, I leave it alone and let it do it's thing in its own good time. I have wake timers enabled in power options and maintenance tasks set for 2:00am
WU wakes my computer, downloads and applies updates, and then the system goes back to sleep after 15 minutes.
 

My Computers My Computers

System One System Two

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 Pro 25H2 26200.8655i9-10900 10 core 20 threads32 gbnone-Intel UHD Graphics 630
    OS
    Windows 11 Pro 25H2 26200.8655
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 7080
    CPU
    i9-10900 10 core 20 threads
    Motherboard
    DELL 0J37VM
    Memory
    32 gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    none-Intel UHD Graphics 630
    Sound Card
    Integrated Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    2x1tb Solidigm m.2 nvme /External drives 512gb Samsung m.2 sata+2tb Kingston m2.nvme
    PSU
    500w
    Case
    MT
    Cooling
    Dell Premium
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Internet Speed
    so slow I'm too embarrassed to tell
    Browser
    #1 Edge #2 Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender+MWB Premium

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 Pro 24H2 26200.8457AMD Ryzen 7 6800U32 gbintegrated
    Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2 26200.8457
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Beelink Mini PC SER5
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 6800U
    Memory
    32 gb
    Graphics card(s)
    integrated
    Sound Card
    integrated
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Crucial nvme
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Internet Speed
    still too embarrassed to tell
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    System 3 is non compliant Dell 9020 i7-4770/24gb ram Win11 PRO 26200.8457
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