ItsGeekToMe.co

Q: First I would like to thank you for your time and dedication. I have been reading your column every week since I moved here 6 years ago and truly appreciate it. My dilemma is I’m trying to install Cumulative Update for Windows 10 Version 1511 for x64-based Systems (KB3176493). It starts downloading and stops at 5%. It then gives me an “Error 0x80070005”. I have inquired in Google and there apparently is a lot of chatter about this problem and it appears that even some of the alleged solutions put forth by Microsoft don’t work. I really don’t want to go back to the original manufacturer installed operating system and then have to reinstall all the updates and third party software I have. Your help will be gratefully appreciated fi you know of a solution that really works. I have even tried the Windows upgrade assistant and that tells me there was a problem.

– Gene O.
Miramar Beach, Florida

A: Thanks for all the undeserved flattery, Gene. I’m always happy to hear that readers get so much out of my column. So long as it keeps helping people, I’ll keep cranking it out.

The heart of your problem is not the update you’re trying to install, but rather the error code you’re receiving. Code 0x8007005 translates to ACCESS DENIED, and it means that the account you are attempting to use to perform the update does not have adequate permission to complete all the steps associated with the update. Aside from using a cryptic numeric code that doesn’t mean anything to most users, in true Microsoft form it also manages to neglect to tell you just exactly what it is to which you are being denied access. This could be a directory, a particular file, a registry key, a Windows service, or some protected system resource. I find this type of error to be especially annoying to deal with because Microsoft sets up Windows in such a way that users are not supposed to run their user accounts with Administrator privileges, but then they use automated tools to accomplish tasks that require the very privileges that they don’t want you to use! (Thanks, Bill!)

So, the first thing you need to do is log-in with an account that has elevated privileges, and try the installation again. Even though a privileged account may be required to overcome this problem, for security’s sake, it is still not a good idea to use such an account for day-to-day computer tasks. It allows any malware that slips by to execute with the same elevated privileges, and you don’t want a privileged virus running around your system!

Hopefully using the Administrator account will allow the installation to proceed, however, if the problem lies in the Registry, and if your Registry’s security is setup improperly, there is a possibility that even using the Administrator account will not allow the update to install. If that’s the case, the solution becomes a little more complicated, and too lengthy to describe here. However, as usual, I’m prepared with a link for you to follow that contains the information you need. Visit tinyurl.com/IGTM-0479 and follow the instructions to use the SubInACL tool to fix your registry security settings.

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Q: Periodically I receive a pop-up from a website about updating my drivers, telling me that a certain large number of my drivers are outdated. Of course there is a charge for this service. My computer is working very well. I am rather ignorant about drivers. Can you educate me on the subject, please?

– Gerry S.
Niceville, Florida

A: Sure, Gerry. The answer is fairly simple. Drivers are software that allow Windows to communicate with various hardware devices. As a general rule, drivers are also far afield from what any given web page interacts with. Pretty much any dialog that pops-up from a website telling you that your drivers are out of date is simply bogus. A website can cause your browser to pop-up pretty much anything on your screen, and dialogs such as you mentioned prey on people’s ignorance about how PCs work, and how they are maintained. Most of the ones that I see don’t even look like Windows dialogs, but many people wouldn’t know how to recognize the difference, and will click “OK” just because the dialog says that they should.

So, my advice is that under no circumstances should you let some random website convince you that you have problems that need fixing, particularly when your system is chugging along just fine. Thanks for writing!