Windows Auto Update and Trainz

[itareus]

Hi,

I'm posting this information in the hope that it might save somebody else a problem in the future....

Last night I was working on building a route when Trainz suddenly shut down without warning and with no error. It transpired that Windows had downloaded an automatic update to the OS and was installing it, causing Trainz to shut down. Windows will normally put up a warning message about this and allow you to postpone the update but because Trainz was running full screeen this warning message was not visible.

After the Windows update completed I was able to start Trainz without any problem BUT the work I had done on the route since the last auto save was lost. I have now change my Windows update settings to use a manual install!

This was on a Vista Home Premium system and with Trainz 2009 (build 38411). I'm not sure if the same problem applies to other OS and/or Trainz version.

Chris

 

[backyard]

A one-time deal...

I was in the middle of a session, had just taken the controls of a primo set of engines when everything stopped on me.

What we all went through was what is now called an "urgent patch," mandatory, that commandeers your computer & fixes a vulnerability with Active-X

The update process will continue on as it was.

I was surprised by the behavior, taking it was not a question offered(as if the average person would know what they needed), but 1, 2, 3 & it was done.

I'd leave auto-update set to what it was before as this is not typical of Microsoft.

 

[Bill69]

Hi,

I'm posting this information in the hope that it might save somebody else a problem in the future....

Last night I was working on building a route when Trainz suddenly shut down without warning and with no error. It transpired that Windows had downloaded an automatic update to the OS and was installing it, causing Trainz to shut down. Windows will normally put up a warning message about this and allow you to postpone the update but because Trainz was running full screeen this warning message was not visible.

After the Windows update completed I was able to start Trainz without any problem BUT the work I had done on the route since the last auto save was lost. I have now change my Windows update settings to use a manual install!

This was on a Vista Home Premium system and with Trainz 2009 (build 38411). I'm not sure if the same problem applies to other OS and/or Trainz version.

Chris

Just one more reason I will not update to Vista. It tries to take charge of too much of your computer. Glad it didn't damage your Trainz anyway.

Cheers,
Bill69

 

[backyard]

But, it was for the good...

I like Vista Prem. It's not Microsoft's fault that some idiots set around thinking up ways to screw-up the OS.

The update was brutal, to say the least, however it's behaviour could be quickly identified as a Windows Update action, so I figured just wait it out.

I had Explorer opened & was viewing an episode of "Late Nite with Jimmy Fallon." at the time & the OS tried to offer everything back like it found it but Trainz.

After all we are talking middle of the night.

 

[cathouse]

you can change the settings in vista to tell you an update is availiable but not to install it till you want it to.

cheers
Roy

 

[backyard]

That's a good default setting...

I have that setting, so I can review updates.

But this was a critical update, a highly unusual situation...no matter what you do to your settings, when you went online you got the patch, no matter what you would have done...it was mandatory in other words, to prevent a catastrophic failure of security.

It's simular to anti-spy ware finding a Trojan & upon removing recommended a re-boot, except it left out the part about recommending.

They (MS) knew what they needed to do, for our protection....cool.

 

[itareus]

Thanks for the info Backyard. I checked on my installed updates and last nights IE update (one of the four that came down) was shown as "important" which is the case for about 50% of all patches. However when I followed up the KB reference on Microsoft TechNet the patch to IE is indeed described as critical...!

Contrary to what you said though, the update did not come down as soon as I went online - I had been online for most of the day, the update came down at my scheduled time of 2000 and had I not been using Trainz in full screen mode I would have had a warning about the update in the normal Windows way.

Critical updates to Windows are not that unusual and if you are just running Windows programs they are not usually a problem because they will close things down in a tidy way (if you are not at the PC at the time of the update).

It's just that because Trainz was in full screen mode there was no warning, Trainz just crashed (and I lost about 20 minutes worth of work). The lack of warning is why I posted about it just to let others know about a possible problem.

There is no such thing as a "mandatory" patch from Microsoft, there is always a way to stop updates happening at an inconvenient time, it's just a case of having the right balance of settings on your PC to manage updates in a sensible but non destructive way. Clearly I did not have the right balance!

Cheers

Chris

 

[ianwoodmore]

Hi Chris,

It happened to me in XP Pro SP3. After being on all day I left Trainz TS2009 CM2 doing some work overnight to give me a head start in the new day. PC had rebooted after critical fix while I was asleep and Trainz had dropped out as consequence. While the task had been interrupted I was able to continue after CM2 reload without loss of data.

My update settings are to do them when I shutdown or manually. MS overrode that. Similar circumstances have been reported by the 'Windows Secrets' team for other fixes that forget to ask your permission to instal.

 

[itareus]

Hi Ian

Naughty Microsoft! Haven't been the the same since Bill retired!

I'll have to have a word with Steve B......

Or get the Europen Union lawyers onto it?

Cheers

Chris

 

[spiderwheels65]

windows automatic update what windows automatic update

Ho hum problems
I can't even open windows or microsoft whatever update webpage and also automatic update will not work. I have been trying to get this prblem sorted out with microsoft support for over a week now and no go.

What has this got to do with trainz , well I am beginning to wonder if the above mentioned problem and others I have been having was part of the cause I had when I was working on a layout and trainz closed down and I got fatal error message, I ended up having to delete the layout I was working.
strange days on cyber space indeed.

 

[johnwhelan]

Windows update happens once a month on a Tuesday evening I think perhaps just be extra careful at full moon or whenever the bewitching hour is?

Cheerio John