Windows Critical Update Notification Runs Every Five Minutes

ID: Q224420


The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Windows 98
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer version 4.01 for Windows 95
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer version 4.01 for Windows NT 4.0

IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, make sure you understand how to restore it if a problem occurs. For information about how to do this, view the "Restoring the Registry" Help topic in Regedit.exe or the "Restoring a Registry Key" Help topic in Regedt32.exe.

SYMPTOMS

You may receive the following message every five minutes:

Microsoft Critical Update Notification

New critical updates are available for your computer. Microsoft strongly recommends that you install these updates now.

To read about and install these updates, click "View Critical Updates." The Windows Update site will guide you through the installation process.

If you would like to postpone installation for 24 hours, click "Notify Me Later." This message will appear tomorrow when you connect to the Internet. Postponing installation of critical updates is not recommended.


CAUSE

By default, the Windows Critical Update Notification tool is scheduled to run every five minutes in Task Scheduler. If you change the value to another time period and restart your computer, the time period changes back to five minutes.


RESOLUTION

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys and Values" Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics in Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it. If you are running Windows NT, you should also update your Emergency Repair Disk (ERD).

To resolve this issue:

  1. Locate the following key in the registry:
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
    By default, the data value for the CriticalUpdate value is:
    C:\Windows\System\Wucrtupd.exe -startup
    Delete the "-startup" value from this entry, so that it reads:
    C:\Windows\System\Wucrtupd.exe
    Quit Registry Editor.


  2. In Task Scheduler, change the interval for the Windows Critical Update Notification task to the interval you want.


  3. Restart the computer.


Additional query words:

Keywords : kbenv kbtool msiew95 msient win98
Version : WINDOWS:4.01
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbprb


Last Reviewed: July 23, 1999
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