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David Overton's Blog » How to get SBS 2008 to "fix" managing WSUS after you have manually upset it
How to get SBS 2008 to "fix" managing WSUS after you have manually upset it

wsus error

Today's post covers what to do when SBS says it no longer can change the WSUS settings from the console.  The exact message is "Windows Small Business Server Update Service is not running because it automatically turns off if you customize Windows Server Update Services (WSUS)".

One way round this problem is to manually change all the settings in the WSUS console (from Administrator Tools, select Microsoft Windows Update Services 3.0 SP1) and change the settings as per instructions found at http://blogs.technet.com/sbs/archive/2006/07/13/441594.aspx.  I'm a sort of "quick fix" kind of guy, so the easier way is to go to the same tool, but then run the wizard.  The steps are:

wsus config screen 1 Start the Wizard

 

wsus config screen 2 Click through the first two screens and set the updates to come from Microsoft Update

wsus config screen 3 Configure the proxy if required and press next.  Then press Start Connecting.  When done, press Next again.

wsus config screen 4 - languages Select the language(s) you want to download

wsus config screen 5 - products Make sure "All Products" has been ticked

wsus config screen 6 - classifications Tick all the classifications - you can optionally leave out "Drivers" if desired

wsus config screen 7 - schedule Set the schedule - for me, 5am is a good quiet time on my server

wsus config screen 8 - start Tick to begin sync and press Finish.  Now SBS Console will be back on the case for you.

 

Ttfn

David

Posted Wed, Jul 22 2009 9:08 AM by David Overton
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Comments

Andrew wrote re: How to get SBS 2008 to "fix" managing WSUS after you have manually upset it
on Tue, Aug 11 2009 2:10 PM

This did not correct the problem of me receiving this error. I have been able to stop Windows SBS Console from crashing when I select "Change the software update settings." I continue to receive the same dialog, as above. I completed both the Wizard and the link to the knowledge base. I know all the settings are stored in the database, why cann't Microsoft just tell me what the settings are that satisfies 'Windows SBS Console', and then not me make changes in MMC, especially since it is part of the Server Manager that Microsoft starts automatically when I log on to the server.

David Overton wrote re: How to get SBS 2008 to "fix" managing WSUS after you have manually upset it
on Wed, Sep 2 2009 11:15 PM

Did you check the settings listed in the blog linked in my post Andrew - this does cover all the settings.  However, if the console is crashing I would call Microsoft and log a call.

Thanks

David

Russell wrote re: How to get SBS 2008 to "fix" managing WSUS after you have manually upset it
on Fri, Oct 23 2009 4:17 AM

Thank you!!! You have made my day!

MaDZ wrote re: How to get SBS 2008 to "fix" managing WSUS after you have manually upset it
on Wed, Dec 23 2009 6:57 PM

Many Thanks!

Paul wrote re: How to get SBS 2008 to "fix" managing WSUS after you have manually upset it
on Mon, Jan 11 2010 4:52 AM

So if you are on a unlimited pipe - great.  All that stuff for WSUS is fantastic.  If you are not - then the defaults are a real pain in the ASS.  Literally gigs of consumed bandwidth and disk space.  

David Overton wrote re: How to get SBS 2008 to "fix" managing WSUS after you have manually upset it
on Mon, Jan 11 2010 7:47 AM

Paul,

I understand where you are coming from.  I guess that for now the only option is to customise WSUS beyond the capabilities of SBS 2008 and use WSUS config screens to manage those that go out to customers.  SBS 2008 should only download the patches needed by computers in your network, either on default settings or those you change manually in WSUS.

Thanks

David

Duke_Nukem wrote re: How to get SBS 2008 to "fix" managing WSUS after you have manually upset it
on Mon, Sep 13 2010 8:28 PM

Dude you rule!!!!! It worked like a charm!!

QC wrote re: How to get SBS 2008 to "fix" managing WSUS after you have manually upset it
on Sun, Sep 19 2010 3:27 PM

Thanks so much for this post!  I find the SBS update console so much easier to work with.

Robert wrote re: How to get SBS 2008 to "fix" managing WSUS after you have manually upset it
on Thu, Dec 6 2012 6:23 AM

Got WSUS 3 working again on SBS 2008 - and console reports updates as good, however the server is still saying that it can't check for updates (system tray) any suggestions?

David Overton wrote re: How to get SBS 2008 to "fix" managing WSUS after you have manually upset it
on Sat, Dec 8 2012 12:08 PM

Robert, this normally means that the settings in the Windows Update Policy point to the wrong location.  Have a look at technet.microsoft.com/.../cc708545(WS.10).aspx and technet.microsoft.com/.../cc720539.aspx to check the settings.

David

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