I learn a lot about software optimizations by picking the slowest procedure to complete something. Running a software or OS update in the background on a fast computer with a fast internet connection is usually an easy task because it is really invisible. This is the most common sense solution to anyone with those pre-requisites. But what if you have a slow internet connection? I have noticed Chrome and Firefox have what's called "differential" updates when a browser is already installed. For minor security updates, this might 10-12MB. For a major release, such as Chrome 150, which was released June 30th, this is a 100MB+ update. The full installation file is somewhere around 465MB. I happened to have a lazy day today with few obligations, so I did a little experiment. I have two Windows 10 PCs- one a tower, and the other a laptop, with a 64 bit version of Windows. One OS is actually Windows 10 Pro, so it's possible that the Chrome versions for each are slightly different. However, I also had Firefox updates on each machine as well, and they were only around 12MB. These didn't take very long to install, so they completed early this afternoon.
After I updated Firefox, I also noticed a Chrome update on my laptop, the one with Windows 10 Pro (both are 22H2). It did seem to take a little longer, and upon checking, realized it was upgrading not only from a 149.0.x, but two updates to a later 149.0.x version, and then to a 150.0.x version, which required at least two restarts (of the browser). This completed sooner, sometime in the afternoon. By 3 or 4 pm, however, I noticed my other PC was still updating Chrome. Granted, the occasional wifi dropped, and it had to resume or restart, but I didn't think it would need to start all over again. A couple hours later, I started to get really puzzled. As I mentioned in earlier blog posts, I have been using a 384kbps connection for a month to get a feel of some early internet speeds and to also see how slow some programs are or dependent on heavy websites. However, I am able to download a couple hundred MBs in a few hours, if needed. I thought, even if it's downloading the full installer (~465MB), it should only take 3 hours max. I reasoned that it might take longer to update a browser if it has a lot of cache or cookies and needs to patch specific account information without deleting sensitive data. But I wasn't willing to erase everything or at least back it up (although I am starting to think of exporting my bookmarks and things).
Most of this would be a non issue on even a 1Mbps connection, but 384kbps is fast enough to start the update but not complete it without hiccups. There is also the added issue of needing to ensure the PC doesn't go into sleep or suspend if leaving it unattended for 15 minutes or whatever settings the Sleep is at- I set mine at 5 hrs. But even with all that, at nearly 10:30pm the update is still taking a long time, on Windows 10 Home. The computer isn't slow by any means- there is more than 13GB of storage left, SSD, and is an 8 core processor with plenty of RAM. So I started to reason that if the updates are incremental, it's doing it in a very haphazard fashion. I also checked the Resource Monitor, and saw over 40 lines of Disk Activity showing cached writing, some which may have been for Chrome, and some for system scans (like Defender). It seemed quite odd, so I thought maybe there is a better way of at least displaying the progress of the install. I only saw progress a few times- sometimes updating up to 8%, stalling near 5%, and then seeing the update later on at 1%. I didn't see a log anywhere of whether it actually did restart, despite the wifi drops (which happened only a couple times), but I did get the occasional error like this:
From Gemini:
1. Clear Update Cache and Data
Corrupted temporary files often trigger this segment-length limit.
Close all open instances of the browser.
On your keyboard, press Windows Key + R to open the Run dialogue.
Type
%localappdata%and hit Enter.Navigate to the
Googlefolder, then delete theChromefolder entirely to reset the update files.
2. Temporarily Disable Antivirus/Firewall
Strict antivirus policies or false-positive security blocks frequently disrupt executable downloads, resulting in the 64k limit error.
Turn off your third-party antivirus software or firewall for 10 minutes.
Attempt the update or download the fresh installer again.
Remember to re-enable your protection immediately afterward.
3. Run a Fresh Full Installer
If built-in update checks repeatedly fail, bypass them by reinstalling the app directly:
Download the fresh, standalone executable from the Google Chrome official website.
Run the installer as an administrator (Right-click > Run as administrator).
If you can tell me which application is giving you this error and what antivirus software you use, I can give you more exact steps to fix it.
The first option appears to delete browser files, so I was hesitant to use that.The 2nd one seemed plausible as a minimally invasive way to delete app data and only bypassing the AV if it was causing the issue. The third option was my last resort, and seemed preferrable if it could transfer my settings from the earlier version, which usually it does.
But then I thought, what if the third solution was the only fix, and a number of PCs on a home network had to to the same fix?The full download would be 465MB x 2, 3 or n. I checked if there is a remote install option (often available for enterprise PCs, and there is, called GPO).
https://serverfault.com/questions/364150/running-google-chrome-updates-from-a-centralized-location
However, not everyone is an enterprise customer or sysadmin, and this option is usually overkill (it also might not even address the direct issue at hand, which is minimizing download traffic if it is a very limited bandwidth network (such as India).
I also wondered if I could share the differential/delta updates over the network, without needing to distribute the full 465MB download (assuming one is using the same architecture, such as x86_64, MacOS, or AARCH64, etc). In a LAN, file sharing is well established, so that would be a simple, but unnecessary way to update a browser needing just a 10-100MB update.
Setting up PCs in a group policy (via Active Directory, etc) is a way to allow sharing between devices, although there are other methods too (sneakernet, USB drives, uploading to a cloud drive and back), but typically this is overly permissive unless sharing is restricted to a single folder and specified users. Even then, the capability is typically tied to a general folder, rather than a specific type of software. Microsoft Windows and Steam Client updates allow a more clever and efficient way of sharing files on a local network, without needing explicitly opt-in to sharing known directories and files between PCs:
The concept should be simple: major software like browsers and slients (such as Steam, Discord, and other popular desktop software could share core client updates on the local network without needing to download redundant data or allowing excessive file sharing permissions. It is possible certain updates are tailored for certain builds, like Windows 10 Home vs Pro, but in many cases a 64 bit build is going to be the same across an architecture. The same could be said about Docker files, which are architecture independent files, although these are often, if not typically entire programs , requiring a full download for newer versions.
On a local area network, Windows and Steam are able to share only the game files needed to install or update a game in the gigabytes, sometimes hundreds of GB, so this option makes sense with people with a data cap (especially mobile plans that are not unlimiited). Windows updates also can reach a couple gigabytes, and are often 800MB+ for monthly or quarterly updates. Thus these updates can quickly add up in small businesses and homes that have a not unlimited connection. Modern routers often can handle Gbps speeds, so transferring a few hundred MB can be completed in seconds.
A wifi hotspot on a mobile phone can function like a router, but tethering does not typically have all the LAN settings that a more featured router has. Furthermore, it is unclear if they have a data sharing option that Windows or Steam can take advantage of.
While writing this, I also realized the first option might offer a data recovery option, as deleting the Chrome cache folder doesn't necessarily require deleting the data entirely, but moving it to another directory while the update takes place. Nonetheless, it might be better to delete the temp directory once the update completes, restoring only bookmarks and passwords if necessary- probably via another method done before that relocation step).
Tethering is the process of sharing a data plan on a mobile network with other devices that that cell phone or hotspot is broadcasting wifi to, somewhat like an ad-hoc network. However, this network is not necessarily receiving data from the devices connected to the cellular device providing the internet, for the purposes of file sharing, but merely relaying them to the internet.
A couple apps for Android allow file sharing, such as LocalSend and Cx File Explorer. These operate more as FTP servers or file transfer protocols, rather than specific application update synchronizers. While transferring a specific delta or differential update may technically be packaged as a single file, initializing this update may depend on the application, and if it could be instructed to search for other applications on the same network, then in theory, it could transfer itself to other devices, but this would require a few additional steps:
It would require the file transfer suite to index all the files on all the devices, at least by the programs that request them (for the folders in the other devices that have the same software installed).
It would need some way for the file transfer software to search for compatible applications capable of and needing to search for updates. So for example, “CuteFTP” is running on an Android phone which doubles as a hotspot. Android stores arch-agnostic update files in a central directory, which can save on uploading data in the local network (although this might be very minimal and the phone would need to have quite a bit of extra storage, although if it is just the latest google update for an x86_64, it might only be 10-100MB.
By storing delta this on an Android folder or a Windows/linux folder, the “CuteFTP” software could search for applications periodically once a participating application gets an update, then signal to other applications on other PCs on that WLAN hotspot that the update is downloaded or available. This way, the updates can not only be downloaded simultaneously to multiple clients on the WLAN, but it sidesteps the entire process of the browser interacting with Google servers while completing the update, saving time and preventing interruptions if something happens during the update.
After writing this, i searched “Steam file sharing on a mobile hotspot” to see if Steam recognizes wifi hotspots the same way it recognizes a LAN, and found:
https://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/1bzql4k/is_it_possible_to_do_local_network_game_transfers/
https://steamcommunity.com/discussions/forum/8/601902348018668256/
Admittedly, I have little interest in using my phone hotspot to transfer hundreds of GB of game data (though might in the future), and see this as more practical for the occasional hundreds of MB of a system or software update. It would benefit the user who uses a mobile tethering hotspot on a semiregular basis.
If you check the Windows Optimization page again, recall that it provides an option to share files with devices on the local network, and files with anyone on the internet. If the home network is trusted, it would presumably be safer than sharing with others on the internet, but the latter also may involve a peering cost when the device isn't being used but is on an idle (data caps may be reached if the user is not careful but is feeling altruistic, unless Microsoft caps the amount of upload regardless of the generosity felt, probably for sane reasons).
If the latter, then in theory, users on the same hotspot but less familiar with each other- e.g. An internet cafe (if they still exist), might share browser updates and OS updates to save the business owner's bandwidth, but not the user's own data usage, which they might be already paying for – another example is roommates sharing an internet service, but not really sharing data themselves. This could still result in an improved internet experience, since more data is available to download while offloading identical software distributions and updates to a local network, in the torrent fashion.
What types of issues can be foreseen in expanding this use of Delivery Optimization? Checksum and digital signatures are one way to ensure data integrity. I think this is one of those overlooked cases where bandwidth isn't usually scarce but can improve service greatly during times of congestion. Data downloads multiplied by millions of households, then this quicky becomes a major data & $$ saver.
After restarting my Chrome browser multiple times and deleting the App data, a portable install attempt of the Chromesetup.exe failed and I was about to post this article when, miraculously, the first 50% update status appeared on the PC I began updating this morning with Chrome at 10:50am. It appears that Chrome might have progressed a bit further after a couple restarts, potentially integrating some of the updates it picked up along the way. I was going to wait until the next day to retry the update during a faster connection plan, but I might have gotten lucky.
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