Re: Still not going there
Novex: "Until then it's Linux Mint, and VMs with older MS OSes (if only I could get the updates to install properly on them without 100% svchost.exe usage for days on end)."
If you're running Windows 7 in that VM, give Windows Quick Patch a try:
https://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/fixed-windows-7-sp1-never-ends-searching-for-updates.221756/