WSUS lists app. 178 missing updates for the Windows 8/8.1 clients, but the clients report that no updates are necessary

Question

We are operating a small network consisting of a SBS 2011 and a few clients, most of which operate WXP and W7. Some time ago we converted the first client to W8 and noticed, that WSUS reported a big number of missing updates (all being language packs and
language interface packs), which the client never pulls, as from its perspective everything is in best order. When searching for updates over the internet the client again does not detect anything missing.
We first thought of an issue with this single W8 client, as neither the WXP nor the W7 machines show the same phenomenon, but recently we introduced the first two W8.1 clients, and interestingly we saw the same problem. The question now is, why
does WSUS believe that these updates were necessary whilst the clients themselves are convinced that everything is fine? And who is right, WSUS or W8/8.1? (I tend to believe the clients, though.)
Best regards, Dietmar.

Answer 1

why does WSUS believe that these updates were necessary whilst the clients themselves are convinced that everything is fine?
Because you're misinterpreting the meaning of the state "Needed"...
which is discussed elsewhere in this forum ad naseum.
And you're making the mistake of trying to compare information with WU with information from WSUS. The two are not comparable.
Lawrence Garvin, M.S., MCSA, MCITP:EA, MCDBA
SolarWinds Head Geek
Microsoft MVP - Software Packaging, Deployment & Servicing (2005-2014)
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