Update fails

[loopyloo]

Is anyone having trouble downloading windows updates ?
Windows update panel shows "downloading updates" but that's as far as it goes.
I spent many hours searching the internet for fixes and applying them but no good. I tried pretty much everything and that made me suspicious so I checked out some of my other computers.
4 laptops and 3 desktops (all using Win7) are the same and will not download updates.
I always have my computers set to download updates manually. One computer is cabled to the router and all others are wireless and all have a good internet connection. I have reset the router and NBN box several times and also contacted my ISP about it but they can't see where the problem would be.

What's going on ?

[Tiny]

Sometimes windows gets stuck on small updates that have already been installed.
First of all I would open update history & check if the update KB### number has already been installed.
If not search the KB number of the update it's stuck on & see if there is a known problem & solution.

If it has already been installed then, right click on the update in the update window when it is offered again, before selecting download & select "Hide Update".
Windows will now not offer that update again until it is restored from hidden updates manually.

Other solutions you can try; .
I have used them all & have been successful with one or the other at different times, unfortunately sometimes you have to try them all to see which one fixes your current issue.

1: recommendation from Microsoft was as follows;

Thank you for posting your query in Microsoft Community.
I understand your concern regarding the issue that you are facing.
We suggest you to follow below methods and check:

Method 1: Run Windows troubleshooter and check if it helps.

1. Type Troubleshooting in search box and open it.
2. Click on View all.
3. Click on Windows Update.
4. Follow the instruction.

Method 2:If issue persist I suggest you to reset Windows Update component. Kindly follow the below given steps.
1. Press Windows + X, click Command Prompt (Admin).
2. Type in following commands and press Enter after each command.
net stop bits
net stop wuauserv
net stop appidsvc
net stop cryptsvc
Rename the software distribution folders backup copies. To do this, at a command prompt, type the following commands. Make sure that you press Enter after you type each command.
Ren %systemroot%\SoftwareDistribution SoftwareDistribution.bak
Ren %systemroot%\system32\catroot2 catroot2.bak
Restart the BITS service, the Windows Update service, and the Cryptographic service. To do this, at a command prompt, type the following commands. Make sure that you press Enter after you type each command.
net start bits
net start wuauserv
net start appidsvc
net start cryptsvc
3. Restart your PC and check if it works.

2: Try the System File Checker to see if there is a corrupted system file preventing the update to work.


To do this, right-click the Start menu and open a Command Prompt window with administrator privileges and type the above sfc /scannow command. Reboot your computer and try updating the system once again.




rebooted the system & then try update download again.

Good luck, it can be stressful & time consuming.

EDIT; forgot to mention that sometimes after playing around with these windows components the Windows Update dll (wups2.dll) needs to be reregistered to kick things off again.
Command prompt as Admin
Run the following commands press enter after each line.
net stop wuauserv
regsvr32 %windir%\system32\wups2.dll


net start wuauserv

Close command prompt.

[loopyloo]

Yeah thanks but I've tried all of that and more.
You see, that relates to one computer maybe but I've got seven that won't download the updates.

[mandc]

I've been noticing the same thing lately. I just started up a win7 computer that had it's last update in aug. 2015.
It took 3 hours to tell me which updates are available and now is stuck on 0% downloaded for the last 20mins. It is much slower than it used to be as I have recently reinstalled a few win 7 OS's on different machines and they are all the same.

[Tiny]

Ahh, then it's looking like a plot by Microsoft to cause Win7 users to upgrade to Win10.

& that would actually solve the issue, as well.

[loopyloo]

I've been noticing the same thing lately. I just started up a win7 computer that had it's last update in aug. 2015.
It took 3 hours to tell me which updates are available and now is stuck on 0% downloaded for the last 20mins. It is much slower than it used to be as I have recently reinstalled a few win 7 OS's on different machines and they are all the same.

I've had it stick on 0% downloaded for 4 hours.

[tristen]

I generally look for answers from the Microsoft Community, when something appears to be amiss with updates etc.

Try reading the posts at for starters.

You can also use a search engine to search for additional information, such as .

[loopyloo]

My ISP rang tonight and got me to run through some ping and trace tests.
They didn't look too good to me. Will be interesting to hear the results.

[mickstv]

Hi loopyloo, are the installs Win7 or Win7 SP1 ?

[dai]

i think currently updates for win7 are only for security and hotfixes

if none have been made available then there will be none to d/load

[loopyloo]

Hi loopyloo, are the installs Win7 or Win7 SP1 ?

How do I find that out ? ah wait yes I installed sp1 ages ago.

[mandc]

i think currently updates for win7 are only for security and hotfixes

if none have been made available then there will be none to d/load

My updates for win7 sp1 yesterday totalled 850Mb...that's a lot of hotfixes

(It was updating from Aug 2015)

[dai]

i think the date switch to just security and hot fixes changeover was jan2016

[mandc]

i think the date switch to just security and hot fixes changeover was jan2016

OK ...didn't know that

[mickstv]

How do I find that out ? ah wait yes I installed sp1 ages ago.

Maybe the update manager needs to be updated ?

Here's a link with some more info




EDIT Another link thats worth investigating.

[fromaron]

Same problem with newly installed win7 SP1. No matter what I tried the update didn't behave the same as before.
I left it running overnight and in the morning it managed to update, after that all is fast as usual.

[osczzzz]

download KB 3083710 install reboot then download KB 3102810 and install reboot it will work again.

[iannic52]

Also had the same problem for several weeks but last night without any changes update started working

[loopyloo]

download KB 3083710 install reboot then download KB 3102810 and install reboot it will work again.

Yeah nah, it didn't work.

[joezep]

My Memory isn't good as it used to be if Windows defender is installed by default or not. If yes update it manually in control panel first , I had to do that a few times when I had Windows 7 and the updates started to work again.