Tips for Solving Windows Update Issues

[Tiny]

Thought I'd start this thread with the intention that if any one has some tips they can share them or if someone needs help it may be found here.

1: I recently on W8.1 had an issue with Windows Defender; it was giving me a warning that definitions were out of date, I tried to resolve the issue in Defender by using the update button, however it kept failing at 40% download with a message stating "download failed due to connection problems".
Tried a few times later that day & the next. No joy.

Did some reading & one solution suggested was to go to the Defender page at Microsoft, select the correct definition download for my OS, download & install manually.
Downloaded successfully & the issue resolved without even installing it, so it either installed itself or triggered Defender to finish the process.
Defender showed issue resolved definitions up to date.



2; At the same time this was going on, my old Vista laptop had a small security update (KB3035131) that downloaded & installed successfully, 9 times in 3 days. Yet it kept offering it over & over.

So since it was showing in the list of installed updates as successful, I decided that the easiest way to get rid of it was to hide it.
To do this you right click on the update in the update window when it is offered again & select "Hide Update".
Windows will now not offer that update again until it is restored from hidden updates.

Hope that saves someone some time.

[jwoegerbauer]

1:
....

Did some reading & one solution suggested was to go to the Defender page at Microsoft, select the correct definition download for my OS, download & install manually.
Downloaded successfully & the issue resolved without even installing it, so it either installed itself or triggered Defender to finish the process.
Defender showed issue resolved definitions up to date.

a) Since Windows 8 Windows Defender ( formerly Microsoft AntiSpyware ) is part of the Windows OS. So it gets updated via Windows Update.

b) The scheduled update process ( Windows Update ) sometimes fail, totally or partially. That's nothing new. But this is not really a problem, because Windows Update is smart enough to retry it as long until the update did.
My experience is this can take up to three days, this because Windows Update will use system idle time to run.
BTW: Windows Update produces a log-file: %windir%\Windowsupdate.log. If you receive an error message from the Automatic Updates service, you can use the information that is included in the Windowsupdate.log to troubleshoot the issue. How to read this log file is described .

c) How to resolve Windows Defender update problems in detail is described here:

[Philquad]

defender sucks
it only pokes its ugly head after some other program finds the baddy
wftm

[Tiny]

a) Since Windows 8 Windows Defender ( formerly Microsoft AntiSpyware ) is part of the Windows OS. So it gets updated via Windows Update.

b) The scheduled update process ( Windows Update ) sometimes fail, totally or partially. That's nothing new. But this is not really a problem, because Windows Update is smart enough to retry it as long until the update did.
My experience is this can take up to three days, this because Windows Update will use system idle time to run.
BTW: Windows Update produces a log-file: %windir%\Windowsupdate.log. If you receive an error message from the Automatic Updates service, you can use the information that is included in the Windowsupdate.log to troubleshoot the issue. How to read this log file is described .

Thanks for that, however after reading countless threads on the problem, it clearly does not always fix itself & some of the Microsoft help advice was very time consuming reading log files for errors & searching their database for fixes.

c) How to resolve Windows Defender update problems in detail is described here:

Yes & that is the page I eventually found.

That's is why I posted the easy solution that worked for me.

[Tiny]

Ok so I have had a Win10 Update error or 2 actually & decided to give it time to resolve itself (as jwoegerbauer suggested above) instead of following the recommendations of Microsoft.

Looks like Joey was right as it has resolved itself, took 10 days.



This is today;






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.

[Tiny]

Update;

Well actually it only pretended to resolve itself & now just seems to refuse to install.

The KB890830 has disappeared from the list & doesn't show up as installed??

The W10-cumulative-update-KB3081455 was released on 8th Sept; so 13 days & it not installed.

What windows update now shows for the update: • Cumulative Update for Windows 10 for x64-based Systems (KB3081455) - Error 0x8024001e

The W10-cumulative-update-KB3081455 is a major cumulative patch which is failing to install on some PC's. Like mine.

Did some research & it appears there is an easy solution that I'll try at the following link.

[Tiny]

Tried the sfc /scannow command & it found & successfully fixed some damaged system files.




rebooted the system & the update downloaded but still failed to install.

Looking back & all system cumulative updates have failed since 30th August.
Win Defender updates have succeeded though, so Win update must be working just not quite right.



So I'm going to try the other method from Microsoft & reset Windows Update Components, I wont hold my breath though!!

If that fails I'll go to Windows system downloads & see if I can force the update to install.

[Al Bundy]

I'm done with Win10 completely, for the time being anyway.

[cmangle]

Remove update kb3035583 to get rid of the annoying windows 10 (aka GWX) upgrade nag.

[Al Bundy]

Remove update kb3035583 to get rid of the annoying windows 10 (aka GWX) upgrade nag.

They are talking about issues with Windows Update in Windows 10 already, not Win7, Win8 or Win8.1

[Tiny]

I'm done with Win10 completely, for the time being anyway.

Don't worry Al people like me who never give up, end up finding a solution for others to use.
I torture myself with this, but I just can't give up, it's like the last piece of a puzzle. I have to solve the problem.

The more i search the more it is apparent that W10's Update Interface is a work in progress & so the patches I've missed may actually have solved the problem I just need to find a way to install them.

BTW; did you notice by the silence that joey is MIA,

[Al Bundy]

Don't worry Al people like me who never give up, end up finding a solution for others to use.
I torture myself with this, but I just can't give up, it's like the last piece of a puzzle. I have to solve the problem.

The more i search the more it is apparent that W10's Update Interface is a work in progress & so the patches I've missed may actually have solved the problem I just need to find a way to install them.

BTW; did you notice by the silence that joey is MIA,

I have to say I have found both 8.1 and 10's interface "plain", if I can use that term, I liked XP and then grew into Windows 7, my machines have all been activated in Win10, but are back running Win7 except 1 (Win10). Just call me old fashioned, I'll sit back and wait for Win10 to improve or I no longer have a real choice before I go up again.

Maybe this will get Joey fired up, don't know where the old fart has gone, I'm sure WhiteOx and MTV are happy though.

[cmangle]

my mistake apologies all!

[Philquad]

im done
i had a new hp envy here with 8 factory & decided to do the 10 upgrade before anything else
3 hrs later, it reboots to a black screen with the cursor Flicking like mad in a blue circle
that was it

[Tiny]

im done
i had a new hp envy here with 8 factory & decided to do the 10 upgrade before anything else
3 hrs later, it reboots to a black screen with the cursor Flicking like mad in a blue circle
that was it

Sorry Phil but this thread is about windows update - the automatic program that updates windows components.

For installation errors go to

[Philquad]

I'm done with Win10 completely, for the time being anyway.

shit sorry joey, i mean tiny
i just seen al was saying his bit so i thought i'd join in
whats a update? i dont do them coz all the activators i use say there a virus?

[lsemmens]

Joey has probably joined all the asylum seekers trying to cross the border.

[Tiny]

Well sorry if I offended you Phil.

The problem is that almost every thread I read on this subject gets littered with Windows 8 & 10 naggers/bashers & becomes time wasting when trying to find a solution.

Unfortunately there are many people affected by this update failure that would like a simple solution.

In the following links there is some very constructive help & solutions, however they don't seem to work for all people & haven't completely worked for me, so I'm trying to get a satisfactory solution that works for me to post here & save others the wasted time.











This last one suggests a prerequisite of a successfully installed update on 27/8/15 of KB3081448 which i don't have yet have the KB3081449 update that successfully installed on 30/8/15 & according to microsoft the prerequisite is actually KB3081452 which I do have??

Breaking news
While writing this post, as I waited for the results of my last attempt at a "Fix", bingo I have succeeded & the Cumulative patch KB3081455 has installed successfully as well as another failed update that was for Flashplayer pluggin for IE KB3087040.

Thankfully as the patch is cumulative all previous patches are included in it so problem solved.

The winning solution,

1:Ran the following command as Admin.

sfc /scannow




rebooted the system & the update downloaded but still failed to install.

2: Reset Windows update components,

open a command window with admin privileges type or paste
net stop wuauserv (press enter), should get a response of
The automatic updates service is stopping..
The automatic update service was stopped successfully.


navigate to c:\windows (or installed directory)
look for a folder named "SoftwareDistribution"
rename it to "SoftwareDistribution.OLD" (some people suggest deleting it)

Now enter in the Admin Command prompt
net start wuauserv (press enter)
go to Start - Settings (Cog icon) - Update & security and run Windows Update again.

This then gave me another error, but different this time
"There were some problems installing updates, but we'll try again later.
If you keep seeing this and want to search the web or contact support for information, this may help: (0x80080008)"

This error is known in all Win OS as a failure of Win update services.dll to register & can be caused during other repair operations as above.


So Solution part 3: 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.

Go to settings/Update & security/windows update & select check for updates or retry & the updates should now download & install successfully.

Download successful restart required. Select Restart now if you want to be sure of success.





Check for installed updates in programs & Features/ installed updates scroll to bottom



Settings/ Update & Security/Windows Update/Advanced Options/View your Update History.



Throw a party if you are successful.



EDIT: BTW, this issue with Win Update failure is not limited to W10 & occurs in previous WinOS for other updates, so the varying solutions may apply to Win 7, 8.1 & 10.
Please note the Admin Command prompt image of Regsvr32 in Part 3 of this solution was sourced from another thread included in above links & is not exactly representative of what it looks like in W10.
All other images were sourced from my PC.

EDIT2: I forgot to mention that in between all of the above I ran the Win10 Update troubleshooter, found at right click Start/Control Panel/Troubleshoot/Windows Update. This said that there were no problems found every time.
So after Part2 above out of curiosity I also ran Windows Update Troubleshooter from https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/gp/windows-update-issues/en-us - select "run now"; (which probably isn't meant for W10 but who cares, I was close to reinstalling windows anyway with a Non-destructive reset/refresh of the W10 OS to save reinstalling programs & files from my backups).
This trouble shooter said it found an item unrepairable which was "Windows Update Service is missing or corrupt - cant fix" or words to that effect. This lead to me to find the unregistered dll error (0x80080008) at part 3, when I ran Windows update again to see if it would work.

All of this should not be necessary as Windows should by now be able to repair itself without wasting our time.

[lsemmens]

I'm buggered if I know how you lot have so much trouble with windoze update, so far two of my machines have updated without any issues. My media server is still running windoze 7 and is still waiting for the "update" as I have "reserved" my update and they have yet to tell me it is ready. It's the only machine I am trying to let windoze do it's "thing" on. My first two, I forced the upgrade on them by downloading the ISO and running that.

[Tiny]

I'm buggered if I know how you lot have so much trouble with windoze update, so far two of my machines have updated without any issues. My media server is still running windoze 7 and is still waiting for the "update" as I have "reserved" my update and they have yet to tell me it is ready. It's the only machine I am trying to let windoze do it's "thing" on. My first two, I forced the upgrade on them by downloading the ISO and running that.

Just to be clear here we are not talking about the W10 free Upgrade Installation. Successfully installed it in Early August.
We are talking about Windows Automated Update service for regular maintenance & security updates!

For me it could be due to the nature of my very slow NBN interim satellite broadband connection that causes Windows to fail on large downloads, this update KB3081455 being 386MB for 64bit systems like mine.

Actually I wouldn't of even known that there was a problem except I was investigating an issue with W10 rebooting at random after shutdown which I figured being caused by maybe a restart loop triggered by Windows Update.
Windows doesn't warn you when updates fail to install unless there has been a reboot (even then you may not be notified) & this update hadn't managed to get to that point on installation, for 2 weeks, as it failed to install every time before scheduled reboot was triggered.
You actually have to open Win Update console & look to find the errors, even then the error is not always apparent; as in my case it would just go on to downloading the update every day so I would see that the update was xx% downloading. It wasn't till I looked in Update History that I realised there was an issue (see pic in ) & most people wouldn't even know where update history is located; so many people possibly have this issue that don't even know yet.

If you have a look at the link you will see 105 people already have this same question/error just on 1 thread & there are many threads about this error.
Again most people wouldn't know they have an error yet unless they go looking for it.

Hi! I have problems installing new update for Windows 10. I have Windows 10 Home x64 and always I try install latest update KB3081455 it's fails to install. In event viewer I see error code 0x80070002. Already tried Windows Update troubleshooting but this isn't help.
Microsoft, please bring back option for notify only when new updates is available! This is not serious that Windows tries install this update always after restart despite the fact that it was failed before. With Windows 8.1 I always installed updates after some days after it release so I avoid such problems.

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