{"id":367,"date":"2017-01-31T12:52:32","date_gmt":"2017-01-31T20:52:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/busix.com\/docs\/?p=367"},"modified":"2022-02-09T11:21:11","modified_gmt":"2022-02-09T19:21:11","slug":"fixing-a-frozen-windows-update","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/busix.com\/docs\/fixing-a-frozen-windows-update\/","title":{"rendered":"Fixing a Frozen Windows Update"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It happens to everyone; you go to check for updates and your computer just sits there, waiting for updates…waiting for updates.\u00a0 The good news is that it can be fixed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are several approaches to take with this issue. We’ll start with the simplest, and proceed to the more intricate ones.

1. Wait<\/a>
2. Run Troubleshooter<\/a>
3. Manually Remove Update Files<\/a>
4. Deployment Image Servicing and Management Tool<\/a>
5. Force an Offline Update<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. First, Wait.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The first step is to wait. It may take an hour for the updates to install. If you’ve waited that long, then we can go onto the next steps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Next, run Troubleshooter.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The first and easiest thing to do is run Windows Troubleshooter.  In the search \/ Cortana bar, look for “troubleshooting” and open that program.  This will take you to “Troubleshoot” in Settings. Once you’re there, click Additional Troubleshooters.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On the next panel, click the Windows Update<\/strong> option, then Run the Troubleshooter<\/strong>. Let it make any changes it would like. (It may also require an administrator’s password.) Once Troubleshooter runs, it will prompt you to start Windows Update. Do so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This will fix stuck, frozen, or corrupt updates, assuming that Windows Update isn’t too badly broken.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Manually remove Update files<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The next step is to manually flush the Windows Update cache.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CAUTION: THIS NEXT STEP REQUIRES YOU TO BE ON-SITE!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reboot into Safe Mode to force Windows to release any non-critical system files.  Open an elevated command window (in Windows 10, right-click on the Windows icon and choose “Windows PowerShell (Admin)”.  In Windows 7, click on the Start menu, go to “All Programs -> Accessories”, and right-click on “Command Prompt”.  Choose “Run as Administrator”.  In all cases, allow the program to make changes to your computer.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the command prompt, stop the Windows Update service.   (It may already be off depending on your Safe Mode settings.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

net stop wuauserv<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
\"Fixing
Manually Force Windows Update to Stop<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
This will ensure that any files involved with Windows Update are free and can be deleted.  Next, delete those files.  Navigate to c:\\windows\\SoftwareDistribution\\<\/strong> and delete everything in that directory. (But not the directory.) If your safe mode does not have a GUI, just type “explorer” at the command prompt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Windows Update will generate the required files the next time it runs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"Fix
Delete all Windows Update files<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Optionally, restart the Update Service (since you’re rebooting in moments) and reboot out of safe mode.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
net start wuauserv<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
\"Fix
Restart Windows Update<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
That should fix most Windows Update problems.  If not, try waiting for another day.  Other solutions include restoring the system or building from a sysprepped ISO<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
4. Windows 8+ only: DISM<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Finally, on Windows 8 and up, you can run DISM, the Deployment Image Servicing and Management<\/em> tool.  This is going to reinstall part of your computer’s system image to bring it back up to spec.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From an elevated command prompt, run<\/p>\n\n\n\n
dism.exe \/online \/Cleanup-Image \/RestoreHealth<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
and this will repair issues found in Windows Update and SFC (System File Checker).  The \/online parameter will fetch known good files from Microsoft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you can’t get online, the offline version (that will try to get files from the local repository) is:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
dism.exe \/Image:C:\\ \/Cleanup-Image \/RestoreHealth<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
5. Manually force an offline update<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
If everything else has failed, you will have to force a manual update.\u00a0 Be aware that this will take a significant amount of time.\u00a0 Get the offline tool from wsusoffline.net<\/a> and download the most recent package from them.\u00a0 Extract all the files from the ZIP package.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Launching the WSUS updater will bring up an option screen.  Make sure you choose the correct operating system and x86 \/ x64 version.  If you’re not sure, double-check in the Control Panel.  In this case, it’s a laptop running Windows 8.1 Home, 64-bit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"WSUS<\/a>
Choose the right OS and then Start<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Once you press the Start option, you will see a command window pop up.\u00a0It is coordinating the update downloads the same way as the update GUI, but with less overhead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"WSUS
The command window in the background is getting all the updates<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
The next step is to install the patches you’ve just downloaded. In the same root directory as the extracted ZIP, look for the “client” directory and double-click the “UpdateInstaller.exe” file.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
TIP: Copying the entire “client” directory to a flash drive will let you run these same patches on any computer.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
\"WSUS<\/a>
Find and launch the update program:<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"WSUS
Choose the options you’d like. These are the defaults.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Once you press Start, the patching will begin:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"WSUS
Allow the program time to run in the background. (Yes, I wore a white jacket today.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Once the patching is done, it will ask you to reboot. Do so.\u00a0If all goes well you will see the “Working on Updates, % complete, Don’t turn off your computer” screen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It happens to everyone; you go to check for updates and your computer just sits there, waiting for updates…waiting for … Read more →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,3],"tags":[25,26,29,70,69],"class_list":["post-367","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-maintenance","category-setup","tag-windows","tag-windows-10","tag-windows-7","tag-windows-update","tag-windows-update-slow"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/busix.com\/docs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/367","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/busix.com\/docs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/busix.com\/docs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/busix.com\/docs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/busix.com\/docs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=367"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/busix.com\/docs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/367\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2926,"href":"https:\/\/busix.com\/docs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/367\/revisions\/2926"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/busix.com\/docs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=367"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/busix.com\/docs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=367"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/busix.com\/docs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=367"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}