Windows Tools, Help & Guides

Unfortunately Windows Update  problems are very common. Read the following post to know how to solve the more common Windows Update problems. If you are not experiencing problems now but you want this post to be bookmarked press Ctrl +D.

The first thing we face when Windows Update fails is that it doesn’t  show us a message, Microsoft still thinks humans don’t use computers so it prefers to give us a code number instead. Of course, you are missing with that code, so you have to Google it and pray to be lucky.

In this post I describe what I have learned fighting with these numbers. As you will see many of the problems are solved in the same way, for that they are listed by the solutions.

0x80248014 0x800A0046 0x80248011 0x80072EE7 0x8024402C 0x8024502D 0x800A01AD 0x80070002 0x80070003 0x80070490

0x80248014 is a Microsoft Security Essentials code, but is a Windows Update related problem.

Windows Update has its own folder with a database to control the downloads. Windows store here the update programs too, for many reasons this database might get corrupted and you cannot update your computer.

The drawback of the solution is that you are not going to see your Windows Update History. This is not really a great problem, do you really need to know that some updated dind’t work well a month ago ?

We need to delete the SoftwareDistribution folder, our first task is to stop the Windows Update service which is using the folder.

Click on Start Menu, Accessories, look for Command Prompt, right-click and select “Run as administrator”.

Type net stop wuauserv, and press Enter.

Our second task is to delete the folder.

Press Winkey + R, type %windir% and press Enter.

Right click over SoftwareDistribution and select Delete.

Now, run the windows service using net start wuauserv or restart your computer.

0x80070422 0x80244019  0x8DDD0018

You have a problem with your Windows Update service, click on the following link to solve it:

Windows Update error 80070422 in Windows 7

0x80070070

This error appears because the computer doesn’t have enough disk space.

Uninstall unnecessary programs, look for big files, remember that not updating a computer  is not a choose.

0x8007000b

This error usually happens using Windows Vista.

Start the computer using your Windows Vista DVD.

Then select Repair your computer option.

You will see the System Recovery Options.

Select command prompt.

Type chkdsk /f  in the system volume and then restart Vista.

This can be done without using the Windows Vista DVD.

Using Windows Explorer, navigate to the hard disk, right-click and select Properties.

Go to the Tools tab, and press “Check Now”.

Check “Automatically fix file system errors”,  and “Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors” and press start.

A message saying “Windows can’t check the disk while is in use” appears, click over “Scheduled disk check” with this the disk will be checked on the next reboot.

0x80072EE7

As you have seen on this article:

How To Control Access to Specific Websites

The host file can be used to control the access to a Website. Therefore,  a malware or virus program can alter the host file to not let the computer enter Windows Update.

Open notepad using Administrator rights:

Go to  %SystemRoot%\system32\drivers\etc\ folder and select the host file:

Review the file so there is nothing about Windows Update on it.

0x800A01AD

A problem with the Microsoft XML Parser, just install the latest version to solve:

Microsoft XML Parser (MSXML) 3.0 Service Pack 7 (SP7)

0x80070002 0x8007000D 0x800F081F 0x80073712 0x800736CC 0x800705B9 0x80070246 0x8007370D 0x8007370B 0x8007370A 0x80070057 0x800B0100 0x80092003 0x800B0101 0x8007371B 0x80070490

These errors all have the same source. This usually happens when there is a problem with your system files or an inconsistent registry data.

For Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003

We are going to use the System File Checker to verify that the correct versions of the system files are present. To do this, follow these steps:

Press WinKey + R, type sfc /scannow and press Enter.

If the System File Checker found a problem with your files it will ask you for Windows CD to solve the problem.
If this fails,  you must perform a repair installation.

Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2

If one of the Windows Update problems happens, Windows will tell you that you have to use the System Update Readiness tool (Checksur.exe).

You can download it from here:

Description of the System Update Readiness Tool for Windows Vista, for Windows Server 2008, for Windows 7, and for Windows Server 2008 R2

If this method does not solve your problems perform a repair installation of Windows. Follow the next steps:

Insert the Windows DVD and restart it. In the Setup window, click Install Now.

You have to select the Upgrade installation.

0x80070020

This happens because there is some sort of program blocking the update. For this reason we need to boot the computer using the fewer processes we can.

Windows 2000, Windows XP, or Windows Server 2003

Press WinKey + R, type msconfig and press Enter.

Go the General tab, check Selective Startup, and then click to clear the following check boxes:

• Process SYSTEM.INI File
• Process WIN.INI File
• Load Startup Items

Go to the Services tab, click to select the “Hide All Microsoft Services” check box, and then click “Disable All“.
Click OK, and then click “Restart”.

Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, or Windows 7

For these operating systems:

Press WinKey + R, type msconfig and press Enter.

Go the General tab, check Selective Startup

Under Selective Startup, click to clear the Load startup items check box.
Go to the Services tab, click to select the “Hide All Microsoft Services” check box, and then click “Disable All“.
Click OK, and then click “Restart”.

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