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Why isn't Windows 8.1 looking for updates? Solving problems with Windows Update. Installing update KB2938439




Threats to computer security when using the Internet, incorrect operation, driver and software failures are just some of the possible problems when refusing Windows system updates. However, those who consciously take such a step as disabling Windows updates probably know what they are doing and why. In cases where system updates are not installed due to unwanted reasons beyond the user's control, it is certainly necessary to look for troubleshooting methods. Below we will consider those for the operating system Windows 8.1.

Finding the causes and ways to eliminate them for any problem in the operating system is in any case a risk. And, naturally, this applies to cases when updates are not installed on Windows 8.1. Even having found the right solution, on the way to a successful result we may accidentally make unwanted changes to system settings. Therefore, before carrying out troubleshooting operations with updates, it is not a bad idea to worry about the possibility of rolling back Windows changes. For these purposes you can create:

Any of the above options for system rollback, or creating a backup not using AOMEI Backupper Standard, but using any other third-party backup programs for Windows, will also prevent problems with system updates in the future. These, however, as well as the instability of Windows in general, can be a consequence of the activity of malware. Viruses, network worms and other malware can damage the integrity of system files. An antivirus cannot always cope with the recovery of infected files, therefore, if the cause of problems with Windows 8.1 updates is the activity of malware, the easiest way is to roll back the operating system - to the state of a restore point or backup copy. Ideally, to prevent problems with Windows 8.1 updates, it is advisable to add the presence of a good antivirus in the system with regularly updated databases.

Well, now let’s directly begin to consider the causes of problems with Windows 8.1 updates and how to fix them.

1. Enable the update service

The risk of problems with system updates is especially high when using 8.1. These are often preinstalled, at best, with the Update Center disabled, and at worst, with the Center system service stopped. In such cases, accordingly, the Update Center must be enabled and the system service must be started.

Let's check that Windows Update is enabled. Press the keys Win+X and in the menu that appears in the lower left corner of the screen, select “Control Panel”.

In the search field in the upper right corner of the control panel window, enter the key query “Update Center” and launch it.

The update center must be turned on - that is, configured to automatically download and install, download only, or at least just search for updates. If the only problem is that the system has the “Do not check for updates” option preset, there is nothing easier than changing this. Click “Settings parameters”.

And we install the appropriate option.

If the Update Center is enabled, the search for updates cannot be carried out due to the disabled service; therefore, you need to start the latest one. Press the Win+R keys to start the “Run” service and in its window enter:

services.msc

Click “Ok” or Enter.

The system services section window will open. At the very bottom of the list we find a service called “Windows Update”. Double-click to open its properties window.

Using the “Run” button, we start the service.

2. Troubleshooting using the standard Update Center recovery tool

A disabled Update service, along with other potential sources of update problems, can be identified as part of the standard Windows Update 8.1 repair tool. This tool diagnoses the system and automatically fixes problems. To launch it, go to the control panel again (keys Win+X and selecting the “Control Panel” menu item) and in the search field enter the key query “Troubleshooting”. In the search results, click the “Troubleshooting” section.

In the window that opens, in the “System and Security” section, click the link option “Troubleshoot using Windows Update.”

In the welcome window that launches the troubleshooting wizard, click “Next”.

Run as administrator.

After this, the automatic process of detecting problems with the Update Center will begin.

Once completed, the troubleshooting wizard will show you a progress report. Detected problems, if any, will be corrected automatically. We will see which of the Update Center problems may have interfered with its full operation in the “Detected problems” column.

Now all that remains is to manually start searching for and installing updates again. You may need to restart your computer.

3. Windows Update Troubleshooter on Microsoft Site

If the standard Update recovery tool does not solve problems with Windows updates, you need to resort to another troubleshooting tool - an additional utility downloaded from the Microsoft website. The software giant for Windows 8.1 has developed something like a universal solution to problems with system updates, in particular, if errors 0x80240016 and 0x80240016 are indicated when trying to install them. When launched, the utility checks all possible causes and automatically corrects problems.

Let's launch it.

We are waiting for the problem detection process to complete.

As with the standard troubleshooter, at the end of the problem detection process, we will see a final window where the problems found will be indicated and a note about their automatic correction.

That’s it – now we manually start searching for and installing updates. If problems arise again, repeat the search and installation of updates after restarting the computer.

4. Solving problems with updates when your computer is infected with viruses

Problems with system updates may be the result of viruses, network worms and other malicious programs. In particular, Windows Update errors such as 0x80240016, WindowsUpdate_8024401C, 0x8024401C, 0x80070490, in most cases arise precisely because of damage to the integrity of system files caused by malware. If malware was detected on your computer and after that Windows 8.1 updates are not installed, the first step is, of course, to neutralize the source of the problem. The malware may have entered the system because the antivirus license has expired. In this case, you need to renew your license and run a global scan of your computer. A proven and reliable virus removal tool is the free one. It can be used in parallel with the antivirus installed on the system.

After neutralizing the malware, the next step is to restart the computer and determine whether important system files are damaged (or even destroyed). To diagnose and restore system files, we will use the standard Windows utility “sfc.exe” launched on the command line. The process of its work is described in detail in the article. The process of restoring the integrity of system files is also possible if Windows 8.1 does not boot after being infected by viruses. In this case it will help.

If, after restoring the integrity of system files, problems with Windows 8.1 updates do not disappear, you can try running the Windows Update troubleshooter downloaded from the Microsoft website, as indicated in paragraph 3 of this article.

5. Restart the update service and remove the update distribution

If none of the methods suggested above for solving problems with Windows 8.1 updates helped, restarting the update service and uninstalling the update distribution package may fix the situation. Update installation files downloaded with errors are not overwritten when downloaded again, and in order for the installation files to be downloaded again, their storage folder must be cleared. But first, let's stop the update service.

Press the keys Win+R and in the “Run” service field enter:

services.msc

Click “Ok” or Enter. In the window of the system services section, as in the first paragraph of the article, we find the “Windows Update” service and double-click to open its properties window. But if in the first paragraph of the article we started the service, now it is necessary, on the contrary, to stop it.

Without closing the service properties window, let's start cleaning the folder where update installation files are stored. This is the folder located along the pathC:Windows/SoftwareDistribution/Download. The easiest way to get to it is to press the Win+R keys and enter the folder path in the “Run” command field.

We delete the contents of the folder.

That’s it – we can reboot and try to start searching for and installing updates.

6. Lack of free space on the system disk

An infrequent cause of problems with Windows 8.1 updates, however, and it can occur is a cluttered C drive. To be sure to exclude this from the list of possible causes, it is necessary that at least 5 GB of free space remain on the C drive.

7. Blocking access to Microsoft web resources with an antivirus or firewall

Another possible reason why updates are not installed on Windows 8.1, in particular, the endlessly long and fruitless process of searching for updates, is the operation of an antivirus or firewall. These, with certain settings, can block access to Microsoft web resources. The easiest way to get ahead of this moment is to disable your antivirus or firewall while searching for and downloading updates.

8. Troubleshooting update issues in Windows Clean Boot mode

If you have tried all the methods discussed above to eliminate the causes of problems with Windows 8.1 updates, and none of the solutions brought positive results, you can use something like a fallback option in the form of a Windows 8.1 clean boot mode. You must perform a clean boot of the operating system, as indicated in the article.

Already in clean boot mode, you need to run the Windows Update troubleshooter downloaded from the Microsoft website and follow the same steps that were discussed in paragraph 3 of this article.

9. Also keep in mind that often the cause of Windows Update 8.1 not working correctly is damage to the system component store

You can restore a damaged component store very simply using the DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /RestoreHealth, command.

Today we will tell you how to solve one of the strangest problems that plague users of the Windows 7 operating system. And this problem lies in an excessively long, even eternal search for new updates.

Description of the problem

When trying to find and install new system updates, users are faced with the fact that the search takes too long and continues even many hours after it started, i.e. becomes infinite. At the same time, the Windows Update indicator continues to work, making you think that the process is in progress. However, the search does not complete even after several hours of tedious waiting - the Update Center simply freezes at the “Search for updates” stage.

The reason for the eternal search for updates in Windows 7

There is an opinion that the reason for this is the update of the Windows Update client program, as well as the subsequent changes on the Windows Update servers. Microsoft appears to have changed how it checks for and downloads updates, so older Windows Update clients can no longer search for and download updates from the company's servers. This explains the fact that in most cases the problem occurs after a clean installation of the operating system.

Ways to solve the problem

There are several working solutions, all of them are described below. Do them one by one until the problem is resolved.

1. Manually updating Windows Update Client

This is the most effective and simple solution to the problem. In order for Windows Update to start searching for and installing updates again, you need to download the necessary updates for the Windows Update client program and install them manually. These updates are available for both 32-bit (x86) and 64-bit (x64) versions of Windows 7. You can view the bitness of the operating system in system properties.

For Windows 7 32-bit (x86):

For Windows 7 64-bit (x64):

Note: You may need to temporarily stop the Windows Update service before installing updates. You can do this by running the following command in a command prompt running as an administrator:

Once the updates are installed, restart your computer, and then search for new updates. After 10-60 minutes, Windows Update should show a list of all available updates. But if this doesn't help you, read on.

2. Installation of Convenience Rollup

In 2016, Microsoft released a large update rollup that contains almost all updates released since Windows 7 SP1 (Service Pack 1). Thus, you can try to solve the problem of endless search for updates by installing Convenience Rollup.

Again, for your convenience, we provide direct links to download the Convenience Rollup:

It is important to note that this service pack includes updates released after SP1, therefore you must have SP1 installed to install Convenience Rollup. To make sure that Service Pack 1 is installed, look at the system properties.

5. Editing DNS settings

A long search for updates may be caused by problems on the side of the provider's DNS server. Therefore, you can try to solve the problem by using free public DNS servers that provide a more reliable Internet connection.

To change the DNS address, open Network and Sharing Center.

Open the connection/adapter properties.

In the properties window, find the TCP/IPv4 protocol. Double-click the left mouse button to open the properties of this protocol.

Activate the "Use the following DNS server addresses" option and enter any of the following addresses:

Google Public DNS:

  • Preferred DNS Server: 8.8.8.8
  • Alternate DNS Server: 8.8.4.4

Yandex.DNS:

  • Preferred DNS Server: 77.88.8.8
  • Alternative DNS server: 77.88.8.1

OpenDNS:

  • Preferred DNS Server: 208.67.222.222
  • Alternate DNS server: 208.67.220.220

The new settings should take effect immediately after application. But if you don't notice any changes, try clearing your DNS cache. To do this, open a command prompt window with administrator rights and then run the command ipconfig /flushdns.

6. Checking the integrity of system files using the SFC utility

The endless search for updates can be caused by damaged or missing Windows Update files or settings. You can check and restore the integrity of these files using the built-in SFC tool. We talked about how to work with him.

Have a great day!

  1. Update center (Update Center) problems arise for many reasons. One of them is the old version of the update center itself. When updates are released, they are signed with a certificate and the old version of the CA cannot verify the certificate, which causes an endless search for updates. The latest version of the CO agent for Windows 8.1 is 7.9.9600.18628, for Windows 8 - 7.8.9200.16693, Version of Windows 7 and earlier versions up to XP - 7.6.7600.256. Now look what version do you have? You can view the version of the system by going to the Windows directory (folder):
  2. 1.) Go to the path C:\Windows\system32
  3. 2.) In the System32 folder we find the library Wuaueng.dll
  4. Right-click on the file and select properties in the context menu. In the properties window, go to the details tab. Where is all the information located?

  5. By comparing the information from your update center and the information on support.microsoft.com specifically about the library version. If the version is outdated, then move on to the next stage, installing the system.
    6. Install a new version of Windows.
  6. To install the latest version of Windows Update, you must first go to control panel -> windows update -> customize settings. Next, set it as in the picture below or check that it is like this:

  7. Once everything is set correctly, checking the picture above, you need to restart the service. To do this, press the Win+R keys in the Run window and type services.msc, thereby making it clear that we need the services console. In the services console window we find the Windows Update service:

  8. Having previously selected the left mouse button, right-click and select properties in the context menu. The Windows Update properties window will open, click on the “stop” button and wait for the service to stop:

  9. After stopping the service, restart it by clicking the “start” button next to it. Wait for the service to start and check that it is working correctly. Thus, you have set all settings to default and restarted the Windows Update service.
    10. Some Windows Update packages can be downloaded from the links below:
  10. All links lead to the official website and can only be downloaded from there:
    11. Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012
    x 86-bit versions of Windows 8 (KB2937636)
    Windows 8 64-bit versions (KB2937636)
    Windows Server 2012 64-bit (KB2937636)
    Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1
    x86-based versions of Windows 7 SP1
    x64-based versions of Windows 7 SP1
    x86-based versions of Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1
    x64-based versions of Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1
    Itanium-based versions of Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1
    Windows RT 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2
  11. To install a new version of the software, you first need to install an additional update:
    12. x 86-bit versions of Windows 8.1
    x64-based versions of Windows 8.1
    x64-based versions of Windows Server 2012 R2
  12. After installing an optional update for your OS, you must manually restart your computer.
    13. Download and install Windows RT 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2 Update
    x86-based Windows 8.1 update
    x64-based Windows 8.1 update
    x64-based Windows Server 2012 R2 update
  13. After downloading and installing the center, check the functionality of the center. If errors occur during the installation of TsO 8.1 and server 2012 r2, go to the page where there is some information on the error code: 0x80071a91, 0x80070005, ERROR_SXS_COMPONENT_STORE_CORRUPT 0x80073712
    14. Get an archive with a BAT file that will fix the update center error? If you want the methods described in the article to be done automatically?
    Wait 10 minutes, do not close this page. At the end of the time below, you will receive a link to download the archive.

    Wait: sec.

    Windows Update Troubleshooter (WindowsUpdateDiagnostic).

  14. On the Microsoft website there is a utility for diagnosing Windows Update problems, which diagnoses and fixes errors, of course not in all cases, but I owe it to you to show how it works. Go to the website, namely to the page where you can download the WindowsUpdate.diagcab.exe utility for your OS version, I will post the link at the end of the note in this article. After downloading and running the utility, you will be presented with a window; if your system is below version 10, then you may need to disable the antivirus. I have an 8.1 system and CIS complained about the download file, although it was downloaded from the official Microsoft website. I tried to download for version 10 of the OS, everything downloaded perfectly and the antivirus missed it, the output is to change the OS to a newer version 10.

  15. In the first window, you don’t need to select anything, nor in the subsequent ones, unless of course you want to read the privacy statement, just click the “Next” button and wait until the utility fixes the problem. The picture below is the execution process, we are waiting for completion:

  16. After completing the corrections, if everything went well, “Fixed” will be displayed, if on the contrary, the red dot will be lit and not completed. In the second case, we look at additional possibilities.

  17. You can download the utility from the official website using the link below:
    18. Select the utility for your OS version.

    How to view the update log (WindowsUpdate.log)

  18. You can find and view WindowsUpdate.log in a text editor by pressing the key combination:
  19. Win+R
  20. In the “Run” window that opens, type the command “Windowsupdate.log” and then confirm by pressing “Enter”, Windowsupdate.log will open in a text editor, in Notepad, or set as default on your system:

  21. The format of the columns in the file will be like this:

  22. On the official Microsoft website you will find information about the components in the file and examples of use:

If Windows 8.1 updates are not working for you and you are searching endlessly, you cannot install games and programs because Windows cannot install some components, such as Visual C++ and. etc., then this instruction is for you.

This problem appeared for me after I, you may have a different case when an error appeared, but the problem is the same, there are no updates.

Since I had pre-installed licensed Windows 8.1, the problems with updates caused me a slight shock, like the license, but I can’t update Windows, except for constantly searching for updates, there was no result :)

I won’t go into detail about how many days I’ve been looking for a solution, but I’ll write for you a few instructions on how to fix the update center not working in Windows 8.1.

I’ll say in advance that the first instruction most likely will not solve the problem, but it’s worth a try, since it won’t take much time and it helped some.

Windows 8.1 does not find updates - solution one

1. Go to the control panel (if you do not see the control panel interface as in the screenshot, in the right corner set the parameter: view -> category), then system and security.

2. At the very top of the “Support Center” section, click on the “Fix common computer problems” item.

3. In the tab that opens at the bottom, click the item “Troubleshoot using Windows Update.”


In the window that appears, click Advanced and then click on “Run as administrator”, in the same window click Next and wait a little while Windows tries to fix the problems.


Once the process is completed, restart your computer and try searching for updates.

Wait 15-20 minutes, if there is no result, then move on to another instruction, which is described below.

For clarity, video

Windows 8.1 does not update - instructions for solving problems with the update

This solution helped me and many others and the system began to find updates and install them without errors.

2. In the left corner, click "Settings".

3. From the drop-down list, select “Don’t check for updates” and click “ok”.

4. After you disable checking for updates, you need to temporarily stop the update service.

To do this, we go to the services.

Press the WIN+R keys or the start menu, select Run.

A window will open, enter the command comexp.msc and click ok.

In the tab that appears, select “Services (local)”.

We look for the “Windows Update” service, select it and right-click it, select stop.

After stopping, reboot the computer!

The worst part is over with this :)

Now all we have to do is download a few updates from the official Microsoft website and install them.

The updates that we will need to install are located below, as well as links to download them.

Important! Before downloading, check what 32 operating system you have. or 64. bit (you can see it, press start, select system, it will be written there)

For 64's. Windows

For 32. Windows

We will install updates in strict order.

Important! Before installing updates, check whether any of these three updates are installed on the system (if any is installed, you do not need to install it again).

How to find out what updates are installed.

Go to the control panel, then system and security and select the “Windows Update” item, at the bottom left there will be an “Installed updates” item, click it, a window with all updates will open, in the right corner there will be a search field, enter the update numbers one by one and make sure that they are not in the system.

After making sure that these updates are not in the system, install the updates in this order: (the installation is simple as installing regular programs, double-click on the update)

KB2999226

After installation, be sure to restart your computer.

After reboot we set:

KB3173424
And
KB3172614

We reboot again.

After the reboot, we follow the familiar path to the control panel, then system and security and again select the “Windows Update” item.

2. In the left corner, click "Settings"

3. From the drop-down list, select “Search for updates, but the decision to download and install is made by me,” click ok and it will search for updates.

We wait 10-15 minutes and see that Windows 8.1 immediately found updates for us and offers to install them, we select the checkboxes for which updates to install and install them :)

For a long time, a fairly large number of users faced a problem when the process of searching for updates in the Update Center became “endless” and took a huge amount of time. There was no known tool that would completely solve this problem, but there were a number of recommendations for installing certain updates, which in most cases still helped in solving it. The necessary updates could be downloaded and installed manually, but since in some cases this process was fraught with certain difficulties, in order to make it more convenient for the average user, I collected everything needed into one ready-made set. At the moment, we can say that the situation in this matter has changed somewhat for the better.

Starting in October 2016, Microsoft switched to a new update system and began releasing monthly rollup packages ("security monthly quality rollup"), as well as individual security updates ("security only quality update"). In April, the corporation released a cumulative package and a security update that contained an updated version of the update client. Therefore, now you can simply install the latest cumulative or April security update for those who prefer to install only them. For most, this will be a fairly effective way to solve the problem. However, unfortunately, the new version of the client has added a check for the latest generation of processors to enable further updates. Of course, there are patches that allow you to bypass this check, but if, for one reason or another, some users prefer not to install these updates, then this set may continue to be quite relevant for them.

At the moment, the set includes the following updates:

  1. WindowsUpdateAgent-7.6 (KB2887535 - for Windows 7)- its installation is a prerequisite for the normal functioning of the Update Center. Without it, searching for updates will actually not work. In the set it is represented by three cab files - "WUClient-SelfUpdate-ActiveX", "WUClient-SelfUpdate-Aux-TopLevel" and "WUClient-SelfUpdate-Core-TopLevel".
  2. Windows Update Client (KB3138612 - for Windows 7) (KB3138615 - for Windows 8.1)- latest version of the update client. Since the release of Windows 10, almost every month the company began releasing updates to a new client for the Update Center, which was supposed to solve the search problem. And indeed, its installation is one of the necessary means to cope with this situation. Installing the latter client also makes sense to solve the problem of increased RAM consumption by the Update Center service. Since in some cases, if the latest client was not installed, the update service began to eat up memory, which in turn affected the speed of the update process itself. This was especially true for weak systems with a small amount of memory.
  3. July 2016 update rollup (KB3172605 - for Windows 7) (KB3172614 - for Windows 8.1)- also contains a new version of the update client, but does not replace KB3138612 (KB3138615). Unfortunately, this update also included some telemetry functions; in particular, it replaces update KB3075249 and, like it, includes the consent.exe file containing telemetry points. However, if out of all the non-recommended updates you install only this one, then most likely its telemetry functions will not be active, so updating KB3172605 (KB3172614) is now included in the set, which still seems to me to be the lesser evil.

To start installing updates, you will need to run the included batch file " SearchFix.cmd". Updates from the set are installed into the system using dism, which allows you to completely eliminate the situation when, due to the influence of the "endless" search, you are unable to manually install the necessary update, since the process of installing updates in this case will not depend in any way on the work of the Update Center service (wuauserv). You may also already have these updates installed, but sometimes they can be installed, so to speak, “crookedly”, in which case installing a batch file using disma will allow you to correctly update their installation on the system without the need for them. removal.