Windows Update Troubleshooter

1 Basic check: what exactly is happening?
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Choose the option that best matches what you see when you try to run Windows Update.

What do you see?

I see an error code (like 0x80070005, 0x8024a105, etc.) It gets stuck on “Downloading” or “Installing” It runs but never finishes or keeps retrying The Windows Update page is blank or won’t open Something else / not sure
2 Check your internet and time settings
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Windows Update can fail if your internet is unstable or your date/time is wrong.

Internet connection

My internet is stable on this device My internet is slow / drops / not sure

Tip: If possible, open a browser and load a few different websites to confirm.

Date & time

Date and time look correct Date or time is wrong / I had to fix it

On Windows: right-click the clock → Adjust date and time → enable “Set time automatically”.
3 Run the built-in Windows Update troubleshooter
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Windows has its own troubleshooter that can automatically fix some update problems.
How to run it

On Windows 10 / 11:
- Open Settings
- Go to Update & Security (or System → Troubleshoot on Windows 11)
- Choose Additional troubleshooters or Other troubleshooters
- Run Windows Update troubleshooter
Did you run it, and what happened?

It said it fixed something and updates now work It said it found no issues It found issues but couldn’t fix them I didn’t run it / couldn’t find it
4 Reset Windows Update components (advanced)
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This step is more advanced. It uses commands to reset the Windows Update system.

Are you comfortable using Command Prompt as Administrator?

Yes, I can copy and paste commands No, I’m not comfortable with that

If yes, run these commands one by one:

net stop wuauserv
net stop bits
net stop cryptsvc

ren C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution SoftwareDistribution.old
ren C:\Windows\System32\catroot2 catroot2.old

net start wuauserv
net start bits
net start cryptsvc

These commands stop update services, rename the update cache folders, and restart the services.

After running (or skipping) the commands, what happened?

Updates started working I still get the same error / problem Things got worse or more errors appeared I did not try these commands
5 Disk space, antivirus, and next steps
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Large updates can fail if there isn’t enough free space or if security software interferes.

Free disk space on system drive (usually C:)

I have more than 20 GB free I have less than 20 GB free I’m not sure

On Windows: open File Explorer → This PC → check the bar under Local Disk (C:).

Antivirus / security software

I only use Windows Security / Defender I use a third‑party antivirus or security suite Not sure / someone else set this up

Some third‑party antivirus tools can block updates. Temporarily disabling them (carefully) can help, but only if you know what you’re doing.