Windows 7 Home Premium w/SP1 and 64 bit operating system has not downloaded a windows update since KB2929437 on April 29, 2014. Update set to automatic but I get an icon that says Windows cannot automatically check for updates. When I manually check it tells me to restart my computer to download important updates but nothing is downloaded. Have tried Windows troubleshooting without results. Any help out there?
📎 AI Summary:
The forum thread discusses a user experiencing software update issues with Windows 7 Home Premium, where automatic updates have not been working since April 2014, despite repeated manual attempts. Several troubleshooting steps are suggested, including resetting the Windows Update service via command prompt commands and examining the event logs for specific errors related to the Windows Search service, which may also be affecting updates. Ultimately, the recommended solution involves deleting or renaming the SoftwareDistribution folder to force Windows to rebuild update metadata, with advice that the folder will automatically rebuild itself and that patience and multiple update attempts may be necessary.
The forum thread discusses a user experiencing software update issues with Windows 7 Home Premium, where automatic updates have not been working since April 2014, despite repeated manual attempts. Several troubleshooting steps are suggested, including resetting the Windows Update service via command prompt commands and examining the event logs for specific errors related to the Windows Search service, which may also be affecting updates. Ultimately, the recommended solution involves deleting or renaming the SoftwareDistribution folder to force Windows to rebuild update metadata, with advice that the folder will automatically rebuild itself and that patience and multiple update attempts may be necessary.
Solution
You might look at your update history and see if one is showing as failed and not finishing later. It is hard to guess what might be wrong. There is a WindowsUpdate.log which might give some clues, but it is supposed to contain some private data so folks don't recommend posting it and it doesn't always help. But if you want to look through it, look for entries which mention "failed" and start from the bottom up. You may have to trace it back to where the updates stopped being successful.
But one way we used to try to repair Windows Update was to rename or delete the SoftwareDistribution folder in the Windows folder. It will force the system to recheck all the updates and reset the meta data which may have become corrupted.
But one way we used to try to repair Windows Update was to rename or delete the SoftwareDistribution folder in the Windows folder. It will force the system to recheck all the updates and reset the meta data which may have become corrupted.
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Run a Command Prompt with elevated permissions in Windows "Run as Administrator"
Perform the following operations:
This will reset Windows Update.
Perform the following operations:
Code:
net stop wuauserv
net stop bits
rd /s /q %windir%\softwaredistribution
net start bits
net start wuauserv
wuauclt.exe /detectnow
This will reset Windows Update.
A few of the errors in the log:
Error 8/1/2015 3:51:32 PM Service Control Manager 7034 None
The Windows Search service terminated unexpectedly. It has done this 12 time(s).
Error 8/1/2015 3:51:32 PM Service Control Manager 7023 None
The Windows Search service terminated with the following error:
Transaction support within the specified resource manager is not started or was shut down due to an error.
Error 8/1/2015 3:40:53 PM Service Control Manager 7034 None
The Windows Search service terminated unexpectedly. It has done this 11 time(s).
Error 8/1/2015 3:40:53 PM Service Control Manager 7023 None
The Windows Search service terminated with the following error:
Transaction support within the specified resource manager is not started or was shut down due to an error.
OLDEST LOG ENTRY:
Error 5/5/2015 7:48:31 AM Service Control Manager 7034 None
The Windows Search service terminated unexpectedly. It has done this 29 time(s).
Error 8/1/2015 3:51:32 PM Service Control Manager 7034 None
The Windows Search service terminated unexpectedly. It has done this 12 time(s).
Error 8/1/2015 3:51:32 PM Service Control Manager 7023 None
The Windows Search service terminated with the following error:
Transaction support within the specified resource manager is not started or was shut down due to an error.
Error 8/1/2015 3:40:53 PM Service Control Manager 7034 None
The Windows Search service terminated unexpectedly. It has done this 11 time(s).
Error 8/1/2015 3:40:53 PM Service Control Manager 7023 None
The Windows Search service terminated with the following error:
Transaction support within the specified resource manager is not started or was shut down due to an error.
OLDEST LOG ENTRY:
Error 5/5/2015 7:48:31 AM Service Control Manager 7034 None
The Windows Search service terminated unexpectedly. It has done this 29 time(s).
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You might look at your update history and see if one is showing as failed and not finishing later. It is hard to guess what might be wrong. There is a WindowsUpdate.log which might give some clues, but it is supposed to contain some private data so folks don't recommend posting it and it doesn't always help. But if you want to look through it, look for entries which mention "failed" and start from the bottom up. You may have to trace it back to where the updates stopped being successful.
But one way we used to try to repair Windows Update was to rename or delete the SoftwareDistribution folder in the Windows folder. It will force the system to recheck all the updates and reset the meta data which may have become corrupted.
But one way we used to try to repair Windows Update was to rename or delete the SoftwareDistribution folder in the Windows folder. It will force the system to recheck all the updates and reset the meta data which may have become corrupted.
My update history only goes back to 5/5/15 while the problem dates from the last successful download of 4/29/14. Re the SoftwareDistribution folder - if I delete or rename it, how do I replace it?
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It will rebuild the folder.
The WindowsUpdate.log will normally keep archive copies. It starts new ones periodically which are continuations. But you may not need to go that far back to see a problem. Hopefully renaming the folder will get you back up and running. But give it time to rebuild the data. You may manually need to check for updates a few times and day and restart to make sure it isn't waiting on a reboot. You might even shut completely down every now and then.
The WindowsUpdate.log will normally keep archive copies. It starts new ones periodically which are continuations. But you may not need to go that far back to see a problem. Hopefully renaming the folder will get you back up and running. But give it time to rebuild the data. You may manually need to check for updates a few times and day and restart to make sure it isn't waiting on a reboot. You might even shut completely down every now and then.
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The 80070057 error seems to mean some parameter is incorrect. This link seems to have a long list of instructions you might try.
Windows Update Error 0x80070057
Windows Update Error 0x80070057