Stop Windows Update service

This post explains how to stop Windows update service from command line(CMD). Make sure that you open elevated administrator command prompt to execute this command.

How to stop Windows update service

Do the following

1. Open elevated command prompt
2. Run the below command.

Update service restarts automatically

It’s observed that just stopping the service does not work in some cases and it restarts automatically. In such cases one can disable the service completely by running below command.

Note that these commands to stop or disable service should be run from elevated administrator command prompt. Other wise you will get the following error.

How to start windows update

Neat tip. However, it seems W7 is automatically restarting the Windows Update service every now and then. I’ve changed status to “Manual” under services.msc but the behavior remains. No fun at all.

Hi Carl
FYI everytime you go into windows update it will start the service even though it is set to manual so if you need to look in windows update then stop the service again afterwards.

Run CMD as Admin and “sc config wuauserv start= disabled” will work on Win7Ulti

Please help me to stop the windows update, it is a disaster every time after windows update, totally stupid program, may be next time I should go for apple.

you gott the error because you have’nt run cmd as administrator

Apple is more stupid than the windows.

I cannot get windows update to stop, finish, or go away! How do I get this to stop so I can get back on the computer? It’s a brand new computer, and useless at this point!

Set to disabled and reboot!

Wow thank you for putting this line up here. I needed to restart my windows update and this did the trick

Yes – agreed thanks much appreciated! On a very slow connection so bandwidth is at a premium. This made things much more pleasant.

#Persistent
interval = 600 ; execution interval in seconds
Menu, Tray, Add ; divider line
Menu, Tray, Add, Execute Now, StopService
Menu, Tray, Default, Execute Now
timer_param := -1000 * interval

StopService:
Run %comspec% /c “sc query wuauserv | find “1 STOPPED” & if errorlevel 1 sc stop wuauserv”, , Hide
time = %A_Now%
time += %interval%, seconds
FormatTime, time_string, %time%, Time
Menu, Tray, Tip, Stop Windows Update Service`nNext Execution at %time_string%
SetTimer, StopService, %timer_param%
return

Hi! even thou i star cmd as admin i still get the “error 5 access denied. can someone help me?

go to start menu —> type “cmd” in the search box, wait till cmd shows in the results list, right click on “cmd” and select “run as administrator”

You need to run it from elevated command prompt.

otherwise, check your UAC and if it’s off, turn it on in your account settings.

This information is for those who wish to completely disable Windows 10 automatic updates. It is very simple and requires no real expertise.

1. Bring up your task manager.
2. Select the “Services” tab.
3. Scroll down the lefthand side until you see “wuauserv”. (In the description column to the right, you’ll see “Windows Update”.)
4. Right click on “wuauserv”.
5. In the dropdown box that appears, click on “stop”.

This stops all automatic updates from taking over your computer. In order to get future updates, you will have to follow the same steps, but click on “start” to restart it. I prefer simply to go to Microsoft’s website to find the updates, if I want them at all, which I don’t. I’ve struggled with Microsoft’s updates for years, from Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, and now Windows 10. All of them have rendered my computer(s) less functional than they were prior to the updates.

I use a separate security program in conjunction with Windows firewall and find that there is absolutely no need to upload their security updates.

hi, I am having endless problems with my surface pro3, running win10pro. the overwhelming majority of my time spent on this device is occupied by trying to update and keep in functioning without sending me endless notifications. I am an aspiring Linux user, which so far as I can tell, is superior in every way, however, I am concerned if the security is dependable…? I was wondering what the security program is that you referenced? and would be eager to hear any other suggestions/tips/opinions?

I tried this and got a message that access is denied.

Same problem on my PC. Svchost.exe takes continuously almost 100% processor time.
Stopped wuauserv in the way described above and the processor is free. However after a restart it is running again. Same after stopping it via the command: net stop wuauserv.
Anybody knows how I can stop this wuauserv forever.

You need to disable the service using sc command. Added these commands in the post.

Hi all, a tip for all of those having issues with Windows update, if you go to services.msc and stop the service in the second tab you can select a user to run the service with afterwards.
So you only need to put a valid user and then change the password of that user and voila! it wont ever be able to run again since it will be trying to run with an invalid user… 🙂

I wind up stopping and disabling this service every day or two, yet somehow Windows keeps turning it back to Automatic and running it! (on an older laptop which has to stay at XP)

Just want to say Thank YOU! I got nearly crazy (even more than normal) because my laptop was making so much noise while windows was checking updates for hours. Tried to close it through task manager to no avail but this tip worked as a charm.
I had no problems at all that was until windows installed updates and I could not get into windows anymore. Thanks no thanks. So now I am going to try to see if I can download the updates one by one or so. Thanks again. Love the sound of silence

Surely it would be much easier to use computer management services scroll down to windows update and apply the above directly with the advantage that you can see what you are actually doing.

Thanks for the tip. CPU had been running crazy trying to keep up with the update service. The CPU temp has dropped from 43 degrees Celcius to 35 degrees.

Omg! Thanks you! I was stuck in windows update hell!

Thanks for the info. I made a .bat file to stop, and one to start with this info. Just run as administrator and it works 🙂

I hope the above stop up dates work as my computer is all bet useless

from cmd run
sc queryex wuauserv
take pidnum from result and replace xxx in
taskkill /PID xxx/F and run

This is a good short term (few days) fix but on Windows 10 home edition, update restarts itself after a few days. There is a regedit out there but it doesn’t work for Home edition. The WUSH tool also only works for a few days.

Would be great if there were a way to program this “sc config wuauserv start= disabled” command to re-run itself every 2 days. Does anyone know how to do this?

Just put the command in a batch file, then schedule a task launching it with highest priviledge “when the computer starts”. (^v^)

i am running cmd as administrator but also the following cmd net stop wuauserv is saying invalid what to do then

Erm… I disabled the command using the command prompt (admin), but the file Windows10Upgrade keeps appearing. Help me please!

I can’t stop windows 10 update using service stopping, when I connect to wifi ,service is auto enable how can I stop permanently

Is there any command just to show the windows update is on or off ?

How can I disable windows updates for all the computers on the network?

Unfortunately, Windows 10 Home does not allow users to turn off automatic updates. To do that, you would have to upgrade to the Pro version. Otherwise, you’re looking at a lot of punishing hours spent rolling back updates you didn’t want… I had this issue with an error related to a registry conflict that prioritizes RuntimeBroker and found that this was the case during my research into the cause for the ongoing rollbacks.

I have no access to stop and disable the services. Can anyone tell me what to do in this case?

Hello, I am searching across the internet to find a solution to fix the svchost.exe disk usage, and almost every one of them suggests to disable or turn manual the Windows Update Service. I already did that, but the svchost.exe thing keeps consuming my disk.

If you know how to fix this, please tell me.

Can always services >Windows update
right click, properties, Revoery, and change to no action for all 3… see if that may help.

Thanks, had to get around an invasive group policy to repair bitlocker bde protectors, this was the trick I needed to disable updates so my bitlocker tables could be repaired.
Brent, New Zealand

Windows Update — additional resources

Applies to:

• Windows 10
• Windows Server 2016
• Windows Server 2019

Windows Server 2016 supports policies available in Windows 10, version 1607. Windows Server 2019 supports policies available in Windows 10, version 1809.

The following resources provide additional information about using Windows Update.

WSUS Troubleshooting

How do I reset Windows Update components?

• Try using the Windows Update Troubleshooter, which will analyze the situation and reset any components that need it.
• Try the steps in Troubleshoot problems updating Windows 10.
• Try the steps in Fix Windows Update errors.

If all else fails, try resetting the Windows Update Agent by running these commands from an elevated command prompt:

Reset Windows Update components manually

Open a Windows command prompt. To open a command prompt, click Start > Run. Copy and paste (or type) the following command and then press ENTER:

Stop the BITS service, the Windows Update service and the Cryptographic service. To do this, type the following commands at a command prompt. Press ENTER after you type each command.

Delete the qmgr*.dat files. To do this, type the following command at a command prompt, and then press ENTER:

If this is your first attempt at resolving your Windows Update issues by using the steps in this article, go to step 5 without carrying out the steps in step 4. The steps in step 4 should only be performed at this point in the troubleshooting if you cannot resolve your Windows Update issues after following all steps but step 4. The steps in step 4 are also performed by the «Aggressive» mode of the Fix it Solution above.

1. Rename the following folders to *.BAK:

To do this, type the following commands at a command prompt. Press ENTER after you type each command.

1. Reset the BITS service and the Windows Update service to the default security descriptor. To do this, type the following commands at a command prompt. Press ENTER after you type each command.

Type the following command at a command prompt, and then press ENTER:

Reregister the BITS files and the Windows Update files. To do this, type the following commands at a command prompt. Press ENTER after you type each command.

Reset Winsock. To do this, type the following command at a command prompt, and then press ENTER:

If you are running Windows XP or Windows Server 2003, you have to set the proxy settings. To do this, type the following command at a command prompt, and then press ENTER:

Restart the BITS service, the Windows Update service and the Cryptographic service. To do this, type the following commands at a command prompt. Press ENTER after you type each command.

If you are running Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008, clear the BITS queue. To do this, type the following command at a command prompt, and then press ENTER:

Развертывание служб Windows Server Update Services Deploy Windows Server Update Services

Область применения. Windows Server (Semi-Annual Channel), Windows Server 2019, Windows Server 2016, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2012 Applies To: Windows Server (Semi-Annual Channel), Windows Server 2019, Windows Server 2016, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2012

Службы Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) позволяют ИТ-администраторам развертывать новейшие обновления продуктов Майкрософт. Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) enables information technology administrators to deploy the latest Microsoft product updates. WSUS — это роль сервера Windows Server, которую можно установить для распространения обновлений и управления ими. WSUS is a Windows Server server role that can be installed to manage and distribute updates. Сервер служб WSUS может быть источником обновлений для других серверов WSUS в организации. A WSUS server can be the update source for other WSUS servers within the organization. Сервер WSUS, действующий как источник обновлений, называется вышестоящим сервером. The WSUS server that acts as an update source is called an upstream server.

При реализации служб WSUS хотя бы один сервер служб WSUS в сети должен быть подключен к Центру обновления Майкрософт для получения информации о доступных обновлениях. In a WSUS implementation, at least one WSUS server in the network must connect to Microsoft Update to get available update information. В зависимости от безопасности сети и ее конфигурации вы можете определить, сколько других серверов напрямую подключено к Центру обновления Майкрософт. You can determine, based on network security and configuration, how many other servers connect directly to Microsoft Update.

Это руководство содержит базовые сведения о планировании развертывания службы Windows Server Update Service. This guide provides conceptual information for planning and deploying Windows Server Update Service.

Full Fix: Windows Update Service not running

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What to do if Windows cannot check for updates because the service is not running?

1. Run Windows update troubleshooter
2. Reset Windows update settings
3. Update RST driver
4. Clear your Windows update history and restart the Windows update service
5. Restart the Windows update service
6. Reset Windows update repository
7. Use system restore point
8. Temporarily disable anti-virus and firewall protection

Most of Windows updates address security issues. These are the worst possible problems as they may be exploited by malware or hackers.

However, updates may address other bugs and issues in Windows 10. Even though they are not responsible for security vulnerabilities, they might impact the stability of your operating system.

There are times when you might encounter an error while checking for updates, such as: ‘Windows update cannot currently check for updates because the service is not running’.

Even if you restart your computer and try again, you will face the same error. If this is the case, keep on reading this guide in order to find out what’s the right solution to your problem.

SOLVED: Windows Update Service is Not Running

Solution 1: Run the Windows update troubleshooter

Windows has a built-in troubleshooter that can help you check and fix issues with Windows Update. It is always a good method to consider whenever you encounter any problem running Windows Update.

In order to do this:

1. Type troubleshoot in Windows Search bar and click on Troubleshooting
2. Click Fix problems with Windows Update and then Next
3. Restart your computer and again try to install the updates

You can also run the Update troubleshooter from the Settings page.

Solution 2: Turn off Windows Update

Turning Windows Update off and then on through Control Panel has fixed this error for many users because it resets any inconsistent settings of Windows Update. To do that on older Windows versions:

1. Click on Windows Update in the search results and then click on Change Settings
2. Under Important updates select Never check for updates and click OK
3. Go to the Windows update settings window again and select Install updates automatically and click OK.

The steps to follow may be a bit different on newer Windows 10 versions. Irrespective of the steps to follow, you need to turn off Windows Update, restart your computer and then turn the service back on.

For more information on how to block updates on the latest Windows 10 versions, use these guides:

Solution 3: Update RST driver

This error could appear as a result of your RST (Intel Rapid Storage Technology) driver being outdated, corrupted or missing.

Thus, you should update your RST driver manually by going to the official Intel website, and searching for the most recent correct driver.

Please make sure you choose the drivers that are compatible with your version of Windows.

Solution 4: Clear your Windows update history

The Software Distribution folder stores temporary files for Windows Update.

You may get the error due to corruption issues with these files. A good solution is to remove the content of this folder. In order to do this, please follow the steps described below:

1. Press Windows + R keys in order to open Run command box
2. Type services.msc and click OK
3. Right-click on Windows Update and then click Stop
4. Open Windows Explorer and navigate to C:Windows folder
5. Find and delete the Software Distribution folder
6. Go back to the windows Control panel, right-click on Windows Update service and select Start
7. Restart your computer and then run Windows Update

Editor’s Note: This article continues on the next page. If you’re interested in learning more about Windows Update, check out our wide collection of guides.