How to fix a stuck Windows update

By David Nield 26 February 2021

If a Windows update has stalled, here’s how to get everything moving again

Found a Windows 10 update is stuck? Thankfully, a stuck Windows 10 update isn’t the worst thing in the world. In fact, it’s not entirely unavoidable. With so many hardware and software configurations out there, there’s always the chance that some unexpected problem will crop up.

Operating system updates can be a real chore, and you might not care for them. But like taxes and car MOTs, they are a necessary evil, essential for a happy and peaceful computing life. They keep you protected by squashing nasty bugs, and your OS running as smoothly as possible.

Still, installing a new update won’t always run smoothly. Even with Microsoft trying to make the process as pain-free as possible in recent versions of Windows, getting a Windows 10 update stuck may still happen to you. When it does, you’ll be happy to know that there’s almost always a fix.

So don’t panic and read on. We’ve got you covered. Here are a few fixes when you end up with a Windows 10 update that’s stuck.

How to fix a stuck Windows update

1. Make sure the updates really are stuck
2. Turn it off and on again
3. Check the Windows Update utility
4. Run Microsoft’s troubleshooter program
5. Launch Windows in Safe Mode
6. Go back in time with System Restore
7. Delete the Windows Update file cache yourself
8. Launch a thorough virus scan
9. Run a full Windows reset

1. Make sure the updates really are stuck

We’re going to cover a lot of ground here for several versions of Windows and a variety of ‘stuck’ scenarios, so you may have to tweak some of these steps to suit your situation and software.

The first point to make is that interfering with updates that aren’t actually stuck can cause a host of problems, so you want to make sure they really are stuck.

If you’ve got the time, and the patience, we’d recommend waiting a couple of hours, especially with slower machines – go and cut the grass or watch a movie. It may seem extreme, but you don’t want to start meddling with these fundamental processes unless you really have to.

2. Turn it off and on again

Do you know why «have you tried turning it off and on again» is such an IT support cliché? Because it so often works. There’s no magic trick to this – it simply clears out your computer’s temporary memory (including any stalled files or processes), and lets Windows start again from scratch with everything on the system.

If your updates are stuck in the background while you still have access to Windows, you can restart as normal; if they’re stuck before or after the OS loads, you’re going to have to hold down the power button and do a hard reset. This can cause issues itself, so make sure your updates definitely aren’t progressing at all.

3. Check the Windows Update utility

In Windows 10 you can find the Windows Update page by launching the Settings app from the Start menu and clicking Update & Security – if there’s something wrong and Windows knows what it is then you should find details here. Sometimes you’ll just get a message telling you to try the update again at a different time.

If you click ‘Advanced options’ and then ‘View your update history’, you can see recently installed updates that were successful, and uninstall some or all of them – again, this can be a handy troubleshooting option. Windows 10 has actually streamlined the update process, so you should be seeing fewer errors.

4. Run Microsoft’s troubleshooter program

Microsoft feels your pain: it knows the update process can cause problems every now and again, which is why it’s developed a troubleshooter program specifically for it – search the old Control Panel for «troubleshooting», then select ‘Fix problems with Windows Update’ from the list on-screen.

The link should be available in Windows 7 and 8 too, but if not you can get at it on the web as well. That said, if you haven’t yet upgraded to Microsoft’s latest and greatest operating system then it’s probably still worth your while, as it’s more than likely to solve your update problems at the same time.

5. Launch Windows in Safe Mode

Safe Mode is like a restart with extras – only the very basic apps and code that Windows needs to run are loaded into memory, so there’s even less chance of a rogue, damaged file interfering with the update. In Windows 10, hold down the Shift key then choose Power and Restart from the Windows sign-in screen.

On the next screen you see pick Troubleshoot, Advanced Options, Startup Settings and Restart, and you should then see the Safe Mode option appear: try running through the update process again if you can. A quick search online will give you Safe Mode instructions for older versions of Windows.

6. Go back in time with System Restore

System Restore has been helpful for solving Windows problems for many a year now, but it happens to be quite well hidden in Windows 10. Go to Control Panel, System, System Protection and then click System Restore. Go through the wizard, then choose ‘Show more restore points’ to see all your available options.

Pick a time and date, then complete the wizard to go back to how Windows was configured at that point (and hopefully solve your update issues at the same time). The process doesn’t affect your personal files or programs, but it may not be available to you depending on how Windows was originally set up.

7. Delete the Windows Update file cache yourself, part 1

If Windows’ own troubleshooter doesn’t work (see step 4) then you can try and carry out the same process yourself manually: stopping the Windows Update service, deleting the temporary files it’s created, then starting Windows Update again. It’s a little more involved, but it’s not difficult to do.

First, boot up into Safe Mode (see step 5), then access to the command prompt, the most basic of Windows interfaces: right-click on the Start menu, choose Command Prompt (Admin), and a text box should appear. Type «net stop wuauserv» and hit Enter, then follow that with «net stop bits» and hit Enter again.

8. Delete the Windows Update file cache yourself, part 2

Back in Windows proper, navigate to the C:\ Windows\ SoftwareDistribution folder, and delete everything you find therein. You’re not going to break anything by doing this – these are just temporary files Windows creates so it knows where it’s up to, and Windows Update will create them again from scratch.

With that done, go back to your command prompt window and type «net start wuauserv» (Enter) then «net start bits» (Enter) to get Windows Update and its related background services up and running again; hopefully this trick should be enough to kick-start the update that was previously stuck.

9. Launch a thorough virus scan

One of the more obscure reasons why a Windows update might not be installing is because a virus or some kind of spyware is blocking it: malicious apps like these can often be squashed by Windows security updates, which is why they try and stop the latest patches from being installed on your machine.

Try running a full and thorough virus scan using whatever security software you have installed (you do have some installed, right?). If you think your antivirus tool has also been compromised you can download some on-demand scanners, like this one from Microsoft or this one from Dr. Web.

10. Run a full Windows reset

Restoring key Windows files and OS options is a lot easier than it used to be, and ‘resetting’ Windows 10 basically means putting all the system files back to their factory state without touching your personal files along the way (although you can choose to wipe your drive completely if you want).

You can find the option via the Recovery tab on the Update & Security page in the Settings app – note that third-party apps are removed too, so these will need installing again. Windows 8 offers both ‘refresh’ and ‘reset’ options, while on Windows 7 the reset option will typically have been provided by the PC’s manufacturer.

How to Fix Win­dows 10 Update Stuck on Check­ing for Updates Issue

Mehvish

03 Jul 2019

A few days back, I noticed my laptop’s fan was running at full speed when plugged in. Typically, one would think the issue is with the fan itself. But, diving deep into the problem, it came to surface that Windows wasn’t able to update automatically. Every time it tried, it got stuck.

Basically, even if you tried checking for updates manually, it would get stuck on ‘Checking for updates’ screen. Further observation revealed that svchost.exe process under Task Manager was consuming a lot of memory, which resulted in the issue with the fan.

You might have noticed the same issue with Windows Update in a different manner. It’s important to fix the problem as it hampers other programs too.

In this post, you will find solutions to fix ‘checking for updates’ issue on Windows 10. Let’s start right away.

1. Restart Your Computer

Before you start tinkering with anything else on your PC, simply reboot your computer once. Doing that will stop your computer from checking for updates and eventually fix the issue.

2. Check Date and Time

Next, make sure data and time are set correctly on your PC. Sometimes, the wrong time also messes with the updates.

To verify it, right-click on the clock on your taskbar and select Adjust date/time from the menu.

In the Settings window that opens, enable Set time automatically and also click on Sync now under Synchronize your clock.

If the Set time automatically option is enabled already, then turn it off and then re-enable it.

3. Try a Different Network

At times, the problem is with your network. If you have access to a different Wi-Fi connection, try connecting your PC to it. You can also use hotspot from your phone to connect your PC.

Once connected to a new network, restart your PC. Hopefully, you should be able to download the updates now.

Also on Guiding Tech

How To Solve Stuck Windows Update in Windows 10

4. Update or Disable Antivirus

A lot of times, the antivirus prevents Windows from updating. To fix it, either disable it for some time or check if an update is available for the antivirus. For that, open your antivirus and you will be asked to update it. Once updated, restart your PC and then try downloading updates. If no update is available, then disable it temporarily and then try downloading the Windows updates.

5. Disable Updates for Microsoft Products

Another thing to try is to disable updates for other Microsoft products. The setting is available in Updates itself. Here’s how to do it:

Step 1: Open Settings on your PC. You can use the shortcut Windows key + I shortcut to open Settings.

Step 2: Go to Update & Security.

Step 3: Click on Advanced options.

Step 4: Disable ‘Receive updates for other Microsoft products when you update Windows’ option.

Step 5: Restart your PC and look for updates. Hopefully, you will be able to do that easily.

6. Restart Windows Update Service

In Windows, a process and service are two different things. Restarting a service is known to fix many issues. For that, follow these steps:

Step 1: Go to search on your PC and type Run. Open the Run app. Alternatively, press Windows key + R shortcut to open it.

Step 2: Type services.msc in the Run dialog box and hit Enter.

Step 3: In the Services window, scroll down and look for Windows Update. Right-click on it and then hit Stop. Wait for some time. Then right-click again and hit Start.

Also on Guiding Tech

# troubleshooting

7. Run Update Troubleshooter

If the above methods didn’t help, try running the native troubleshooter offered by Windows itself.

Here are the steps for the same:

Step 1: Open Settings on your computer using the Windows key + I shortcut.

Step 2: Go to Update & security.

Step 3: Click on Troubleshoot present on the left side.

Step 4: Click on Windows Update and hit the Run the troubleshooter button.

Step 5: Wait for the troubleshooter to complete the process.

8. Run Disk Cleanup

You should also perform disk cleanup on the C drive. That helps in removing any bad and corrupt files that pose issues for new downloads.

To do so, follow these steps:

Step 1: Open the This PC folder on your computer.

Step 2: Right-click on the C drive and select Properties.

Step 3: Click on Disk Cleanup under the General tab.

Step 4: In the Disk Cleanup window, select Delivery Optimization Files among other preselected ones and hit Ok.

Step 5: Restart your PC.

Also on Guiding Tech

What is Windows Defender Exploit Guard and How to Enable it on Windows 10

Stay Updated

In my case, the issue was with the antivirus. An update was available for it and that was posing issues. Fortunately, updating it fixed the Windows 10 update issue. However, what worked for me might not work for you. So, do try other solutions as well.

Next up: Want to update Windows 10 without the internet? Here’s how to install it offline.

Last updated on 5 Jul, 2019
The above article may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. However, it does not affect our editorial integrity. The content remains unbiased and authentic.

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