How To Fix Windows Update Stuck

In this guide, you are going to learn best ways to Fix Windows Update Stuck issue on desktop PC, laptop, or tablet devices. Windows Update are an integral part of the overall Windows experience designed and pushed onto PCs regularly by Microsoft to ensure smooth running of the Windows operating system. But as it happens, Windows update can get stuck during downloading or installing process, which could leave your PC vulnerable to threats if the stuck update comes with a vital security patch and new features. So, here we are going to walk your through different ways of  fixing stuck or frozen Windows Update issue to help those who face Windows Update stuck issue regularly, or if a particular update is not downloading on their device.

fix stuck windows update issue

Although updating process has improved significantly in Windows 10, but some users are reporting Windows update failing to download or getting stuck in the middle during the download process. This issue was extremely common on Windows 7, and Windows 8/8.1 to an extent. When this issue starts surfacing on your device, Windows update error shows up on your device, or the update gets stuck in ‘Searching for updates’ message without any progress. Here”s what you can do to fix Windows Update not working on PC Windows 10, Windows 7, Windows 8/8.1 desktop, laptop, or tablet.

Best Ways Fix Windows Update Stuck Error

There are several ways to fix Windows Update frozen and not working issue. Let’s look at them one by one to tackle the problem.

Use Windows Update Troubleshooter:

Fist recommended things to do when Windows update gets frozen at one point without moving forward is to find the underlying problem using the troubleshooter. Every Windows version comes with a built-in troubleshooter to find common issues with Windows OS.

If Windows update gets stuck at one point, you can use troubleshooter to shut down Windows Update Services, to rename the C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution folder to C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution.old to clean Windows Update download cache so that it can run again without any hidden data cache file disrupting the download process, and finally it restarts Windows Update Services to start the update process all over again.

In to access the troubleshooter, simply type ‘troublehooting’ in the search box, and click on its icon from the search result to open the program. There is another tool available in Windows which can be used to Fix Stuck Windows Update and can accessed from the Control Panel: Go to Control Panel > System and Security and click on the Fix problems with Windows Update option for troubleshooting to find the real culprit. In the Windows Troubleshooting, click on the Advanced link and make sure that the Apple repairs automatically option is checked following by clicking on the Run as administrator option, and finally hit the Next button. Make sure to open Troubleshooting tool as an Administrator which can help delete files from the download cache.

Once done, wait for the troubleshooting program to find and fix the problem with downloading Windows Update. Mostly this works to fix Windows Update issue and resumes stuck Windows Update. Try troubleshooting trick, even if it shows that the problem could not be identified, it will at least clear up the cache by stopping and starting the service.

fix windows update stuck issue

Delete Cache Manually To Fix Windows Update Issue:

If Troubleshooting didn’t help to fix Windows update stuck issue, you can try to perform the task of cleaning cache manually without leaving anything to chance. Manually deleting cache can help where the automatic Troubleshooting didn’t work to fix the problem.

For this to work, you should first boot Windows into Safe Mode as it free up cache reserved for Windows Update download. If you are using Windows 7, restart your PC and hit the F8 key at startup to enter your device into Safe Mode. When PC is in the Safe Mode, stop the Windows Update service from the command prompt. To launch the command prompt, right-click on the Start button and select Command Prompt (Admin) option on the list. If you are using Windows 7, search Command Prompt and hit the icon in the search result, or go to Start > All Programs > Accessories > Command Prompt.

Now, in the command prompt, type the following command and hit enter, which will stop the Windows Update Service.

net stop wuauserv

Next up, open the File Explorer window and head over to C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution and delete all the files along with the folders inside that main folder. There is nothing vital in here that can effect system performance, so you can delete them without worrying about any serious repercussions. Now, restart the Windows Update service, and then go to the command prompt once more to type in the following command:

net start wuauserv

Wait for the command to execute. Once done, you can close the command prompt window, and restart Windows back into the normal mode. Try downloading and installing Windows update once more, this time hopefully it won’t get stuck in the middle.

Manually Download Updates Using WSUS Offline Update Tool:

If the solutions above don’t fix the problem, try using a third-party tool called WSUS Offline Update. This program download Windows updates from Microsoft and installs them on your device, if the built-in Windows Update isn’t working on your device.

Run the tool for it to find latest Windows update available for your device. This works on many device on which Windows Update utility isn’t working. Download WSUS Offline update, extract it to PC and open it by double-clicking on the UpdateGenerator.exe file.

Once the tool is open, select your Windows version, 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) edition and hit the Start button. WSUS Offline Update Generator will start searching the recently available updates for your Windows device and download them automatically. Do keep in mind that if you are using this tool after fresh Windows install, the number of updates to be installed could be large and could end up taking some time for downloading them so be patient. Make sure internet connection is fast and stable to avoid interruption during the download process.

When the updates are finished downloading, open the Client folder inside the WSUS Folder and run the UpdateInstaller.exe app and hit the start button to install the downloaded updates.

Wrap Up

There are many third-party apps available on the internet that help fix Windows Update stuck issue. Like we mentioned above that this Windows Update getting stuck issue frequently occurs in Windows 7. So, if you are using Windows 7 running device, check out Microsoft’s official post for update related issues on Windows 7.

Do let us know in the comments below if the solution worked to fix the problem on your device.

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