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- Windows 7 SP1 Windows Update stuck checking for updates 13 answers
Windows 7/8/10 update stuck at checking for updates. Concerns addressed in this tutorial: Windows Update is supposed to work silently in the background, but it may refuse to continue if it can’t.
Today I installed a fresh copy of Windows 7 Home Premium x64 SP1. For some reason, it will just not update. I try to run Windows Update but all it does is hangs at 'Checking for updates'. I even let it sit there for 4 hours and it didn't do anything.
I looked for multiple solutions and none of them worked. I've reset windows update, I've done sfc /scannow, I've done the dism.exe command, I installed 'Windows6.1-KB947821-v34-x64', but nothing seems to fix it.
- Sep 10, 2019 Before downloading the SSU, you will have to turn off Automatic Updates. Click Start, type Windows update in the search box, and then click Windows Update in the Programs list. In the left pane, click Change settings, select Never check for updates, and then select OK. Restart the computer.
- If necessary, you can try to start the Windows in clean boot mode so that the conflicting software will not block it. The time which Windows Update takes is determined the number of updates you need to install and the network bandwidth and the performance of PC.
I downloaded a windows diagnostic tool for windows update, and it did come up with an error that which it failed to fix: '0x800f08'.
I don't know what to do at this point. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
marked as duplicate by Journeyman Geek♦Nov 4 '15 at 23:06
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2 Answers
Fix
Microsoft released a Windows Update Client Update which is part of the July 2016 Update Rollup to fix the long hang at Windows Update scan.
This update contains some improvements to Windows Update Client in Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1). This includes the following:
- An optimization that addresses long scan time for updates that's reported on some computers.
Download:
Stop Windows Update service. This speeds up the setup of MSU updates. This can be done from the command line, or from the service manager window.
Try the downloaded update and see if it speeds up the installation of Updates.
To be able to install the update you first need to install the April 2015 servicing stack update for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 update (again, stop WU service before trying to install the MSU).
Download (April 2015 servicing stack update):
Workaround 1
If this is still not helping to search for new updates, use WSUSOffline to get all the updates.
Windows 7 Checking For Updates Takes Forever
magicandre1981Windows 7 Checking For Updates For Hours
I've seen it take 8+ hours to finally figure them all out and install the first round.
Windows 7 Checking For Updates Stuck
It'll eat all your RAM, and then starts swapping to disk like mad, which can make it take even longer. So if you have like 2GB (or less) of RAM and a slow HDD, the issue will be compounded.
Install this update first, and try again.
This update addresses an issue in which system performance can be decreased during scans. This issue has the greatest effect on computers that have a small amount of physical memory.
Win7 has known issues now that the update catalogue is so huge (the above fix is supposed to help address that).
Otherwise, let it sit trying overnight and see if it's advanced come morning. Note: Be sure to set your power settings to make sure the system doesn't go into sleep mode.
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