There are a plethora of reasons why Windows may refuse a windows update but here is your guide on how to fix that issue. Sometimes windows update will search for the updates and get stuck at 1% or give an error that says Windows Update is not available. We don’t know the exact root cause of the issue but we speculate that system files are corrupted.
Use the Windows Update Troubleshooter
1.) Press Start -> Settings and press Enter
2.) Go to Update and Security -> Troubleshoot
3.) Find Windows Update and click on Run the Troubleshooter
4.) Run the troubleshooter. It will let you know of the specific issues it finds. Reboot when you’re all done.
Run SFC / SCANNOW
If the Windows Update troubleshooter didn’t fix it you can try to run SFC /SCANNOW to see if you can find and replace damaged system files.
1.) Open a command window and run it as an Administrator
2.) Type in SFC /SCANNOW
3.) Wait until the utility is done running. If there are any files that need to be repaired it will ask to do so. Or you will get a message that says there are no integrity violations.
Run a DISM
1.) Bring up another command prompt window and copy and paste the following command in the command line
dism.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth
2.) In case the DISM can’t obtain the files online you can try using your Windows 10 media. Insert the media and type in the following command
dism.exe /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /Source:C:/Repair/Source/Windows /LimitAccess
3.) Be sure to replace C:/Repair/Source/Windows with the path of your USB or DVD.
Download the Update Manually
You can manually download windows updates and usually when you download one the others will kick in behind it. Here’s how to do this:
1.) Do a search and type in Windows Update. Then press Check online for updates from Microsoft Update
2.) Often times it will seek updates that otherwise may not be available.
Reset Windows Updates Components
1.) Open up a command prompt as an admin and type in the following commands:
net stop wuauserv
net stop cryptSvc
net stop bits
net stop msiserver
rmdir %windir%SoftwareDistribution /S /Q
net start wuauserv
net start cryptSvc
net start bits
net start msiserver
2.) Hit Enter key afterward and check to see if the issue is resolved.
Do a REGEDIT
1) Open registry editor by clicking Start menu –> Run and typing regedit – click OK
2.) Browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\AU
3.) Modify the value of UseWUServer from 1 to 0. The zero disables Windows Updates from using WSUS.
4.) Go to Services.msc and restart the Windows Update Service. You should now be able to check for new available Windows Updates.