How to Fix Windows Update Not Working | Errors, Stuck Downloads, and Failed Installs

If Windows Update has been sitting on "Checking for updates" for hours, downloads stall at 0%, or installs fail with an error code like 0x80070002 or 0x800f0922 — you're not alone, and restarting at random rarely fixes it.

This guide breaks down the most common causes into five categories: disk space, update services, the SoftwareDistribution cache, network issues, and corrupted system files — and walks through fixes in the order most likely to resolve your issue. Works for both Windows 10 and Windows 11.

Identify the symptom and error code

Download stuck vs. install failed

The right fix depends on exactly where Windows Update is failing:

Stuck on "Checking for updates" for a long time — problem with the Windows Update service, network, or WSUS (corporate environments)
Download stuck at 0% or a few percent — low disk space, corrupted SoftwareDistribution folder, or unstable network
Download completes but install fails — corrupted system files, interference from third-party security software, or a driver conflict
"Undoing changes made to your computer" after reboot — the update partially applied, then rolled back; usually caused by the most recent update itself

Go to Settings > Windows Update > Update history to see past failures. If the same KB keeps failing repeatedly, that narrows things down quickly.

Common error codes explained

If you see an error code, it tells you a lot about the cause:

0x80070002 / 0x80070003 — corrupted update files; resetting SoftwareDistribution usually fixes this
0x80070070 — not enough disk space
0x800f0922 — .NET Framework issue or System Reserved partition is full
0x80073712 — Windows Update component corruption; use DISM to repair
0x8007000D — update file corrupted or missing
0x80240034 — download failure, usually a network issue
0xC1900101 — driver conflict; common with feature updates, check Device Manager
0x80244022 — WSUS server communication error (corporate environments)

Check available disk space (most important)

How much free space does Windows Update need?

Feature updates (the big annual upgrades) need at least 10 GB of free space, and even quality/security updates need a few GB. Open File Explorer, click This PC, and check your C: drive.

Under 1 GB — feature updates are impossible
1–10 GB — quality updates may work, feature updates probably won't
10–20 GB — fine for most updates
20 GB or more — handles virtually all updates

How to free up space

If you're running low, work through these in order:

Storage Sense — Settings > System > Storage > Storage Sense > Run Storage Sense now
Uninstall unused apps — Settings > Apps > Installed apps; sort by size
Disk Cleanup (run as administrator) — search for cleanmgr, select the C: drive, then click Clean up system files. Check "Windows Update Cleanup" and "Delivery Optimization Files"
Empty the Downloads folder and Recycle Bin — both are easy to overlook
Make OneDrive files online-only — right-click files in OneDrive > "Free up space" to remove local copies

Note on Windows.old: If you see "Previous Windows installation(s)" in Disk Cleanup, it's the rollback folder from a feature update. It's safe to delete if the update was more than 10 days ago — and it can free up tens of gigabytes.

Restart Windows and try again

If disk space isn't the issue, a simple restart is worth trying first. Make sure you choose Restart, not Shut down — Windows Fast Startup means Shut down doesn't fully reset the OS state, so existing problems can carry over.

After restarting, go to Settings > Windows Update and click Download & install again.

Run the Windows Update troubleshooter

Windows includes a built-in automated diagnostic tool:

Settings > System > Troubleshoot > Other troubleshooters
Find Windows Update and click Run
Wait for the scan and repair to complete
Try Windows Update again

This tool handles resetting SoftwareDistribution, restarting services, and basic component repair automatically. Run it before you try the manual steps below — it can save you a lot of time.

Check Windows Update service status

Services to verify

Windows Update depends on several background services. If any of them are stopped, updates won't proceed. Open the Services manager by pressing Win+R, typing services.msc, and pressing Enter. Verify the following are running:

Windows Update (Status: Running, Startup type: Manual)
Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS)
Cryptographic Services
Windows Update Medic Service

How to restart a service

Right-click the service and choose Restart, or Stop then Start. If a service's startup type is set to "Disabled", open its Properties and change it back to "Manual" or "Automatic".

Reset the SoftwareDistribution folder

What this does

C:WindowsSoftwareDistribution is where Windows stores downloaded update files. If this folder gets corrupted, updates will keep failing no matter how many times you retry. Resetting it wipes the cache and lets Windows start fresh — the folder is safe to clear because it's just a cache.

Reset commands

Open PowerShell as administrator (right-click Start > Terminal (Admin)) and run the following commands in order:

net stop wuauserv
net stop cryptSvc
net stop bits
net stop msiserver
ren C:WindowsSoftwareDistribution SoftwareDistribution.old
ren C:WindowsSystem32catroot2 catroot2.old
net start wuauserv
net start cryptSvc
net start bits
net start msiserver

Leave SoftwareDistribution.old in place for now — you can delete it once Windows Update is working again. After running these commands, try Windows Update. Windows will rebuild the SoftwareDistribution folder automatically and re-download updates from scratch.

Repair corrupted system files

Run sfc /scannow

The System File Checker scans for corrupted protected OS files and repairs them. Open PowerShell as administrator and run:

sfc /scannow

Wait for it to reach 100%. The result will be one of: "no integrity violations found", "successfully repaired", or "unable to repair". If it can't repair, move on to DISM.

Run DISM to repair the Windows image

DISM goes deeper than SFC — it repairs the underlying Windows image. Run these three commands in order:

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

/RestoreHealth can take 20–40 minutes. It may appear frozen — leave it running. Once it completes, run sfc /scannow again. In many cases the second SFC run will succeed after DISM has repaired the image.

Fix network-related issues

Turn off metered connection

If your Wi-Fi connection is set as a metered connection, Windows deliberately holds back large update downloads. Go to Settings > Network & Internet > Wi-Fi, click your network's Properties, and make sure Metered connection is off.

Mobile hotspot (phone tethering) is automatically flagged as metered. If you're on a hotspot, switch to a fixed broadband connection before updating.

Disconnect VPN

Corporate VPNs and personal VPNs (NordVPN, ExpressVPN, etc.) can block or severely throttle connections to Microsoft's update servers. Disconnect your VPN and try the update again.

Download and install updates manually

Find the KB number from the error

Go to Settings > Windows Update > Update history and note the KB number (e.g., KB5034441) of the update that keeps failing.

Get it from the Microsoft Update Catalog

Visit catalog.update.microsoft.com, search for the KB number, and download the version that matches your OS (Windows 10 or 11) and architecture (x64 or ARM64). Run the downloaded file to install manually.

Updates that fail through the normal Windows Update channel often install without issues when applied as a standalone package from the Catalog.

If nothing works: in-place upgrade

If you've worked through everything above and updates still fail, an in-place upgrade — reinstalling Windows over itself — resolves the issue in the vast majority of remaining cases. Your files, apps, and settings are all preserved; only the OS core is repaired.

Download the Windows 11 installation media (or Windows 10) — use the Installation Assistant or download an ISO
If using an ISO, double-click it to mount it, then run setup.exe
When prompted, choose Keep personal files and apps
The process takes 1–2 hours

Since this is essentially a reinstall, back up any critical files first just to be safe.

Summary: checklist in order

Here's the full sequence from this guide, in the order to try them:

Check the error code (narrows down the cause immediately)
Free up at least 10 GB on your C: drive
Restart Windows (not shut down) and retry
Run the Windows Update troubleshooter
Verify update services are running
Reset the SoftwareDistribution folder with the stop/rename/start commands
Run sfc /scannow, then DISM /RestoreHealth
Check for metered connection or VPN interference
Download and install manually from Microsoft Update Catalog
Last resort: in-place upgrade

Steps 1–6 resolve the majority of cases. SFC and DISM take time, so try the faster fixes first before committing to those.