In this guide, we will show you the steps to fix the issue of Windows Update Service missing or not working. There are quite a few system services running in the background that are responsible for making sure that the OS and its associated components run along the expected line. One among them is the Windows Update Service which checks for scans and then notifies you in case there is a pending update. Likewise, it also makes sure that the entire installation process goes smoothly without any hiccups.
But what if this service is itself bugged? Well, that is what many users have reported as of late. According to them, the Windows Update Service is either missing or not working. As a result of which, the update is stuck at 0% or at a pedign update. And it isn’t just related with the OS upgrades, it’s repercussions are being faced by system apps as well, such as the Microsoft Visual C++ 2015 UWP Desktop Runtime.
The accompanying error message reads out “There were some problems installing updates, but we “ll try again later”.Along with that, you would also get an error code, which could be either of the three: 0x80070006, 0x80080005, or 0x80070424. If you are also getting bugged with this problem, then this guide shall help you out. Follow along for the fix.
Fix Windows Update Service is Missing/Not Working
The main reason why you are facing this issue is because of the missing or corrupt Windows Update Service registry key named wuauserv. So you will have to repair/restore this key using a batch file, as instructed below. But since this batch file will be making certain changes to the Registry, we would advise you to take a backup of the registry beforehand. Once done, you may then proceed with the below steps-
- Right-click in an empty location on the desktop and select New > Text Document.
- Now copy-paste the below content into the Notepad:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\wuauserv] "DependOnService"=hex(7):72,00,70,00,63,00,73,00,73,00,00,00,00,00 "Description"="@%systemroot%\\system32\\wuaueng.dll,-106" "DisplayName"="@%systemroot%\\system32\\wuaueng.dll,-105" "ErrorControl"=dword:00000001 "FailureActions"=hex:80,51,01,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,03,00,00,00,14,00,00,\ 00,01,00,00,00,60,ea,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00 "ImagePath"=hex(2):25,00,73,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,72,00,6f,00,6f,00,\ 74,00,25,00,5c,00,73,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,32,00,5c,00,73,\ 00,76,00,63,00,68,00,6f,00,73,00,74,00,2e,00,65,00,78,00,65,00,20,00,2d,00,\ 6b,00,20,00,6e,00,65,00,74,00,73,00,76,00,63,00,73,00,20,00,2d,00,70,00,00,\ 00 "ObjectName"="LocalSystem" "RequiredPrivileges"=hex(7):53,00,65,00,41,00,75,00,64,00,69,00,74,00,50,00,72,\ 00,69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,00,53,00,65,00,43,00,72,00,\ 65,00,61,00,74,00,65,00,47,00,6c,00,6f,00,62,00,61,00,6c,00,50,00,72,00,69,\ 00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,00,53,00,65,00,43,00,72,00,65,00,\ 61,00,74,00,65,00,50,00,61,00,67,00,65,00,46,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,50,00,72,\ 00,69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,00,53,00,65,00,54,00,63,00,\ 62,00,50,00,72,00,69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,00,53,00,65,\ 00,41,00,73,00,73,00,69,00,67,00,6e,00,50,00,72,00,69,00,6d,00,61,00,72,00,\ 79,00,54,00,6f,00,6b,00,65,00,6e,00,50,00,72,00,69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,\ 00,67,00,65,00,00,00,53,00,65,00,49,00,6d,00,70,00,65,00,72,00,73,00,6f,00,\ 6e,00,61,00,74,00,65,00,50,00,72,00,69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,\ 00,00,00,53,00,65,00,49,00,6e,00,63,00,72,00,65,00,61,00,73,00,65,00,51,00,\ 75,00,6f,00,74,00,61,00,50,00,72,00,69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,\ 00,00,00,53,00,65,00,53,00,68,00,75,00,74,00,64,00,6f,00,77,00,6e,00,50,00,\ 72,00,69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,00,53,00,65,00,44,00,65,\ 00,62,00,75,00,67,00,50,00,72,00,69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,\ 00,00,53,00,65,00,42,00,61,00,63,00,6b,00,75,00,70,00,50,00,72,00,69,00,76,\ 00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,00,53,00,65,00,52,00,65,00,73,00,74,00,\ 6f,00,72,00,65,00,50,00,72,00,69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,\ 00,53,00,65,00,53,00,65,00,63,00,75,00,72,00,69,00,74,00,79,00,50,00,72,00,\ 69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,00,53,00,65,00,54,00,61,00,6b,\ 00,65,00,4f,00,77,00,6e,00,65,00,72,00,73,00,68,00,69,00,70,00,50,00,72,00,\ 69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,00,53,00,65,00,4c,00,6f,00,61,\ 00,64,00,44,00,72,00,69,00,76,00,65,00,72,00,50,00,72,00,69,00,76,00,69,00,\ 6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,00,53,00,65,00,4d,00,61,00,6e,00,61,00,67,00,65,\ 00,56,00,6f,00,6c,00,75,00,6d,00,65,00,50,00,72,00,69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,\ 65,00,67,00,65,00,00,00,00,00 "ServiceSidType"=dword:00000001 "Start"=dword:00000003 "SvcHostSplitDisable"=dword:00000001 "SvcMemHardLimitInMB"=dword:000000f6 "SvcMemMidLimitInMB"=dword:000000a7 "SvcMemSoftLimitInMB"=dword:00000058 "Type"=dword:00000020 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\wuauserv\Parameters] "ServiceDll"=hex(2):25,00,73,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,72,00,6f,00,6f,\ 00,74,00,25,00,5c,00,73,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,32,00,5c,00,\ 77,00,75,00,61,00,75,00,65,00,6e,00,67,00,2e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,00,00,00 "ServiceDllUnloadOnStop"=dword:00000001 "ServiceMain"="WUServiceMain" [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\wuauserv\Security] "Security"=hex:01,00,14,80,78,00,00,00,84,00,00,00,14,00,00,00,30,00,00,00,02,\ 00,1c,00,01,00,00,00,02,80,14,00,ff,00,0f,00,01,01,00,00,00,00,00,01,00,00,\ 00,00,02,00,48,00,03,00,00,00,00,00,14,00,9d,00,02,00,01,01,00,00,00,00,00,\ 05,0b,00,00,00,00,00,18,00,ff,01,0f,00,01,02,00,00,00,00,00,05,20,00,00,00,\ 20,02,00,00,00,00,14,00,ff,01,0f,00,01,01,00,00,00,00,00,05,12,00,00,00,01,\ 01,00,00,00,00,00,05,12,00,00,00,01,01,00,00,00,00,00,05,12,00,00,00 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\wuauserv\TriggerInfo] [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\wuauserv\TriggerInfo\0] "Type"=dword:00000005 "Action"=dword:00000001 "Guid"=hex:e6,ca,9f,65,db,5b,a9,4d,b1,ff,ca,2a,17,8d,46,e0 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\wuauserv\TriggerInfo\1] "Type"=dword:00000005 "Action"=dword:00000001 "Guid"=hex:c8,46,fb,54,89,f0,4c,46,b1,fd,59,d1,b6,2c,3b,50
- Then go to File > Save As. Change the Save As Type to All Files, name the file WinUpdateFix.reg, and hit Save.
- Now double-click to open this file and you will now get a Registry Editor prompt, click YES.
- Finally, click OK and restart your PC. Once it boots up, try updating/installing Visual C++, there would be no issues now.
That’s it. These were the steps to fix the issue of Windows Update Service is missing/not working. If you have any queries concerning the aforementioned steps, do let us know in the comments. We will get back to you with a solution at the earliest.
