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I installed Windows 7 fresh and installed SP1. Now, when I try to check manually for Windows Updates it just hangs on the Checking for updates screen.

Windows Update dialog on hang

I tried running the tools in How do I reset Windows Update components?, but this did not fix the issue either:

No matter what I do it just hangs on the "Checking for updates..." screen and goes no further.

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Might be a similar issue to this? superuser.com/questions/962070/… – Jake Fisher Oct 20 '15 at 2:13
2  
I recently had the same problem and solved it by shutting down windows and then restarting it. A mere reboot was not enough. Only at shutdown it started installing updates and then the next boot it found the next set up updates. – Hennes Dec 18 '15 at 23:19
    
Neither magicandre1981 nor Moab's answers assisted me. After following both procedures (on a virtualbox I reset back to the same snapshot) I still had the hung update search. I did find a fix though! I have no idea what update got everything sorted out but using this sledge hammer I was able to get a bunch downloaded and installed. Then did a normal windows update and it had another ~30 and I was all up to date again :) – HodlDwon Apr 23 at 22:48
    
See also OS/2 Museum: Updating Windows for an anecdote. – Michael Kjörling May 27 at 13:14
    
I'm just duplicating my comment I posted in thread for similar question here for the benefit of others struggling with this: I just spent couple of days in company of old laptop with 2GB of RAM and can confirm that issue seems to be x64 + poor hardware/insufficient RAM specific. All solutions listed above didn't help to obtain updates while using x64 Windows 7 SP1 Home Basic - really tried them (even twice). Not counting waiting for 4 days as solution I even want to try. But as soon as I switched to x86 edition + manually installed latest "Windows Update Client for Windows 7" it all works. – Mikhail Sep 13 at 11:23
up vote 271 down vote accepted

Fix

Microsoft released a new Windows Update Client Update to fix the slow update searching/installation problem:

Installing and searching for updates is slow and high CPU usage occurs in Windows 7

  1. Download:

  2. Stop Windows Update service. This speeds up the setup of MSU updates and the useless steps from Moab are not required. This can be done from the command line, or from the service manager window.

  3. Try the downloaded update and see if it speeds up the installation of Updates.


Alternative fix (March 2016)

Microsoft released a newer version: version from March 2016. Follow the same steps as before.


Alternative fix (June 2016)

Microsoft released a newer version: version from June 2016, which is part of the July 2016 Update Rollup.

Windows Update Client for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2: June 2016

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.
  1. Download:

  2. Stop the Windows Update service again.

  3. Try the downloaded update and see if it speeds up the installation of Updates.

N.b.: (Prerequisites: To apply this update, you must install Service Pack 1 for Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2 and April 2015 servicing stack update for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2.)


Alternative fix (September 2016)

Microsoft released a newer version The July 2016 update rollup for Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1) and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 was re-released on September 13, 2016 to address an issue in one of the included updates and to improve the overall reliability of the update rollup.see https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3172605


Workaround 1

On May 17th 2016 Microsoft released a new large Update Rollup, called Convenience rollup update, for Windows 7 SP1. This rollup package includes almost all the updates that were released after the release of SP1 for Windows 7 through April 2016.

You can download the update from the Windows Update catalog (currently only usable with Internet Explorer) and manually install the MSU (again, stop the Windows Update service before doing a double click on the MSU) to have a Windows 7 which is up to date. Now try to check on for new updates in Windows Update, and it should be faster because it has a much newer update base and Windows Update should detect the missing updates easier.


Workaround 2

An user discovered an strange "solution". The speedup can be improved if you install the Security Update for Windows Kernel-Mode Drivers (win32k.sys) if such an update is released at the current patchday.

For June 2016, the win32k.sys update is KB3161664.

Download the update (32Bit, 64Bit), stop the Windows Update service again, install the KB3161664 MSU and make a reboot. Now search again for new Windows Updates.


Workaround 3

If this is still not helping to search for new updates, use WSUSOffline to get all the updates.

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1  
At old computers it took me 4 whole days to completely update with tons of errors.After this update checking finished within 2-3 minutes. Lets hope it is going to work. – GorillaApe Nov 4 '15 at 21:33
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@Parhs create a new topic about the failing updates, and share the folder C:\Windows\logs\CBS (compressed as zip on OneDrive, dropbox) – magicandre1981 Nov 5 '15 at 5:11
11  
This worked, thank you! Should be accepted answer I think... I had to restart Windows and then run this update's installer right away, to avoid the still-running "Check for Updates" taking so long that this update would take a very long time to install. After that, Windows Update took something like 5 minutes to find 150 updates right after SP1 install, on a 1.3 GHz / 3 GB memory laptop, which is pretty good. – RichVel Dec 13 '15 at 18:16
12  
If the tool hangs (just like the updates) try stopping wuauserv the "Windows Update" service. Starting KB3102810 tool automatically should start this service if it's stopped and this did the trick for me. – Martin Jan 21 at 12:42
1  
If you tried @Martin's trick (stopping the wuauserv service) but it still doesn't install, try disabling your network card. So, disable your network card, stop the wuauserv service and then install the Windows Update fix. Worked for me :-) – gurka Mar 10 at 12:00

This issue has come and gone over the years with different fixes along the way, so here is my updated guide to this issue as of this date January 5th, 2016.

Check the EDIT section below, there is a much faster way to fully update Windows 7 SP1 after a clean install now.

This is what I do when I reinstall Windows 7 with SP1 or have issues with Windows update stuck on checking for updates.

If Service Pack 1 is not installed, install it before following this guide.

Choose

windows6.1-KB976932-X64.exe

for 64bit W7 or

windows6.1-KB976932-X86.exe

for 32bit W7

Download KB-3138612 and save it where you can find it later

Download SUR Tool save it to same place

Restart the PC and disconnect from internet before Windows loads, this is important because at every boot windows will check for updates in the background and this will start the checking for updates hang all over again and will prevent the install of the downloaded packages until it finishes checking, so disconnecting from the internet before Windows loads prevents this.

Once booted install KB-3138612, if reboot is required do so and stay disconnected from internet.

Now install the SUR Tool package, this is a big package and will install many updates along with cleaning up and repairing the Windows update store. It will also cut down on how many more Windows updates will need to be installed later.

After install of SUR package reboot, connect to internet and do a manual Windows Update, it should work much faster now. Even after these fixes I have seen some W7 PC's take up to an hour to finish checking for updates if launched from Control Panel manually.

If you have other Windows updates issues and the 2 updates above are installed, download this Microsoft Windows Update fixit tool (right click "save link as") run it and select aggressive mode to completely reset Windows updates. Reboot and try Windows Updates from the Control Panel again.

Update: Microsoft has released a huge update rollup for Windows 7 SP1, this is similar to a service pack but they are not calling it that. This will make it Much faster to update Windows 7 after a clean install, no more Windows update issues and many reboots. This update rollup will bring the system current to patch Tuesday of April 2016.

This is not being released through Windows Update, you have to use Internet Explorer to get it, open IE and go to this address

http://catalog.update.microsoft.com/v7/site/home.aspx

Type in the search box 3125574 and hit enter key.

enter image description here

Now you will see all versions of this rollup, select the one you need and download it somewhere you can find it later. Also use the Windows Update Catalog page to download and install this update first, 3020369, it is a pre-requisite for the rollup, then install 3125574, also be sure to be disconnected from the internet when applying these updates.

enter image description here

share|improve this answer
1  
This solution worked after the both Windows Update Automated Troubleshooter and the Windows Update Update failed I had tried the following instructions without any apprent luck. I'm including them here in case they were still a part of the solution. answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/… – user779756 Jan 9 at 4:13
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You are magical. I spent countless hours trying to get windows update to work on a fresh install of SP1 in a vm and this was the only thing that worked. – Matt Jan 14 at 16:35
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Thanks, this worked for a DVD install of Windows 7 SP1. On a 4GHz eight core 16GB on an SSD it took about ten minutes to find the updates (in case anyone else encounters this scenario and is wondering how long to wait). – John Jan 16 at 11:45
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I confirm this method works. Since some time KB3102810 is the only way to solve the Windows Update stuck at searching for updates problem but recently after installing 100 updates or so the problem returns. Your suggestion of running SUR after KB3102810 worked for me. Thank you. – Hatoru Hansou Feb 9 at 0:46
12  
It's unfortunate that Microsoft products are still having this issue and require workarounds just to receive essential security updates. – RockPaperLizard Mar 9 at 20:48

I found that Microsoft had a fantastic tool for fixing their own updates. Running the "Windows Update Automated Troubleshooter" package cleared out all of my issues with updates.

See Windows Update: FAQ. Scroll to "What can I do if I’m having problems installing updates?"

Or use the download link.

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1  
Seems like the website changed to support.microsoft.com/en-us/gp/windows-update-issues – Jake Fisher Oct 20 '15 at 1:51
1  
Tried that updated URL as in Jake's comment, but it didn't fix this. – RichVel Dec 13 '15 at 17:47
    
Unfortunately, the inbuilt helper and the website download of Mr. Fixit did nothing for me. However after removing app data and optimising (using bit-defender) it instantly started updating - worked with windows 10 update. I guess one should try to remove cached data as well where possible. – Ross Dec 21 '15 at 9:36
    
nice link, easiest fix – Andrew Jul 14 at 13:01
    
I tried the Windows Update Troubleshooter tool. It shows 0x80080005 error. Anyone know how to fix it? pbs.twimg.com/media/CtV1EhUVIAAjRVi.jpg – kamleshrao Sep 27 at 8:32

I had the same experience - Windows would check for updates forever. One processor core would max out and one of the svchost tasks in the taskbar devoured a gigabyte of memory.

I decided to install updates manually, and the briefest of googling found the Windows Update Downloader. I used this to manually download 106 security updates.

I then installed each of these updates manually. One at a time. Using herculean amounts of patience.

Some of the updates would do similar to Windows Update itself - when I ran the update, I got a window which had a title of "Windows Update Standalone Installer", with a "doing stuff" type progress bar (rather than one which progresses just once from left to right) below the phrase "Searching for updates on this computer", with a cancel button in the bottom right.

Clicking cancel did nothing. In order to kill it I had to close three tasks in Task Manager or restart. But I observed that after a reboot, the update which got stuck would then install successfully.

So I grinded my way through the updates, installing two or three at a time then rebooting when I saw the window I described above for more than 20 seconds with no progress. Some of them popped up a message like "this update is not required for your computer", so I just deleted those without installing.

When I finished installing all 100 or so updates, I tried running Windows Update again. One core went to 100%, the svchost task went to a gigabyte of memory.

I left it for a bit, then went to shut the computer down in disgust. And the little yellow Windows Update shield appeared on the shutdown button!

I let it install the 7 or so updates, then powered it back up. I left it a while, then once again the little yellow windows update shield appeared on the shutdown button! This time there were 50 updates.

Third time round there were 79 updates.

And after that, I ran the Windows Update thingy, and it worked!

I'm not arrogant enough to say that this will fix your problem. All I'm saying is that this fixed your problem for me. Best of luck!

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2  
Wow. If you and your situation were turned into a play, you would be a classic Greek tragedy. I can't even imagine going through this. – Jon Jun 10 at 4:47
    
+1 that cancel button is beyond useless. – Quolonel Questions Sep 8 at 11:37

I solved the problem in the following way (as suggested here):

  • Stop the Windows Update and Application Experience services (if they don't stop, disable them and then reboot)

  • Delete everything inside C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution

  • Restart Application Experience and Windows Update services

  • Reopen Windows Update and let it check for updates

In my case the download progress was stuck at 0%. This solution worked very well.

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Simple solution: Open Windows Update, go to change settings, make sure it's set to install updates automatically, change the Install new updates time to the next hour (as opposed to the 3:00).

Set the computer to never sleep when plugged in. It may take up to two hours for the updates to start, so be patient.

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1  
How would this solve the problem? It would simply move the hang one hour into the future. – Chenmunka Sep 4 '15 at 11:50
    
actually this fixes the problem, seems that automatic updates are working but manual are not. – Karim Jan 5 at 22:25
    
I have to confirm that this apparently does work. As long as you have opted for a non manual update check, windows update works OK. I configured "Check for updates but let me choose whether to download and install them" which disables the option of when you want to check fro them, but it should happen inside 10-20 minutes. Have no idea what MS figured with this. – mkey Apr 8 at 16:08
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This method dows not allow to select what updates you want to install. I don't want Defender nor Malicious Software Removal Tool. – Sopalajo de Arrierez May 8 at 9:21
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I tried all of the steps listed by the accepted solution except the non-official updates workaround and this is the solution that finally got the first round of updates installed. Ugh. – Compholio Jun 24 at 18:37

This is for PC/laptops with relative little memory (3 GB or less)

After trying without success

  1. Antivirus scans (multiple)
  2. Registry fixes
  3. Windows Update troubleshooter
  4. Installing the latest version of windows client

My fix was simple.

Check your power options

If your PC/laptop is using a lot of memory, you won't be able to use it while checking for updates and even if you leave it whenever you "come back" to check it's still checking for updates, even after leaving it for several hours.

Explanation:

The problem is your power settings put the PC/laptop to sleep thus stopping the update check and starting all over when you wake it up (thinking it was checking all the time you left it)

Solution:

Change the power setting to put the computer to sleep to never (you can change it back when updates are successful)

Control panel -> Hardware and Sound -> Power Options -> edit plan settings

Put the computer to sleep -> Select never -> save changes

Then check for updates again (leave it for several hours if you only have 2 GB memory).

share|improve this answer
    
The power options is a useful tip for slow operations, but magicandre's answer actually speeds up the Check for Updates, which is more useful here. – RichVel Dec 14 '15 at 12:59
    
The important thing is that you leave windows update running for a long time. I have a pretty high spec machine and it still took over an hour at high I/O and processor load for it to show the "install updates" button. Theres some really inefficient microsoft code in there somewhere. – Phil_1984_ Jun 23 at 9:11
    
sorry, wrong answer :( – faldeland Sep 28 at 14:45

This is for those of you (like me) who have tried every solution you could find with no joy. The following process worked for me on a client's extremely stubborn HP DV6 reloaded via factory image w/SP1 that didn't respond well to the other solutions I tried (although they are part of the solution). This is the exact order I used to achieve success.

  1. Perform a Clean Boot

    Run msconfig.exe and choose "Selective startup", making sure that "Load system services" is checked and "Load startup items" is not checked.

    Go to the "Services" tab, click to select the "Hide all Microsoft services" check box (at the bottom of the window), and then click "Disable all".  Click "OK", and then click "Restart".

  2. Run "Windows Update" – click "Change settings" and set it to "Never check for updates".

Reboot

Manually apply the following updates in order.

KB3020369
KB3172605

In my case I had attempted these previously, but it appears that the order along with the clean boot and Windows Update setting were critical.

  1. After the above updates are installed, run msconfig.exe again and this time choose "Normal startup".

Reboot

  1. Run Windows Update and you should be presented with the expected slew of updates (in my case, 198) requiring installation. Proceed to install them.

  2. If you like you can change Windows Update settings back to automatic when you've finished applying updates.

share|improve this answer
    
I followed these steps exactly and IT WORKED! I had manually downloaded using a tool 120-ish updates...nothing seemed to resolve the issue. After following these steps to the letter, I am back in business. Thank you for posting! – faldeland Sep 28 at 14:45
    
@faldeland I'm glad it worked for you too. – Elder Geek Sep 28 at 15:47
    
@Scott Thanks for fixing the typo in the first KB number. I'm not sure how that squeaked in, but at list the link went to the right place. ;-) – Elder Geek 2 days ago
    
@ElderGeek: You should actually thank Holland Kendall (except there's no real way for you to do so) — he found the error and tried to fix it; I overrode his suggested edit because he added a personal comment and missed all the capitalization and formatting issues. – Scott 2 days ago
    
you posted no new information. The July 2016 update rollup is already posted as solution. – magicandre1981 19 hours ago

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