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Windows Update stuck in preparing to install

Anonymous
2012-11-18T12:38:09+00:00

My Windows 8/64 installation doesn't seem to continue processing Windows updates.

For days now it endlessly displays the "Preparing to install" progress status without actually doing something...

Moreover, I don't seem to be able to abort this process. When I click the [Cancel installation] button, I get an error message telling me that I need administrative privileges in order to cancel the installation. But Windows 8 doesn't provide an option to run Control Panel applets like Windows Update with administrative privileges!

Any help is appreciated.

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Windows update

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  1. Anonymous
    2013-02-14T23:00:36+00:00

    I was experiencing the same issue: Windows Update was stuck in "Preparing to Install..."  When I tried to stop the install it said I needed Administrator Permissions.  The account I was using was a Domain Administrator account and it appeared in the Administrators group on the local machine.  I tired shutting down and cold booting, but when I went to Windows Update, it still said "Preparing to Install..."

    I went to Control Panel -> Administrative Tools -> Services and scrolled down to the bottom to find the "Windows Update" service and stop it.  I then started it again and when I went back to Windows Update, it showed the available current updates - not "Preparing to Install...".  I deselected all the updates and selected just the first two.  They installed successfully (reboot required).

    After the reboot, I chose two more.  They installed successfully (no reboot required).  Then I chose 9 more.  They also installed successfully (reboot required). The reboot took a very long time.  I was looking at "Configuring Windows updates" for about five minutes.

    After rebooting, I selected the remaining current updates, including an Optional driver update.  They installed successfully as well (reboot required).

    200+ people found this answer helpful.
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  1. Anonymous
    2015-07-22T14:27:15+00:00

    AWESOME THANKS

    3 people found this answer helpful.
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  2. Anonymous
    2015-08-18T10:43:33+00:00

    Had the same issue with windows 8.1 64bit system. Kept getting to "preparing to install" and hang there. Would download updates but failed to install.

    I used

    Action centre

    Troubleshooting

    System and security

    Fix problems with windows update.

    This found a few corrupt files and fixed them.

    I then restarted the computer and was able to download and install the updates.

    Worked for me, give it a try.

    2 people found this answer helpful.
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  3. Anonymous
    2015-07-25T11:55:34+00:00

    I was having this problem minutes ago and stumbled upon this thread. I tried everything mentioned here but nothing worked. Then I clicked check for updates, and some of the updates I was trying to download were removed. So, I hit install updates and it worked perfectly.

    2 people found this answer helpful.
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  4. Anonymous
    2012-12-12T15:11:33+00:00

    Had the same issue

    Windows update window stuck indefinitely on preparing updates

    Sign out and reboot the machine.  For me it installed a couple of updates prior to shutdown win7/vista style (please dont unplug or shutdown etc). 

    Now working as expected.

    1 person found this answer helpful.
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