Windows 8 Jan 2023 update never ends

Question

It's a weird problem. I have 32-bit Windows 8 VM and the Jan 2023 update was installed wihtout problems. But for other 64-bit Windows 8 VMs, the update process got stuck as 95%.

After some digging, I see that Windows (I believe some services) are very busy with files in C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download. At same time, CPU usage is quite high - with 4 vCPUs, usage is constantly about 30%.

For example, I have 2 folders in this directory. When I view folder property in Explorer, folder size varies greatly from time to time.

Is there any workaround for this?

EDIT:

Answer 1

Open Command Prompt as Administrator.

Type the followings and hit the enter key:

net stop wuauserv

net stop bits

Now browse to the C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution folder and delete all the files and folders inside.

Again, open Command Prompt and type the followings and hit the enter key:

net start wuauserv

net start bits

Reboot.