Windows Update cannot currently check for updates because the service is not running simple

Question

Hi there,

So I'm on Windows 7, not very techy literate but have tried following other forum threads to no luck. I need windows update to work to download AutoCAD but keep getting the same message. I've tried clearing the System Distribution folder and clearing out any leftover antivirus software but nothing seems to have worked. Windows Defender also isn't working and comes up with error code: 0x800705b4 when I try to start it.

Help (in simple terms) would be greatly appreciated!

Answer 1

Hi KOBE24_AL,

Thanks very much for your advice.

On method 1, all three services were already running, but I followed the steps anyway with no success.

On method 2 when I tried to run the .reg file it came up with the message saying it couldn't import the file. "Not all data was successfully written to the registry. Some keys are open by the system or other processes"

Any ideas?

Thanks again,

Emma

Answer 2

Hi EmmaBowes,

Windows Update cannot check for available updates if the windows update components are not running or some of these are missing. So you need to check the windows update components in services.

Method 1:

Open Run command box (hold WINDOWS KEY + R)

type services.msc

   - check if Background Intelligence Transfer Service, Cryptographic service and Windows update service are running

If one of the windows update components is not running, right-click on the service and click on start

If all windows update components are available, reset windows update components

Copy this to the cx notepad and save it on the desktop with file extension .bat

:

REM Windows Update FIX

REM Created by Negster22 12-6-05

REM V1.03 1-18-06 Updated to rename catroot2 folder and registered wups2.dll and msxml.dll

:

::Clears out proxy cache, places Windows Update sites in the Trusted Zone, places Windows Update sites in the exception list of IE Popup Blocker

::Starts all dependent services, registers required DLLS, empty the windows updates temporary folder, and deletes BITS pending download queue

:

REM start /w regedit.exe /s Ad-trusted.reg

cd \

color 0e

Rem Clear out proxy cache

proxycfg -d

REG QUERY "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings" /v Security_HKLM_only | find /i "Security_HKLM_Only" | find "1"

GOTO CONTROL%ERRORLEVEL%

:CONTROL0

REM MODIFY GLOBAL MACHINE SETTINGS

color 1f

REG ADD "HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\ZoneMap\Domains\microsoft.com\update" /V http /t REG_DWORD /D 2 /F

REG ADD "HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\ZoneMap\Domains\microsoft.com\update" /V https /t REG_DWORD /D 2 /F

REG ADD "HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\ZoneMap\Domains\microsoft.com\windowsupdate" /V http /t REG_DWORD /D 2 /F

reg add "HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\ZoneMap\Domains\update.microsoft.com" /v http /t REG_DWORD /D 2 /f

reg add "HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\ZoneMap\Domains\update.microsoft.com" /v https /t REG_DWORD /D 2 /f

reg add "HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\ZoneMap\Domains\windowsupdate.com" /v http /t REG_DWORD /D 2 /f

reg add "HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\ZoneMap\Domains\windowsupdate.microsoft.com" /v http /t REG_DWORD /D 2 /f

reg add "HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\ZoneMap\Domains\download.microsoft.com" /v http /t REG_DWORD /D 2 /f

:Allow popups from the following Windows Update sites in Internet Explorer

reg add "HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\New Windows\Allow" /v *.microsoft.com /t REG_BINARY /f

reg add "HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\New Windows\Allow" /v *.download.microsoft.com /t REG_BINARY /f

reg add "HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\New Windows\Allow" /v *.windowsupdate.com /t REG_BINARY /f

reg add "HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\New Windows\Allow" /v *.windowsupdate.microsoft.com /t REG_BINARY /f

GOTO CONTINUE

:CONTROL1

REM MODIFY LOCAL USER SETTINGS

color 5b

:Add Windows Update sites to the Trusted Zone of Internet Explorer (if Security_HKLM_only is not set, use HKCU)

REG ADD "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\ZoneMap\Domains\microsoft.com\update" /V http /t REG_DWORD /D 2 /F

REG ADD "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\ZoneMap\Domains\microsoft.com\update" /V https /t REG_DWORD /D 2 /F

REG ADD "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\ZoneMap\Domains\microsoft.com\windowsupdate" /V http /t REG_DWORD /D 2 /F

reg add "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\ZoneMap\Domains\update.microsoft.com" /v http /t REG_DWORD /D 2 /f

reg add "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\ZoneMap\Domains\update.microsoft.com" /v https /t REG_DWORD /D 2 /f

reg add "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\ZoneMap\Domains\windowsupdate.com" /v http /t REG_DWORD /D 2 /f

reg add "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\ZoneMap\Domains\windowsupdate.microsoft.com" /v http /t REG_DWORD /D 2 /f

reg add "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\ZoneMap\Domains\download.microsoft.com" /v http /t REG_DWORD /D 2 /f

:Allow popups from the following Windows Update sites in Internet Explorer

reg add "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\New Windows\Allow" /v *.microsoft.com /t REG_BINARY /f

reg add "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\New Windows\Allow" /v *.download.microsoft.com /t REG_BINARY /f

reg add "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\New Windows\Allow" /v *.windowsupdate.com /t REG_BINARY /f

reg add "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\New Windows\Allow" /v *.windowsupdate.microsoft.com /t REG_BINARY /f

:CONTINUE

:Stop the Windows Update and BITS service while applying fixes

Net stop WuAuServ

Net stop BITS

:Register required DLLs

regsvr32 /s wuapi.dll

regsvr32 /s wups.dll

regsvr32 /s wuaueng.dll

regsvr32 /s wuaueng1.dll

regsvr32 /s wucltui.dll

regsvr32 /s wuweb.dll

regsvr32 /s jscript.dll

regsvr32 /s atl.dll

regsvr32 /s softpub.dll

regsvr32 /s msxml3.dll

:Added next two DLLs in v1.03

regsvr32 /s wups2.dll

regsvr32 /s msxml.dll

regsvr32 /s qmgr.dll

regsvr32 /s qmgrprxy.dll

:

::Clear all the pending downloads from BITS & let BITS recreate qmgr0.dat and qmgr1.dat

cd %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Application Data\Microsoft\Network\Downloader

del *.* /Q

:

: Rename the Catroot2  directory, since it is automatically recreated by Windows

:

net stop cryptsvc

IF EXIST %systemroot%\system32\catroot2 attrib -r -s -h %systemroot%\system32\catroot2

REM Make allowances for the fix having been run more than once. Check if the dir was already renamed in prior run

IF EXIST %systemroot%\system32\oldcatroot2 rmdir /Q /S %systemroot%\system32\oldcatroot2

IF EXIST %systemroot%\system32\catroot2 ren %systemroot%\system32\catroot2 oldcatroot2

:

cd %WINDIR%

::See if temp dir exists from previous execution of script, and delete if it does (XP & 2000)

IF EXIST Sdold rmdir /Q /S Sdold

:Clear old data but save Windows Update temp dir

attrib -r -h -s SoftwareDistribution

ren SoftwareDistribution Sdold

:

:Stop and start the Automatic Update service,  so it will recreate the temp folder

Net start WuAuServ

Net stop WuAuServ

:

:Now restore Update History file from backup

attrib -r -h -s SoftwareDistribution

mkdir %WINDIR%\SoftwareDistribution\DataStore

copy %WINDIR%\Sdold\DataStore\DataStore.edb %WINDIR%\SoftwareDistribution\DataStore\

:

:Now restore EventsLog file from backup

COPY /y %WINDIR%\Sdold\ReportingEvents.log %WINDIR%\SoftwareDistribution\

:

:Restart automatic updates service. Start all other dependent services and set to automatic startup.  Set the following services to autostart

:Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS),  Automatic Updates (WuAuServ), Event Log (EventLog), Cryptographic Services (CryptSvc), :Remote Procedure Call (RpcSs)

:

Net start WuAuServ

sc config WuAuServ start= auto

::Set to automatic

::Start Background Intelligent Transfer Service

Net start BITS

::Set BITS to manual

sc config BITS start= demand

::Start  Event Log Service

Net start EventLog

sc config EventLog start= auto

::Start Cryptographic Services

Net start CryptSvc

sc config CryptSvc start= auto

::Turn on Remote Procedure Call Service

Net start RpcSs

sc config RpcSs start= auto

:EXIT

Method 2:

If BITS is missing, recreate BITS and import to registry

Step 1: Run CMD as admin and type in “   sc create BITS binpath= "c:\windows\system32\svchost.exe -k netsvcs" start= delayed-auto    ”

Step 2: Open a notepad and copy the code below. Save the file as .reg file.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\BITS]

"DisplayName"="@%SystemRoot%\system32\qmgr.dll,-1000"

"ImagePath"=hex(2):25,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,52,00,6f,00,6f,00,\

  74,00,25,00,5c,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,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,00,65,00,74,00,73,00,76,00,63,00,73,00,00,00

"Description"="@%SystemRoot%\system32\qmgr.dll,-1001"

"ObjectName"="LocalSystem"

"ErrorControl"=dword:00000001

"Start"=dword:00000002

"DelayedAutoStart"=dword:00000001

"Type"=dword:00000020

"DependOnService"=hex(7):52,00,70,00,63,00,53,00,73,00,00,00,45,00,76,00,65,00,\

  6e,00,74,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,00,00,00,00

"ServiceSidType"=dword:00000001

"RequiredPrivileges"=hex(7):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,\

  67,00,65,00,00,00,53,00,65,00,49,00,6d,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,\

  00,00,53,00,65,00,54,00,63,00,62,00,50,00,72,00,69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,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,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,00,53,00,65,00,49,00,6e,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,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,00,00,00

"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,00,00,01,00,00,00,c0,d4,01,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\BITS\Parameters]

"ServiceDll"=hex(2):25,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,52,00,6f,00,6f,\

  00,74,00,25,00,5c,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,32,00,5c,00,\

  71,00,6d,00,67,00,72,00,2e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,00,00,00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\BITS\Performance]

"Library"="bitsperf.dll"

"Open"="PerfMon_Open"

"Collect"="PerfMon_Collect"

"Close"="PerfMon_Close"

"InstallType"=dword:00000001

"PerfIniFile"="bitsctrs.ini"

"First Counter"=dword:0000086c

"Last Counter"=dword:0000087c

"First Help"=dword:0000086d

"Last Help"=dword:0000087d

"Object List"="2156"

"1008"=hex(b):88,64,1b,6f,64,81,cd,01

"PerfMMFileName"="Global\MMF_BITS_s"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\BITS\Security]

"Security"=hex:01,00,14,80,94,00,00,00,a4,00,00,00,14,00,00,00,34,00,00,00,02,\

  00,20,00,01,00,00,00,02,c0,18,00,00,00,0c,00,01,02,00,00,00,00,00,05,20,00,\

  00,00,20,02,00,00,02,00,60,00,04,00,00,00,00,00,14,00,fd,01,02,00,01,01,00,\

  00,00,00,00,05,12,00,00,00,00,00,18,00,ff,01,0f,00,01,02,00,00,00,00,00,05,\

  20,00,00,00,20,02,00,00,00,00,14,00,8d,01,02,00,01,01,00,00,00,00,00,05,0b,\

  00,00,00,00,00,18,00,fd,01,02,00,01,02,00,00,00,00,00,05,20,00,00,00,23,02,\

  00,00,01,02,00,00,00,00,00,05,20,00,00,00,20,02,00,00,01,02,00,00,00,00,00,\

  05,20,00,00,00,20,02,00,00

Step 3: Run the file and merge to registry. This will allow the BITS to start again and the Windows Update will now download and install the updates for the operating system. J

Open services.msc on the run box and check BITS if it is available. Once BITS is recreated, try to run windows update again.

Hope this helps! :)

Thanks,

KOBE24_AL

Answer 3

Ok I found my way to a system restore to the point just before I ran the Windows Repair Tool, but am loathe to do it again in case the same thing happens!

Answer 4

Hi,

Thanks for the advice.

I followed the steps up the the Windows Repair tool, ran that and restarted after, but on restarting, the laptop got stuck at logging on to my profile and came up with the message 

"The user profile service failed the logon

User profile cannot be loaded"

So I had to go onto another computer to send this message!

Answer 5

Emma,

Verify that the time, date/year & time-zone are set correctly

<<Set the clock>>

First cləar up /your/ Temp File/Cache**.**

<<**http://winhelp2002.mvps.org/delcache.htm**>>

(Important: One of the normal steps in eliminating malicious programs is to entirely delete the contents of all Temp folders).

1. Cookies

2. Local Settings\Temp

3. Local Settings\History

4. Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files

Click Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Cləanup

Best and əasier to use - CCləaner.

Download the basic (Slim) build via

<<**http://www.ccleaner.com/download/builds.aspx**>>

The basic (Slim) build does not contain the disgusted Toolbar

DO NOT TOUCH THE REGISTRY. At ləast not for now.

**Reboot /**your/ computer.

Please disable any Security Systems if you have on your system and then try to install/run the Windows Repair.

Download, *save*, and install the Windows Repair with no security software installed,

• Disable your anti-viяus application, **** (anti virus/security suite) installed, (In addition, you may want to temporarily uninstall (anti virus/security suite) and try the Windows Repair.

Sometimes, anti virus programs are not truly disabled when we disable them as they have very deep hooks into the operating system.)

Download and install Windows Repair (All In One) 1.9.2:

<<http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/windows-repair-all-in-one/>>

After running the Repair, reboot & test.

0x800705B4 -

2147023436	Error_Timeout

- External cab file processing completed with some errors.

This is a Windows Update error indicating some sort of connectivity issue.

Have you read: (836941) - Provides a resolution for problems with a HOSTS file, a firewall, or proxy server settings that block the Windows Update Web site.

<<http://support.microsoft.com/kb/836941>>

Please let us know what fixes the problem or if the pяoblem remains