Windows update won't download updates

Question

Windows update won't download updates

David Hespelt 0

BITS service keeps stopping while running windows update and updates don't download.

3 answers

Your answer

Answer 1

Lucus-V 5,625 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hi David Hespelt,
Welcome to Microsoft Q&A forum. I'm happy to help.

You should perform an In-place Upgrade or a Clean Install. An added benefit is that the image already includes Windows 11 25H2, so you won’t need to install any major updates.

Disclaimer: Let’s try performing an in-place install or in-place upgrade which will refresh your Windows files and operating system without removing files or applications. That being said, we always recommend that if you have important data, you should back it up before making large system changes. If you want to back up your data first, please do so. Once you are done backing up, you can follow the steps in the following guides: How to run In-place upgrade in Windows 11 - Microsoft Community

If you have any further questions or get trouble with any steps, please don't hesitate to let me know.

If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".

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Kevin Mcneill 0 Reputation points

2026-03-06T04:44:20.61+00:00

None of all the segregations work, Device Manger is missing, Trouble Shooting is missing, all of them, I've tried every thing that's available to the system, It's Conpletly disrupted.
Lucus-V 5,625 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-03-09T15:59:37.2033333+00:00

Hi Kevin Mcneill,
It seems you have another issue, please consider making a new thread so we can support you better.

Thank you for your time.
Lucus-V 5,625 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-03-09T16:19:07.7966667+00:00

Hi David Hespelt,
I hope everything is going well on your end. Just wanted to check in and see how things are going for you lately, anything you'd like to share or discuss?

Answer 2

Hi, I'm John! I will help you with this.

May I know what troubleshooting steps have you already taken? This will help me avoid recommending them again.

If you haven't tried anything yet please start by:

Restart Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS):

Press the Windows + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
Type services.msc and press Enter.
In the Services window that opens, scroll down and find Background Intelligent Transfer Service.
Double-click on it to open its properties.
In the General tab, find the Startup type dropdown menu and select "Automatic".
Then click "Start" if the service isn't already running.
Click "Apply" and then "OK" to save the changes.

Restart Windows Update process:

In the same Services window, locate Windows Update.
Double-click on it to open its properties.
Again, in the General tab, set the Startup type to "Automatic" if it's not already.
Click "Start" if the service isn't running.
Click "Apply" and then "OK" to save the changes.

Check running Windows Update again.

If issue persists, run again the Windows Update Troubleshooter from Get Help app:

Open Settings > System > Troubleshoot > Other troubleshooters.
Find Windows Update and click Run. This will open the Get Help app.
Select "I can't download, install, or uninstall an update" and click "Yes".
This will automatically identify and address any errors and restart the update process. This step is purely automatic.
Please continue to follow the prompt if the issue persists.

Click "Add comment" to let me know.

Regards,

John J.D.

Kevin Mcneill 0 Reputation points

2026-02-26T04:59:36.6+00:00

Device Manager will not load and Microsoft updates want load
Kevin Mcneill 0 Reputation points

2026-03-06T04:53:00.0266667+00:00

Same thing here tried all the available methods tho nothing will load to use anything,Device Manager is completely missing Dive/X is hardly visible when l can look at the 3 of, C, D, recovery are tho l have no controll with any settings, Trouble Shooter, both, are missing and un available for and settings, every thing I've tryed comes back no programe exists, can't track there files there undervalue.

Answer 3

If the BITS (Background Intelligent Transfer Service) keeps stopping while running Windows Update, it can prevent updates from downloading successfully. Here are some steps you can take to troubleshoot and resolve this issue:

Check BITS Service Status: Ensure that the BITS service is running properly. You can do this by opening a Command Prompt and running the command:
```
   sc query bits
```
If BITS is not running, you can start it with:
```
   sc start bits
```
Reconfigure BITS: Sometimes, BITS may need to be reconfigured to run under the LocalSystem account. You can do this by running the following command:
```
   sc config bits obj= LocalSystem
```
Make sure there is a space between obj= and LocalSystem.
Stop and Restart BITS: If BITS is running but still causing issues, try stopping and restarting the service:
```
   sc stop bits
   sc start bits
```
Check for Conflicting Policies: Ensure that there are no Group Policy settings or other configurations that might be conflicting with the BITS service or Windows Update. Misconfigured policies can lead to unexpected behaviors.
Reset Windows Update Components: If the problem persists, you may need to reset Windows Update components manually. This involves stopping the BITS service, Windows Update service, and Cryptographic service, deleting certain files, and renaming folders related to Windows Update. Detailed steps for this process can be found in the official documentation.

By following these steps, you should be able to resolve issues with the BITS service and allow Windows Update to download updates successfully.

References:

Kevin Mcneill 0 Reputation points

2026-03-06T05:00:08.8333333+00:00

Have gone through all of the above nothing will work,

At all, it seems to be impossible, but true,Browser's load, tho can't use files, home, documents, one drive, all nothing in them like tem all, can't use anything, all comes up trouble shoot tho do that it repeats unavailable

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Windows update won't download updates

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