Windows does not search for updates. How do I fix the error "Windows Update is currently unable to search for updates ..."? Solving the problem with Microsoft Fix It

Centre Windows updates cannot search for updates.
What to do?

"Windows Update is currently unable to search for updates because this service is not running."
Such a window may pop up even though the Windows update service is running.

Cause: Damage to the "SoftwareDistribution" folder.

It is necessary:

1. Stop the action of the service automatic update Windows.
Click "Start" - select "Run" - in the window that appears, type services.msc- "OK".
The Services window will open.
Find "Windows Update" (Automatic Updates or Windows Update) - click on the line right click mouse and click Stop.

2. Rename the "SoftwareDistribution" folder.
When the service is stopped, in "Explorer" find drive C: - "Windows" folder - "SoftwareDistributio" folder in it
Rename it, for example, to SoftwareDistributionold.

3. Temporarily disable all anti-virus, anti-spyware, boot optimizers, and similar software.

4. Restart the Windows Automatic Updates service.
Return to the Services window.
Search for "Windows Update" again (Automatic Updates or Windows Update) - right-click on the row and click "Run."

5. Restart your computer.

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Operating room users Windows systems 7 and 8.1 ran into a problem recently. When updating, the system gives an error: "Windows Update is currently unable to search for updates because this service is not running. You may need to restart your computer. " However, the systemic recommendation does not help to solve the problem. Therefore, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with two current methods.

Solving the problem with Microsoft Fix It

To fix it given error you can use the Microsoft Fix It system utility. To do this, go to the manufacturer's website https://support.microsoft.com/ru-ru/kb/2730071 and select the software in accordance with your operating system.

We are waiting for the program to detect and fix the problem.

We reboot the computer. Go to the "System Update Center" again and click update.

Fixing the error manually

To solve this problem, it is worth disabling the Windows Update service. To do this, press "Win + R" and enter the task "services.msc" into the command line. Click "OK".

We find "Windows Update" (it is at the very bottom) and right-click on "Stop".

You need to delete or better rename the update folder. To do this, go to the "C" drive, select the "Windows" folder and look for the "SoftwareDistribution" folder. It needs to be deleted or renamed.

Now run "services.msc" again and enable "Windows Update". We reboot the computer. The error will be fixed.

If, when you try to start an update search, you receive a message with the following content:

Windows Update cannot currently search for updates because this service is not running. You may need to restart your computer.

Then most likely the problem is that the Windows Update service is not really running. However, a failure in the system is also possible, when, despite the running service, the Update Center still stubbornly swears that it is not running. Let's look at both options in the article below.

Open the Start menu, and type in its search bar the phrase " Command line". In the highlighted search results, we find Command line, click on it with the right mouse button, and in the menu that appears, select the item " Run as administrator". You can read more about this in our article:

Now let's check if the Windows Update service is running. In the command line that opens, enter the following command:

Sc query wuauserv

And we press the Enter key, after which we look at the output of the command line. If the "State" line contains the value "RUNNING", then you can go to the next paragraph of the article, if there is a value other than "RUNNING", then we enter two commands in turn:

Sc config wuauserv start = auto sc start wuauserv

You can then use the Update Center to check for system updates. If the error has not gone anywhere, then move on to the next solution to the problem.

If the service is enabled but the error persists

It also happens that the Windows Update service is running, but Windows Update still thinks that it is not running and refuses to look for updates. In this case, you need to do the following:

By analogy with the above described method, run the Command Prompt as administrator, and enter the following commands there:

Sc stop wuauserv

With this command, we turn off the Windows Update service.

Then, rename the SoftwareDistribution folder, which is located in the root of the Windows folder:

Rename "C: \ Windows \ SoftwareDistribution" "SoftwareDistributionOld"

After these manipulations, we restart the computer and check the functionality of the update center.

In some cases, there may be a problem with Windows Update even when the service itself is enabled. When this occurs, the user receives the following errors: "Windows Update cannot currently search" or "Windows Update cannot currently be started." What to do?

First and foremost, check if the update service is enabled. In Control Panel, go to Windows Update, then to Settings. Here, select the item "Install updates automatically" or "Download updates, but the decision to install is made by me."

Next, go to the official Microsoft website and download a utility called Fix It. It helps to automatically restore operating system settings. Just download the utility, install it on your computer and run it. Then follow the instructions. The utility is good because it does everything automatically and you don't need to do anything.

If the utility does not help or for one reason or another you cannot use it, then you can do some actions yourself. (click "Start", write cmd in the "Find programs and files" line, then right-click on the command line icon and select "Run as administrator".

When the command line opens, you need to enter several commands (after each of them, press the Enter key):

net stop cryptsvc

ren c: \ windows \ system32 \ catroot2 catroot2old

net start cryptsvc

Try installing updates.

You can also try netsh winsock reset command (must be as administrator), it might help too.

Surprisingly, often the problem may lie in the controller driver. hard disk... The driver itself can be found on your motherboard manufacturer's website.

In the vastness of the network, one unusual way was found. You need to run a bat file with the text:

net stop wuauserv
rmdir% windir% \ softwaredistribution / s / q
regsvr32 / s wuaueng.dll
regsvr32 / s wuaueng1.dll
regsvr32 / s atl.dll
regsvr32 / s wups.dll
regsvr32 / s wups2.dll
regsvr32 / s wuweb.dll
regsvr32 / s wucltui.dll
net start wuauserv

To do this, create on your desktop Text Document(notepad), copy the text and save. Rename the extension from txt to bat. Next, click on the file, right-click and select "Run as administrator". You restart your computer and then try to install updates.

If all else fails, download the System Update Readiness Tool for Windows from Microsoft. For different versions operating systems there are different version utilities, all of them are on the Microsoft website.

ATTENTION! All actions you perform at your own peril and risk, the site administration is not responsible for the published material!

Installing the latest updates is an important condition for the correct functioning and security of your computer. The user can choose how to install them: in manual mode or on the machine. But in any case, the service must be running. Windows Update... Let's find out how to enable this system element using various methods in Windows 7.

By default, the update service is always enabled. But there are times when, as a result of failures, deliberate or erroneous actions of users, it is deactivated. If you want to be able to install updates on your PC again, you must enable it. This can be done in a variety of ways.

Method 1: Tray Icon

The easiest and fastest way to launch is through the tray icon.

Choosing the second option will launch the parameters window. Windows Update... We will talk in detail about what to do in it when considering the next method.

Method 2: "Update Center" settings

You can solve the task set before us directly by opening in the parameters "Update Center".

Method 3: "Service Manager"

Sometimes none of the above activation algorithms work. The reason is that the activation type is specified in the properties of the service "Disabled"... You can start using exclusively "Service Manager".

1. Open in "Control panels" window "System and safety"... Steps to navigate here were covered in the previous method. Click on item "Administration" in the list of sections.



2. A list of utilities opens. Click "Services".

   

   You can activate "Dispatcher" and through the window "Run"... Click Win + R... Add:

   Click on "OK".



3. Launch in progress "Dispatcher"... Look in the list of elements for the name Windows Update... The search task will be simplified if you build the items alphabetically by clicking on "Name"... An indication that the service is disabled is the absence of a label "Works" in column "Condition"... If in the column “ Launch type " the inscription is displayed "Disabled", then this indicates that the element can be activated by applying a transition to the properties, and in no other way.



4. To do this, right-click on the name (RMB) and choose "Properties".



5. In the opened window, change the value in the list "Startup type" to any other, depending on how you want to enable the service when activating the system: manually or automatically. But it is still recommended to choose the option "Automatically"... Click Apply and "OK".



6. If you chose the option "Automatically", then the service can be started by simply restarting the computer or using one of the methods described above or described below. If option was chosen "Manually", then the launch can be performed using the same methods, excluding the reboot. But the inclusion can be done directly from the interface. "Dispatcher"... Check in the list of items Windows Update... Left click "Run".



7. Activation in progress.



8. The service has started. This is evidenced by the change in status in the column "Condition" on the "Works".

There are situations when all the statuses seem to say that the service is running, but still, the system is not updated, and the problem icon is displayed in the tray. Then maybe restarting will help. Highlight in the list Windows Update and click "Restart" on the left side of the shell. After that, check the functionality of the activated element by trying to install the update.

Method 4: "Command line"

You can also solve the issue discussed in this topic by entering an expression in Command line... Wherein "Command line" must be activated with administrative rights, otherwise access to the operation will not be obtained. Another basic condition is that the startup type should not be in the properties of the service being started. "Disabled".

Sometimes a situation is possible when, after entering the specified command, information is displayed that the service cannot be activated because it is disabled. This suggests that the status of the type of its launch is important. "Disabled"... Overcoming this problem lies solely in the use Method 3.

Method 5: "Task Manager"

The next launch option is carried out using "Task Manager"... To use this method, the same conditions are required as for the previous one: running the utility with administrative rights and the absence of the value in the properties of the element being activated "Disabled".

It also happens when, when trying to start in the current way, even with administrative rights, information appears indicating that the procedure cannot be completed. Most often this is due to the fact that in the properties of the element the status "Disabled"... Then activation is possible only according to the algorithm specified in Method 3.

Method 6: "System Configuration"

The following method uses a system tool like "System configuration"... It is also applicable only in the situation if the activation type does not have the status "Disabled".

1. Go to "Control panels" to section "Administration"... The algorithm for moving there is scheduled in Ways 2 and 3 of this manual... Find the name "System configuration" and click on it.

   

   The utility can also be called using the window "Run"... Click Win + R... Add:

   Click "OK".



2. "System configuration" activated. Move to "Services".



3. Find in the list "Update centre"... For a more comfortable search, click on the column name "Service"... Thus, the list will be organized alphabetically. If you still do not find the required name, then this means that the element has a startup type "Disabled"... Then it will be possible to launch only using the algorithm described in Method 3... If the required element is still displayed in the window, then look at its status in the column "Condition"... If it says there "Stopped" then it means that it is deactivated.



4. To start, check the box next to the name, if it is cleared. If it is installed, then remove it and then put it back. Now click Apply and "OK".



5. A dialog has been launched prompting you to reboot the system. The fact is that for the changes made in the window to take effect "System configuration", a PC restart is required. If you want to complete this procedure immediately, then save all the documents and close the running program, and then click on the button.

   

   If you want to postpone the restart until later, then click on the button "Exit without rebooting"... In this case, the computer will restart normally when you do it manually.



6. After restarting the PC, the required update service will be started again.

Method 7: Restore the "SoftwareDistribution" folder

The update service may malfunction and fail to fulfill its intended purpose if the folder is damaged for various reasons "SoftwareDistribution"... Then you need to replace the damaged directory with a new one. There is an algorithm of actions to solve this problem.

As you can see, there are quite a few options for actions with which you can start the service. "Update centre"... This is the execution of operations through Command line, "System configuration", "Task Manager", as well as through the update settings. But if in the properties of the element there is an activation type "Disabled", then the task can be completed only with the help of Service Manager... In addition, there is a situation when the folder is damaged "SoftwareDistribution"... In this case, you need to perform actions according to a special algorithm, which is described in this article.