Windows 7 does not find updates - what to do? 7 problems and their solutions

Windows operating systems

05.06.20191807

Installing Windows 7 from a flash drive or optical disk is not a problem; Setting up the system, either using native or third-party software, will not be an insurmountable obstacle for the user. But unexpected OS failures (in particular, refusal to work normally and download updates) are a much more unpleasant and serious problem. What to do if Windows 7 is not updated or is looking for new system packages for too long - let’s try to figure it out.

Minor glitches

Win x64, like x86, may refuse to update system data simply because the user did not manually request it. This is the simplest and perhaps even pleasant problem; dealing with it is no more difficult than going into Windows 7 startup.

The owner of a computer running Windows 7 will need:

Open the Start menu.

Go to "Control Panel".

Next, go to the “System and Security” section.

And in the “Windows Update” subsection.

Here you need to click on the “Check for updates” button and look at the computer’s reaction: despite the simplicity of the method, the system can immediately begin downloading updates and preparing them for installation.

In this case, the user only needs to wait until the download is completed and select the appropriate components - this is faster than improving the performance of a computer on Windows 7.

System failure

There are likely situations where viruses have infected the computer, blocking access to the network or access to the Microsoft server. The solution would be to remove viruses and then restore the system using a program such as CCleaner. At the same time, you need to check the registry for faults.

Also check the hosts file in the Windows partition, as some hackers add regular expressions to block access to the server.

Stopping a system service

If the first method is tried and does not produce results (Windows 7 updates are still not installed or take forever to load), you should stop the current process and restart the service.

A user whose computer cannot find or does not look for Windows 7 updates at all should:

In the already familiar “System and Security” section, go to the “Administration” subsection.

Launch the Windows 7 Services utility using the appropriate shortcut.

Find the "Windows Control Center" service at the bottom of the window that opens - it is this service that does not find or takes an excessively long time to load the necessary data.

Right-click on the title and select the “Stop” option.

And then after a few seconds - “Run”.

Restart your computer and try to update again. If the search on Windows 7, as before, does not produce results, you need to call the “Run” utility in the “Task Manager”.

Enter the SoftwareDistribution command in the single text window and click OK.

In the directory that opens, delete all files and directories using administrator rights.

And then go to “Services” and repeat the “Stop/Start” cycle - or use the “Restart” option.

Now the user needs to try to update Windows 7 again; If updates are downloaded and installed normally, the problem is solved. If the search again does not bear fruit or continues for an inadmissibly long time, you need to move on to the next method of solving the problem.

Problems with the update service

Why is there a black screen on Windows 10 after updating?

When looking at why updates aren't installing on Windows 7, the first thing you need to look at is the update service. It is this program that is responsible for the timely downloading of all necessary components and integrating them into the existing system.

Windows Update Center

You can find the service in the “Services” section, which is located in the main “Start” menu. If necessary, you can use the search. The window that appears will list all the services installed on the work computer, among which it will not be difficult to find “Windows Update.” You need to double-click on it with the left mouse button.

A properties window will open where you can easily configure all the necessary parameters. According to the factory settings in the system, this service is always active. However, often the problem is due to the fact that for some reason it turned off. This phenomenon is especially typical for lightweight pirated builds of the operating system, which are aimed at maximizing the speed of the computer by eliminating non-essential functions. To start updating, simply start the described service. If the service is active, you can try restarting it.

However, before this, you may need to perform a number of preparatory procedures aimed at deleting all update records. To do this, in the seven you should use the standard “Run” window, which can be opened using the Win+R key combination. In the window that appears, enter the “SoftwareDistribution” code, then press the “Enter” button. The system will open the corresponding folder from which you will need to delete all files. Only after this does it make sense to restart the update service.

Important! To save the settings and take effect, you must immediately restart your computer or laptop.

After turning on the system, you need to open the Windows Update application and manually start the process of downloading and installing all available updates. If you need to install specific software, you should immediately check the appropriate boxes.

Cache overflow

Very often, system updates are not installed because the SoftwareDistribution directory is full and it is impossible to clean it in the usual way. In such a situation, the command line will help the user - dealing with it is as easy as finding the best free antivirus for Windows 7.

The owner of a computer that, despite all efforts, is not updated, will have to:

Open the Start menu and go to the All Programs directory.

Find the “Command Line” utility in the “Standard” section and run it with administrator rights by right-clicking on the title and selecting the appropriate option in the context menu.

Enter the net stop wuauserv command in the window that opens.

Then, wait until Windows Update stops.

Consistently and without paying attention to response messages - commands ren %windir%\SoftwareDistribution SoftwareDistribution.OLD.

And net start wuauserv.

Great! Windows 7 folder cache cleared; This turned out to be easier than restoring the Windows 7 system.

Important: as a rule, the third way to fix problems with updates is enough to restore the operating system - the user can verify this by trying to update again and finally getting a positive result.

Update to eliminate endless search for updates dated 06/30/2018

The fourth method of fixing endless windows updates is to use a monthly update package, I already showed it to you when the Russian language was not installed and there was an error “0x80073701”. And so follow the link below:

Windows 7 - https://support.microsoft.com/ru-ru/help/4009469

This will take you to a page where you can download monthly Windows update packs for specific months. I advise you to download the last few of them and install them manually.

In my example, I chose the June collection, opening its contents at the very bottom you will find a link to the Microsoft Update catalog.

As a result, you select the desired KB based on your architecture and install it. What such collections provide is that they carry a number of the latest updates and allow you to eliminate current problems with endless searches.

System failures

If Windows 7 updates still won't download, you should try another way to solve the problem - the Microsoft Fix It program. After downloading it from the link - download.microsoft.com, the user must:

Run the executable file, agree to the terms of use and wait until a system restore point is created.

When automatic error correction is complete (it can take up to several minutes), close the utility and restart the computer.

Having tried again to download and install updates for Windows 7, the computer owner is likely to succeed; otherwise, you should move on to the fifth troubleshooting method.

Why Windows 7 won't update

Updates are important elements of the operating system that help keep your computer up and running. And if the system failed to install the Windows 7 update, quite serious problems are likely to occur.

Windows 7 update

All updates provide a number of basic functions:

ensuring the safety of the environment;
expansion of built-in functionality;
optimization for modern computers;
productivity increase;
make the system multitasking.

Special algorithms divide all updates into important, recommended, optional and others. As the names of the categories suggest, some of them are mandatory, while others can be done without.

The operating system itself is no longer edited by developers. Any changes are made through the installation of batch updates. Due to this, Windows 7 users can now quite comfortably use a software environment that is convenient for them.

Note! Before updating or other manipulations with system files, it is a good idea to take care of creating a restore point. This solution will allow you to quickly return your computer to its original state if the installed software turns out to be faulty.

There may be many reasons why Windows 7 is not updated through the update center. The problem could be with the update service itself, registry errors, insufficient free disk space, or even a hardware failure.

Update KB947821

Oddly enough, it happens that the entire system is not updated or takes too long to find updates due to the lack of this package. Well, the user can independently find it on the Internet and download it to the hard drive, after which:

Run the executable file and wait until the components are prepared for installation.

Agree with the installation.

And spend a few minutes watching the scale fill up.

Now, having restarted your computer under Windows 7, you need to try to download the updates again - with a high probability the system will work.

Tip: in addition, the user can find freely available batch installers with all Windows 7 updates released to date; Perhaps he will find such a way to bring the system up to date much more quickly and simply.

System disk full

It happens that a computer running Windows 7 does not update or takes too long to download files simply because there is not enough space on the C drive. In this case, the user needs to free up some space. This can be done either using third-party applications or using system capabilities:

Go to the “My Computer” menu and click on the disk title with the right mouse button; then select “Properties” in the context menu.

Click on the “Disk Cleanup” button located on the “General” tab.

Wait until preparations for deleting files are completed, select unnecessary ones from the list and delete them using standard means.

By restarting the PC after cleaning the disk, the user can try downloading updates again - and see the long-awaited progress bar.

Problems in the system registry

Where are Windows 10, 7 updates downloaded?

A malfunction in the system registry may result in some updates not being installed in Windows 7. You can fix the problem by editing the registry.

Registry settings

Procedure:

Press the Win+R key combination to display the Run window.
Enter the query regedit in the appropriate field.
Click on the “Ok” button.
The registry editor will open, where you will need to open the “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE” section and go to the “COMPONENTS” tab.
Here you will need to delete the item called “PendingRequired”.

After restarting the computer, the user can update without problems by manually starting the procedure. The data will begin to be downloaded and then installed on the PC.

Antiviruses and ad blockers

Finally, Windows 7 updates may not download because the data packets do not pass through the filter of the user's antivirus or banner blocker. This happens quite rarely, but the factor of third-party software cannot be ruled out.

As you might guess, in order to update Windows 7, you will need to temporarily disable the software that directly filters Internet traffic; immediately after the process is completed, you can run it again - or find an application with fewer false positives.

Troubleshooting solutions

If Windows 7 is not updated on your computer, it is recommended to immediately check your Internet connection. Any problems with servers or inability to connect to the network become an insurmountable obstacle to the successful installation of updates. Additionally, it is recommended to disable the antivirus and firewall during installation, which can interfere with downloading data from the Internet.

A good option would be to use the Fix It program. This software was developed by Microsoft specifically to diagnose the system and automatically fix all possible problems. Additionally, the application creates a restore point before each scan. And if any action leads to the breakdown of important elements, you can easily roll back the OS to an earlier state.

Fix It app

The Fix It application can be easily installed on any version of the system and requires virtually no user intervention during operation. You can launch the program immediately after installation from your desktop. A special algorithm will independently study all the main components and quickly return them to functionality. He manages to cope even with quite complex problems.

All of the above phenomena can be the reason why Windows 7 is not updated. If you correctly identify a specific problem, you can quickly solve it without outside help and restore the functionality of the update center.

Proxy server

It is possible that you are trying to download updates via the Internet at work. But admins, by closing the ports through which updates are downloaded, pose a dead end to this task.

To check this, you can take a computer or laptop to your home and try to do it via your Internet. If you have a computer, then there is no point in carrying this colossus, then go to the admin and talk about the situation that has arisen. Tell us what measures you took to make him understand that his help is now urgently needed.