Windows update will not download updates - stuck at 0% downloading

Anonymous
2010-04-17T03:45:39+00:00

Everytime I start windows update it won't download the updates. The bar keeps on running but nothing downloads and the percentage stays at 0%.

Whats wrong? Anything I can do to fix this?

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Windows update

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Anonymous
2011-11-10T19:59:39+00:00

I found a solution to my problem when Windows would search for updates, but then when it started downloading it would stay at 0% forever. I started by stopping the Windows Update service (in my case the service proved to be frozen so I restarted my computer and disabled the service before it starts) and the Application Experience service. After that I went to the C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution folder and pressed ctrl+a and shift+delete to empty its contents. Mine contained more than 70,000 files so it took a while. I started Application Experience and enabled Windows Update. I let it check for updates and try to download them. It worked perfectly.

Do not worry about deleting important windows files in this case. The contents of SoftwareDistribution is used as a cache and data for Windows Update. When Windows Update starts again it rebuilds the cache repopulating it with up-to-date versions of the files and chewing up a ton of harddisk space again.

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Anonymous
2010-04-23T13:09:40+00:00

sash123,

    If this issue is still happening, then take a look at article: Vista Update stops at stage 3 of 3 

Then let us know the results.

*** edited

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  1. Anonymous
    2016-02-09T20:16:12+00:00

    I have same issues sometimes . I let it keep going . And it finally shows . Refresh the update windows also helps .

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  2. Anonymous
    2016-01-15T23:40:17+00:00

    Nearly six (6) years later, this is still a Windows Vista-specific thread.

    You will find appropriate support for Windows 10 by beginning your own, new thread in this forum => http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-update-winupdate

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  3. Anonymous
    2016-01-15T14:12:50+00:00

    While it does appear that updates are not downloading, in fact, they are!

    Mine was stuck at 0 for about 2-3 hours. There were about 800 MB needed to be downloaded which should have been done in under an hour. I first stopped the Application Experience service and then the Windows Update service. Once stopping WU, it stopped "downloading" and went back to the "you have 200 updates to install". I then turned the Windows Update service back on, then went and turned Application Experience back on, clicked install and it immediately started installing those 200 updates. See it had already downloaded them but WU was hung sort of and was misinterpreting what was going on.

    Good luck!

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