Windows Update hangs on "checking for updates". Haven't been able to install updates since Oct. 2011

Wait, wait, wait. The situation has improved significantly as of today. A new update client addressing all known issues has been released. It is part of the June 2016 update rollup for Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2. This rollup's prerequisite is the April 2015 servicing stack update for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 (if you know what I mean :D)

To be able to install these updates on a fresh installation with a search already running, the search needs to be stopped manually. Set automatic updates to "Never check for updates" and restart.

Regards, VZ

I had this problem over the course of the last couple of weeks on a Vaio machine which belongs to a friend of mine living in Thailand. It took me pretty much the whole of my vacation there to fix it, but the following method works, or at least it did in my particular case. 

Her computer dates from 2010 and is a model VPCCW15FH which came with Windows 7 Home Premium preinstalled. I created a set of recovery discs for her back then and used those to reformat and reinstall the OS.

This appeared to resolve the issue up to the point when SP1 was installed. From that point forward I kept seeing these two errors: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows7/windows-update-error-80072efe-or-80072f76

Running the Windows Update Troubleshooter only succeeded in producing another error namely 80070003: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows/windows-update-error-80070003#1TC=windows-7

There's a Fixit for the last one which is this one: https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/kb/910336

However, running that merely produced the 80072f76 error again and I ended up going round in ever decreasing circles. But try them yourself just in case they work for you.

If you still find yourself in the same boat, proceed as follows.

First of all, go to this site: http://www.ghacks.net/2016/06/14/microsoft-security-bulletins-june-2016/ and scroll down to paragraph called Security Bulletins. Regardless of how long it's been since you installed any security updates - in my case it was 6 years - it's better to start with the most recent updates and work backwards. This is because earlier updates may be superseded by a later one. In that particular case, you'll get the message that "This update is not applicable to your computer". If you see that message when you try to install an update, just skip it and go on to the next one. The object of the exercise is to jerk Windows Update into life so that it starts working properly again.

So clicking MS16-063 will take you to Technet site where you'll find the links to the relevant downloads. So if you have IE11 64-bit installed for example click the link to 3160005 which will take you to the Microsoft Download site for that particular update. Click the Download button and select Save. By default, it'll go to the Windows 7 Downloads folder. If it goes somewhere else, you'll have to move it to the Downloads folder manually afterwards. You can use Firefox, Google Chrome, Opera, Internet Explorer or whichever browser you happen to use. I was using Firefox.

I suggest you download all of them for a particular month manually using the Ghacks links. You should end up with a number of files most of which will have a .msu extension. If you can't see the .msu extension, hit Windows key + E to open Windows Explorer, click View and select Folder Options. Click the View tab in the menu which opens and then checkmark the radio button to: Show hidden files, folders and drivers. A little further down, remove the checkmark when it reads: Hide file extensions for known file types. Click Apply/OK to exit.

Next step is to hit the Windows key to launch the Start menu, type: CMDand when it appears in the list, right click it and click Run As Administrator. You should get a command prompt which displays as C:\Windows\System32>

At the prompt, type: net stop wuauserv and hit Enter. What you should get is the message that the Windows Update service is stopping. Leave the command prompt open and go to the Downloads folder and double click the top .msu file in the list. Initially, you'll get the same "Scanning your computer"... message you see when you run Windows Update, but this should last no more than 10 seconds after which you'll see a question asking it you want to install that particular update. Click Yes, or OK and the installation will proceed.

For those updates which don't require a reboot go back to your command prompt which you still have open and run net stop wuauserv again. This is laborious I know, but if you skip this step, you'll get the same scanning forever problem you get with Windows Update. When you double click a file you downloaded manually, the process launches the Windows Update service. After the update has been installed, it stays open which is why you have to stop it again.

If a reboot is required, click "Restart Now" and Windows will do its thing. When the computer reboots to the desktop, open CMD | Run As Administrator again, type net stop wuauserv once more and then double click the next update in your Downloads folder to get that going.

When you run net stop wuauserv, the message that the Windows Update service is stopping only takes a second or two to show. But at a given moment, it will take about 15 seconds. When it does that, it means that Windows Update is working again and you don't need to install anymore manual updates. In my particular case, it took 29 manual installations to reach that point of which 17 required a reboot.

Why Windows 7 behaves like this I'll never know, but it seems to me that some change takes place when you install SP1 and from that point forward, all the Windows Troubleshooters and Fixits will tell you that there's a problem with your connection and the Windows Update servers. Or in other words, it's 'your fault' even though it isn't.

In case you need them, here are the Ghack links stretching back to January 2016:

May 2016: http://www.ghacks.net/2016/05/10/microsoft-security-bulletins-may-2016/

April 2016: http://www.ghacks.net/2016/04/12/microsoft-security-bulletins-april-2016/

March 2016: http://www.ghacks.net/2016/03/09/microsoft-security-bulletins-for-march-2016/

February 2016: http://www.ghacks.net/2016/02/09/microsoft-security-bulletins-for-february-2016/

January 2016: http://www.ghacks.net/2016/01/12/microsoft-security-bulletins-for-january-2016/

Once it does start working properly, reopen it after the first batch installs (automatically) since it's often that case that installing one update to fix a problem creates a new one which in turn requires another update.

Once it is working properly, create a System Image. You'll find that by going to Windows Control Panel and if you have the Category view, change it to Small icons via the link top right. Next, click the link to Backup and Restore and then click the link to "Create a System Image" in the left hand menu. You'll need an external hard drive for this since the backup will be around 55GB or possibly more.

Once you have a System Image, you can restore your computer to the time you created it using the same Backup and Restore menu in Control Panel if you run into trouble again at a later date.

question i have the same problem and i need support i dont know how to start a thread for this here at thi sforum please write back

i am using a vaio system with windows 7 and the windows update just scan forever and doesnt download the updates

Edited for obsolescence.