Windows 7 - Windows update stuck at 0kb 0%

So here it is July 2016 and Microsoft still has not fixed this issue.  I have 5 computers.  Three with Windows 7 Pro 32 bit and two with Windows 7 Pro 64 bit.  I keep them up to date but I tell ya sometimes it is really a chore.  For instance this week they released new updates.  It took me most of Thursday to update my 3 32 bit machines. By most I mean it took all day.  I started the update and then went about my business writing software on my 64 bit computers.  After 5 to 6 hours the updates were done.  They never showed any progress at all.  That is the progress information showed 0Mb 0% Done all the way until the screen showed the "Restart now to finish installing" window.  So wow I guess they forgot to include the part of counting the download bytes and showing progress so that people don't think that the update has gone into a black hole.

It's now Sunday and just for laughs I started the downloads on my 64 bit computers when I got up this morning.  I started the process then went and got coffee, read the morning paper then checked the progress of the computers and it was 0MB 0%.  Got a coffee went outside and pulled some weeds in my garden.  Came back in to see 0MB 0%.  Went to the video store and rented The Big Short.  Came home to see 0MB 0%.  Fired up the Blu-ray and watched The Big Short.  A great movie by the way.  Checked the computers to find the "Restart now to finish installing" window on one of them and 0MB 0% on the other.  I restarted the one and shook my head at the other.  Got in the car went back to Family Video to return the movie and picked up 13 Hours.  I planned to watch that until the second 64 bit computer was done updating.  On my return home I was surprised to find that the second computer was ready for a reboot.

Sooo the moral of the story? 

Maybe the software is downloading and updating but you won't know it if you depend on the Microsoft progress info.

I have a 200Mbps internet connection, gigabit Ethernet home routing network, Terabytes of storage, the slowest processor in my computers is running at 2.8Ghz, tons of free RAM space in each computer and to get an update from Microsoft you have suspend your real work and wait up to 6 hours while your computer's processor runs at 50 to 80% of capacity and the downloads trickle in at 20kbps (according to my network monitoring tools).

It's a good thing they have a monopoly.

NOT WORKING if you disable services no connection to internet !!!!!!!!!!!

No one ever said to disable Windows Services, only all the other services that may be running.

You missed a step that said go down and check the box "Hide all Microsoft Services".

Say what you will about "simple", but I tried every solution I could find and this was the only thing that worked for me.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.