Windows 7 - Windows update stuck at 0kb 0%

I was also having the same problem since last November .  After reading all the responses to resolve this issue I did my own sequence of choosing options and my windows is now updating normal.

1.  Click on windows start 
2.  From the list click and open computer
3.  Right click on local disk C:
4.  Click on and open properties
5.  Click and open tools
6.  In the tools section the first box you see is:  Error checking, this option will check

     the drive for errors

7.  Click and open check now
8.  From this box check disk options:  check the box automatically fix the system errors   

     and check the box scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors.  I chose to do each

     option separately because the fix the system errors will only check after you shut 

     down your computer and will check the errors when you restart your computer.  This

     checking errors will take a small amount of time.  After the fix system errors you will

     need to go back and repeat the same directions and then check the box scan for and

     attempt recovery of bad sectors.  On my laptop this took hours to complete, like 8

     to 10 hours.  While the program was checking for the bad sectors, I opened 

     Windows update and started the updates process, it didn't start to work right away

     so I did other things like reading my e-mail and etc.  When I went back to check the

     windows updates, it was actually updating while performing the bad sectors option.  

     So after the updates was finished, I just figured the bad sectors found the problem 

     and I stopped the program without finishing.  The next time there was an update

     I started the update and nothing, so I went back and just did the bad sector option

     and let it finished, like I  mentioned, this will take at least 10 hours to check.  But this

     fixed my problem and now Windows update is working properly for me.  I tried 

     everything else and this was the only options that worked for me.  Good luck I hope

     this works for you too.  At least it's worth a try.  It is time consuming on the check

     for bad sector option, but I was able to continue to use my laptop while the check

     was scanning, but it only fixed the windows update problem until after the full scan 

     was finished.   Again good luck.

Hey this actually worked!  I have been trying everything with no luck.  I got installed an SSD and I wanted a clean install of Windows 7 Home Premium x64 and for the most part everything was fine until the SP1 service pack was installed.  After that Windows Update wanted about 162 important updates.  Fine.  Only problem was it sat at 0KB 0% was a few hours.  This did the trick.  Thanks so much!

I just stopped the Windows Update service in Windows 7 and the updates started downloading. I had tried all of the other suggestions with no luck.

Time consuming but has helped me in many cases:

1. Stop Windows Update service and  
2. empty C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution folder

• may this easy fix solve this issue

* This folder contains all of the Windows Update History

3. Run Windows Update again. You will have to install all updates from day 0 again. Reinstall updates in waves, say 10-20 at the time. Some systems get messed up if you install 200 updates at the same time.

It also builds SoftwareDistribution directory from scratch, in many cases size is in gigabytes ( mine was 1,38 Gb). This easily takes 1-2 hours. Windows Update will be: "Downloading NN updates (0 KB total, 0% complete). At some time point it will start downloading.

Someone said it's possible to make a backup of files by simply copy/pasting. This will save download time when re-installing updates with slow internet connection.

More:

http://www.sevenforums.com/windows-updates-activation/111016-windows-update-stuck-0-a.html

Windows server discussion:

https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/windowsserver/en-US/f5744a18-d4ca-4631-8324-878b9225251d/windowssoftwaredistribution-folder-cleanup-automation?forum=winserverwsus

None of that other stuff worked for me either. What I had to end up doing was only do 7-10 updates at a time and it worked right away for me. Hope that helps know its not much

Then this tool may be the answer. It's a large download (over 500MB), and once opened, takes sometime in searching for updates on your computer, so just let it run (may take an hour or longer). Once the option to install the hotfix comes up, the install is fast, and the updates are staring one in the face. Applies to Vista users also. 

This step applies to Windows Vista and 7 users only.

To get started, download the System Readiness Tool (hotfix):

• System Readiness Tool for Windows 7 32-bit
• System Readiness Tool for Windows 7 64 bit
• System Readiness Tool for Windows Vista 32 bit
• System Readiness Tool for Windows Vista 64 bit

Once the file is downloaded, run it and follow the onscreen instructions, then try Windows Update again.

Hope this is of great help!

Cat