Issue with installing updates on Windows 8.1.

I should add that I've also run msert, spybot, malwarebytes, malwarebytes rootkit remover.

Dism / online /get-packages reports the following (I've cleaned it up to just the _KBs)

KB2843630

KB2862152

KB2868626

KB2876331

KB2883200

KB2884101

KB2884846

KB2887595

KB2889543

KB2891214

KB2892074

KB2893294

KB2894029

KB2894179

KB2894853

KB2898514

KB2898868

KB2898871

KB2900986

KB2901125

KB2901128

KB2902892

KB2903939

KB2904266

KB2904440

KB2909210

KB2909569

KB2911106

KB2912390

KB2913152

KB2913270

KB2916036

KB2917929

KB2917993

KB2919355

KB2919442

KB2919907

KB2922229

KB2923300

KB2923528

KB2923768

KB2931358

KB2931366

KB2932046

KB2934018

KB2937592

KB2938439

KB2939087

KB2957151

KB2959977

KB2961851

KB2961908

KB2962123

KB2964757

KB976002

I've run the MS update troubleshooter several times and it *always* tells me:

Windows Update	Publisher details

Issues found
Problems installing recent updates<br><br><br>Problems installing recent updates	Not fixed
	Repair Windows Update	Completed	<br>	---	---
Check for missing or corrupt files<br><br><br>Check for missing or corrupt files	Detected
	Repair missing or corrupt files	Completed	<br>	---	---
Some security settings are missing or have been changed<br><br><br>Some security settings are missing or have been changed	Fixed
	Reset security settings	Completed	<br>	---	---
Service registration is missing or corrupt<br><br><br>Service registration is missing or corrupt	Fixed
	Reset service registration	Completed	<br>	---	---

Potential issues that were checked
Windows Update environment variables are incorrect<br><br><br>Windows Update environment variables are incorrect	Issue not present
Windows Update error None<br><br><br>Windows Update error None	Issue not present
Windows Update services are not running<br><br><br>Windows Update services are not running	Issue not present
Cryptographic service components are not registered<br><br><br>Cryptographic service components are not registered	Issue not present

Issues found	Detection details

	5	Problems installing recent updates	Not fixed		<br>	---	---	---	---
		Repair Windows Update	Completed	<br>	---	---		<br>	---	<br>	Repair Windows Update services and dependencies

| | 5 | Check for missing or corrupt files | Detected | |<br>| --- | --- | --- | --- | | | | | Repair missing or corrupt files | Completed |<br>| --- | --- | |<br>| | SFC Output |<br>| | Output: | Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations. |<br>| --- | --- | |<br>| --- | |<br>| --- | | | --- |

	6	Some security settings are missing or have been changed	Fixed		<br>	---	---	---	---
		Reset security settings	Completed	<br>	---	---		<br>	---

	6	Service registration is missing or corrupt	Fixed		<br>	---	---	---	---
		Reset service registration	Completed	<br>	---	---		<br>	---

Potential issues that were checked	Detection details

		Windows Update environment variables are incorrect	Issue not present		<br>	---	---	---	---

		Windows Update error None	Issue not present		<br>	---	---	---	---

		Windows Update services are not running	Issue not present		<br>	---	---	---	---

		Cryptographic service components are not registered	Issue not present		<br>	---	---	---	---

Detection details

| Collected File | | | File Name: | CheckSURLog.cab |<br>| --- | --- | | | --- |

Service Status
	Problem with BITS service : The requested service has already been started.More help is available by typing NET HELPMSG 2182.	<br>	---

| Collection information | | Computer Name: | MYPC | | --- | --- | | Windows Version: | 6.3 | | --- | --- | | Architecture: | x64 | | --- | --- | | Time: | Tuesday, May 27, 2014 3:23:45 PM | | --- | --- |

Publisher details

I've also tried installing the update packages manually, individually, but they fail and I don't get any error codes. There may be some in the various logs but I don't have the knowledge to interpret these.

This PC is a fairly new i7 with 16GB and a 256GB SSD as the system disk. I've relocated all 'library' pointers to the C: drive defaults (I think) and checked the various folders people suggest could cause problems if they're missing are present.

I've tried a refresh by setting the bios to boot from DVD but the installer tells me the system drive is locked. I even tried re-installing Windows 8 but the setup told me there wasn't sufficient disk space. 

So, as you can see, I've pretty much tried everything I could find on the Internet. The very fact that there are so many suggestions indicates to me that there is something *seriously* wrong with this update.

Dism / online /get-packages reports the following (I've cleaned it up to just the _KBs)

FWIW my W8.1.1 X64 does not match well with that either before or after KB2919355

I've run the MS update troubleshooter several times and it *always* tells me:

	5	Check for missing or corrupt files	Detected		<br>	---	---	---	---
		Repair missing or corrupt files	Completed	<br>	---	---		<br>	---

If it is being repaired why are you always seeing "Detected"?

Detection details	CheckSUR.log

So what's in there?

Hi Robert

Thanks for taking the time to read this lengthy post, I really appreciate you help with this.

When I click on CheckSURLog.cab (see below) I get the error message "Cannot open cabinet file".

So I searched for it and found it in C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Temp\WUDiagTempFolder. It contains two files: dism.log and output.txt.

Output.txt contains the following:

Proxy :    Direct access (no proxy server).

Last Installed Update :Windows 8.1 Update for x64-based Systems (KB2919355),05/27/2014 17:45:09

Last Displayed Message :2014-05-27 22:27:58:243 1148 ec4 AU WARNING: Failed to get Wu Exemption info from NLM, assuming not exempt, error = 0x80070032

Language settings :en-US

bits : Stopped

wuauserv : Running

WORKGROUP :WORKGROUP

Windows Update Agent Version :7.9.9600.16384

Microsoft Windows 8.1 Pro SP: 0

CPU Type : x64 

OS Architecture :64-bit

I've no ideal what NLM is but it seems there's a problem between it and the Windows Update service.

Dism.log is rather large, I can't see any way to attach it and I can't paste it here as it creates a message that is too large to submit. Can you give me any pointers as to what I should be looking for?

 found it in C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Temp\WUDiagTempFolder. It contains two files: dism.log and output.txt.

Looking at the two timestamps it seems that would have been for a subsequent problem report.

Yours was  3:23 PM.   This one was 10:23 PM.   Oh.  Same minute.   So I suppose this lets us infer your local timezone?   <eg>

Get WU Exemption info failed?  Looks like some kind of permissions problem?  That could also explain your other symptom.  I would really prefer to have a ProcMon trace guiding me before making guesses about "solutions" based on common symptoms but I suppose it might be safe to try a bit more of the same that you have already tried...

So your new symptoms just seem to be more symptoms that your WU client is broken.  Here is an example of a procedure that Server admins were using on their clients for similar symptoms

http://blogs.technet.com/b/sus/archive/2012/09/05/additional-note-on-kb-2734608-regarding-wsu-windows-8-and-windows-server-2012.aspx

Note a new wrinkle suggested in a comment involves deleting the main WU registry key (and expecting that WU will regenerate it, perhaps with better permissions.)

Otherwise when I search support for  SoftwareDistribution  this is still the main hit:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/971058/en-us 

You say you have already tried that?  Did you only do the manual procedure or did you try using the FixIT?  The manual procedure looks ridiculously obsolete but I don't know if the automated one is any better.  E.g. perhaps it is exactly the same thing but done under the covers so you don't see whether anything useful is being done (or whether silly things are being done.)  Note that you would have to select your OS first before downloading it.  And since the procedure requires you to be an administrator to run it, e.g. at least do it from an elevated cmd window, I would also try elevating the IE window that you start it from.  I suspect it would be best to save it and execute it as the Administrator, perhaps even in safe mode, although then the services might not be running or be allowed to run.  

It hints at an "aggressive mode".   Have you seen that and tried it?  With all possible precautions that you are doing it as an Administrator?   E.g. maximum authority and as little interference as possible.

Otherwise my guess is that your WU is broken in such a way that the troubleshooter misses it or the authority being used by the troubleshooter is different from that needed to do the install.  Etc.  Then, again, I would be running ProcMon to try to find out what all the symptoms are and clues about what they mean.

HTH

Robert

---

Hi Robert

Thanks for the tips, I hadn't come across some of that before. 

I seem  to have made some progress - here's today's history:

reset winsock

reboot

reset tcp/ip stack

reboot

Net stop wuauserv

rd /s %windir%\softwaredistribution\

Net start wuauserv

reboot

Tried to get the update - just got error 80080008 - directory not found.

dism /online /remove-package /packagename:Package_for_KB2919355~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~~6.3.1.14

dism /online /cleanup-image /startcomponentcleanup

dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth

reboot

Visited app store, downloaded a free app to check no problems.

Ran update - it worked, I think. I now appear to have KB2919355 installed:

However, DISM /online /get-packages says KB2919355 is ‘staged’ (whatever that means):

And if I check for updates I get:

Which looks horribly like KB2919355 again! So I'm  not going to risk it.

I have rebooted several times today without problems or update attempts. But I’m not 100% sure everything is OK.

I'd appreciate any comments you might have on this situation.