Windows 7 Updates Fail with error 0x80070057

I have had similar problems: auto and manual installation of updates appear to succeed, then at restart the updates fail with error code 0x80070057, and they are "reverted". I get messages indicating that the service registration is missing or corrupt.  I was hacked a short while back and wonder whether the repeated failure of updates to install is in part due to whatever virus has been responsible for the hack? I should say I have run various security programs (Norton originally; subsequently McAfee which is recommended by my email provider) and they all find nothing beyond the odd tracking cookie which they rate as "mild threat" and have dealt with. Supposedly.

I have tried all the advice so far, without success.

Because I am not especially tekkie and support seems to be via these threads only, I may well have to take my laptop into a repair workshop and let them sort it.

But before I do that, any further advice is welcome. Thanks. David Sharp.

Hi,

-          What is the error message you get when the updates fail to install?

You may proceed with a clean boot state and try to install the updates manually to check if this helps.

When you start Microsoft Windows, typically there are several programs that start automatically and run in the background that may interfere with the game. These programs may include antivirus and system utility programs. When you perform a clean startup procedure, you prevent these programs from starting automatically.

How to troubleshoot a problem by performing a clean boot in Windows Vista or in Windows 7, Windows 8:http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929135

Note: After you have finished troubleshooting, follow steps under “How to reset the computer to start as usual after troubleshooting with clean boot” in the article to boot to normal startup.

Reply with the status of the issue and we will be glad to offer our assistance.

Thank you for your reply.

I did use the System file checker tool and received this message:  "Windows Resource  Protection did not find any integrity violations."  I restarted my computer and checked for updates.  There were 2 and I tried to manually install them.  They failed.  They were:  Security update for Win 7 (KB2705219) and Update for Win 7 (KB2647753).  Looking at the history, I note that only definition updates for MSE install successfully and 1 Hotfix KB947821.  All else are failures.

I would appreciate any further suggestions.

Thank you.

Hi,

I would suggest you to perform SFC scan and check if that helps. The SFC /scannow command scans all protected system files and replaces incorrect versions with correct Microsoft versions.

For more information how to do SFC/ scan, please follow this link: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929833

Once this is done, restart the computer and try to install any one pending Windows Update to check the status.

Thank you.

Thank you for trying to help me.  This is what I tried:

Downloaded and ran System Update Readiness Tool.

Ran automatic troubleshooter - Win Update for this error.  Listed failures so I tried to generate report but Windows Update did not respond.  Diagnostics Troubleshooting Wizard did not respond.

Ran MS Fix-It (which I had run several times previously).

Do not have a Windows DVD to repair Windows so followed instructions to make my own.  However, when I tried to start the repair process by typing D:\setup.exe the response was "Windows cannot find."

Problem continues; previously proposed solutions did not work either.

I think I have to live with the problem.