This error may appear anytime a Windows Update fails. To investigate possible solutions, we need to start with the specific error code. We can do this by viewing your update history. Swipe in from the right edge of the screen (or, if you're using a mouse, pointing to the lower-right corner of the screen and moving the mouse pointer up), and tap or click Settings . Tap or click Change PC settings , and then Update and recovery . Tap or click View your update history . View failed update error code. Please post here with your error code, so that the Community can try to help guide you appropriately.

I have been struggling with this issue for a very long time, and nothing has worked. The errors that I have found (computer says they're fixed but I know they are not: Potential Windows Update Database error detected: 0x80070490 Windows Update components must be repaired. What should I do? Ever since I have bought this computer with Windows 8.1 there is always this problem with it. And although this problem persists for a long time, Microsoft cannot offer any solution which actually works. It is just pathetic.

0x80070490 http://support.microsoft.com/kb/958044/en-us If you need more help it would be best to start your own thread with your own details.

Checked all drivers in device manager and uninstalled any that were not Microsoft's own like IDE, HID and network ticking the box to delete driver if available rebooting where necessary. After three months of struggling with this I've also, finally, got it to install. In my case the driver solution was slightly different, but it fixed the problem (unless Microsoft have silently released yet another update of KB2919355 in the last week or so and that was what fixed it). So my laptop is a Toshiba (an Ultrabook, so no install media and no DVD drive even if I had some, definitely an I've-fallen-and-can't-get-up situation), as a last resort I called their tech support and they said I should run the Toshiba Service Station app, which does exactly what Windows Update does except for some reason Toshiba feels the need to implement their own version. I wasn't expecting much, found it on the Toshiba site and ran it, after several retries it updated/reinstalled various pieces of crapware that Toshiba ship with their PCs, the only significant item I could see was an Intel Matrix Storage Driver update (which seems odd since you'd think it'd come down via Windows Update anyway). So I unhid KB2919355 and went through the endless install process yet again... and it worked. Instead of saying "We couldn't complete the updates" as it had for the past three months and taking an hour or so to undo things, it continued on to the desktop and let me log in. The status for KB2919355 was "Pending restart" (even though the system had just restarted), so I restarted again and it reported a successful install. After that it was just a case of the Windows Update version of Beat the Bartender, apply updates, reboot, apply updates for the updates, reboot, apply updates for the updated updates, reboot, etc, until things reached steady state. There's currently one update that won't install, but it's for Windows Journal which I never use anyway. So if people are desperate enough for this I would echo what the OP suggested, uninstall or disable all non-MS drivers, and in particular vendor-supplied crapware, and see if that fixes it.

For approximately a week, I have been trying and failing to install a number of updates: KB2961072 KB2973201 KB2973351 KB2971203 KB2962872 with no luck. The computer insists that it be restarted to install the changes, but every time results in the error listed above while taking my computer out of commission for around 10 minutes each time. When checking the update history, I saw that every failed update has the same error: error 8007007E Possibly of note is that at least two Definition Updates of Windows Defender (def. 1.179.1216 & 1.179.1243.0) were successfully updated within that timeframe. This is very frustrating and quite worrisome, please help as soon as you can.

Error: We couldn’t complete the updates, Undoing changes. Don’t turn off your computer.

Anonymous

This error may appear anytime a Windows Update fails. To investigate possible solutions, we need to start with the specific error code.

We can do this by viewing your update history.

Swipe in from the right edge of the screen (or, if you're using a mouse, pointing to the lower-right corner of the screen and moving the mouse pointer up), and tap or click Settings.
Tap or click Change PC settings, and then Update and recovery.
Tap or click View your update history.

View failed update error code.

Please post here with your error code, so that the Community can try to help guide you appropriately.

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

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998 answers

Anonymous

2014-07-24T07:07:16+00:00

I have been struggling with this issue for a very long time, and nothing has worked.

The errors that I have found (computer says they're fixed but I know they are not:

Potential Windows Update Database error detected: 0x80070490

Windows Update components must be repaired.

What should I do? Ever since I have bought this computer with Windows 8.1 there is always this problem with it. And although this problem persists for a long time, Microsoft cannot offer any solution which actually works. It is just pathetic.
Was this answer helpful?

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Anonymous

2014-07-24T11:58:57+00:00

0x80070490

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/958044/en-us

If you need more help it would be best to start your own thread with your own details.
Was this answer helpful?

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Anonymous

2014-07-25T10:03:45+00:00

Checked all drivers in device manager and uninstalled any that were not Microsoft's own like IDE, HID and network ticking the box to delete driver if available rebooting where necessary.

After three months of struggling with this I've also, finally, got it to install. In my case the driver solution was slightly different, but it fixed the problem (unless Microsoft have silently released yet another update of KB2919355 in the last week or so and that was what fixed it).

So my laptop is a Toshiba (an Ultrabook, so no install media and no DVD drive even if I had some, definitely an I've-fallen-and-can't-get-up situation), as a last resort I called their tech support and they said I should run the Toshiba Service Station app, which does exactly what Windows Update does except for some reason Toshiba feels the need to implement their own version. I wasn't expecting much, found it on the Toshiba site and ran it, after several retries it updated/reinstalled various pieces of crapware that Toshiba ship with their PCs, the only significant item I could see was an Intel Matrix Storage Driver update (which seems odd since you'd think it'd come down via Windows Update anyway).

So I unhid KB2919355 and went through the endless install process yet again... and it worked. Instead of saying "We couldn't complete the updates" as it had for the past three months and taking an hour or so to undo things, it continued on to the desktop and let me log in. The status for KB2919355 was "Pending restart" (even though the system had just restarted), so I restarted again and it reported a successful install.

After that it was just a case of the Windows Update version of Beat the Bartender, apply updates, reboot, apply updates for the updates, reboot, apply updates for the updated updates, reboot, etc, until things reached steady state. There's currently one update that won't install, but it's for Windows Journal which I never use anyway.

So if people are desperate enough for this I would echo what the OP suggested, uninstall or disable all non-MS drivers, and in particular vendor-supplied crapware, and see if that fixes it.
Was this answer helpful?

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Anonymous

2014-07-27T01:19:31+00:00

My error code is E0000100.
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Anonymous

2014-07-27T05:04:20+00:00

For approximately a week, I have been trying and failing to install a number of updates:

KB2961072

KB2973201

KB2973351

KB2971203

KB2962872

with no luck. The computer insists that it be restarted to install the changes, but every time results in the error listed above while taking my computer out of commission for around 10 minutes each time. When checking the update history, I saw that every failed update has the same error: error 8007007E

Possibly of note is that at least two Definition Updates of Windows Defender (def. 1.179.1216 & 1.179.1243.0) were successfully updated within that timeframe.

This is very frustrating and quite worrisome, please help as soon as you can.
Was this answer helpful?

0 comments No comments