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.

The pause/play key is on the f9 key of my computer. Sorry for the confusion of my brevity. The steps (keystroke sequence) would be: Press and hold Win. (You are going to be attaching the next keystroke to it, so Win- is my way of noting that you are to use this step as a modifier.) Press and release X Release Win- but, depending on your Personalization settings, before releasing you may have to notice that the Control P**anel item has its P underlined. That is called an accelerator which we can type to cause that item to be selected and actioned. Type P. Wait for a Control Panel window to open. This is what I was trying to indicate by putting the word pause in parentheses. In retrospect I probably should not have capitalized it. Keyboard focus in the Control Panel window is conveniently in its Search bar. (Who knew?) Type V See some stuff that matches V Press Spacebar. (Sorry. I overlooked this step.) Type U See more stuff that matches both V and U. Happily the first items are Windows Update followed by View update history Press Tab to navigate to Windows Update See dotted lines surround Windows Update for confirmation that the previous step worked as intended Press Tab to navigate to View update history See dotted lines surround View update history for confirmation that the previous step worked as intended Press Spacebar to action the selected item See the window change to View update history You should now have a view of your update history which does not depend on MUF (Modern UI Fullscreen) working. QED.

Does not seem to work on my computer. The pause/play key is on the f9 key of my computer. Nothing happens when I press the Windows key and the pause key at the same time. If I press the Windows key and the P key at the same time it comes up with a "Project Screen" menu. Is there something else that is supposed to be a pause key?

unable to view my update history and cannot find the error code associated with "We couldn't complete the.....etc" Use the Control Panel equivalent. Win-x P (Pause) V U Tab Tab Spacebar. (Apparently.)

When I click on "Change your pc settings" the settings bar disappears & the screen returns to the desktop. So I am unable to view my update history and cannot find the error code associated with "We couldn't complete the.....etc" Any advice?

After 2-3months with no fix, and none of the fixes suggested on the forum working and now 2.5gb of 80 updates waiting to come down after KB2919355, which wont install. I have had to spend a day rebuilding the PC, after rebuild the update then applied and all ok. So glad out the 5000 pc which we have we have only have 3 pcs on windows 8.1 all the rest are windows 7 still, this could have had serious impact to the business if we had to rebuild all 5000 pcs.

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

2014-08-31T01:37:20+00:00
The pause/play key is on the f9 key of my computer.

Sorry for the confusion of my brevity. The steps (keystroke sequence) would be:
1. Press and hold Win. (You are going to be attaching the next keystroke to it, so Win- is my way of noting that you are to use this step as a modifier.)
2. Press and release X
3. Release Win- but, depending on your Personalization settings, before releasing you may have to notice that the Control P**anel item has its P underlined. That is called an accelerator which we can type to cause that item to be selected and actioned.
4. Type P.
5. Wait for a Control Panel window to open. This is what I was trying to indicate by putting the word pause in parentheses. In retrospect I probably should not have capitalized it.
6. Keyboard focus in the Control Panel window is conveniently in its Search bar. (Who knew?)
7. Type V
8. See some stuff that matches V
9. Press Spacebar. (Sorry. I overlooked this step.)
10. Type U
11. See more stuff that matches both V and U. Happily the first items are Windows Update followed by View update history
12. Press Tab to navigate to Windows Update
13. See dotted lines surround Windows Update for confirmation that the previous step worked as intended
14. Press Tab to navigate to View update history
15. See dotted lines surround View update history for confirmation that the previous step worked as intended
16. Press Spacebar to action the selected item
17. See the window change to View update history
You should now have a view of your update history which does not depend on MUF (Modern UI Fullscreen) working. QED.
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Anonymous

2014-08-30T19:25:18+00:00

Does not seem to work on my computer. The pause/play key is on the f9 key of my computer. Nothing happens when I press the Windows key and the pause key at the same time. If I press the Windows key and the P key at the same time it comes up with a "Project Screen" menu. Is there something else that is supposed to be a pause key?
Was this answer helpful?

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Anonymous

2014-08-29T18:38:23+00:00

unable to view my update history and cannot find the error code associated with "We couldn't complete the.....etc"

Use the Control Panel equivalent. Win-x P (Pause) V U Tab Tab Spacebar. (Apparently.)
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Anonymous

2014-08-29T16:44:52+00:00

When I click on "Change your pc settings" the settings bar disappears & the screen returns to the desktop. So I am unable to view my update history and cannot find the error code associated with "We couldn't complete the.....etc"

Any advice?
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Anonymous

2014-08-27T09:16:23+00:00

After 2-3months with no fix, and none of the fixes suggested on the forum working and now 2.5gb of 80 updates waiting to come down after KB2919355, which wont install. I have had to spend a day rebuilding the PC, after rebuild the update then applied and all ok. So glad out the 5000 pc which we have we have only have 3 pcs on windows 8.1 all the rest are windows 7 still, this could have had serious impact to the business if we had to rebuild all 5000 pcs.
Was this answer helpful?

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