Problem checking for updates - Code 80240442 - Windows Update ran into a problem

Anonymous
2014-04-08T19:18:08+00:00

Just updated to 8.1 update 1 manually hoping that it would clear an issue I'm having with Windows update, but to no avail.  (Oh - and the error message before the Win8.1 Update 1 was 80244FFF.  I think it's the same issue, just a new number.)

I've not been able to connect to Windows Update for over a month, and nothing I've tried has managed to reset it. 

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Windows update

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Anonymous
2014-08-13T22:37:43+00:00

bizarre, my update is working after months of failure. i am not joking. BUT only automatically. if i try to check for updates manually i receive the same error code and no updates

AND i believe i have the solution for all of these problems...

i needed to restart my modem. as soon as it had restarted, automatic updates worked. i think all who are suffering from this problem should at least give this a try. just unplug your modem, wait 30 seconds then re-plug in your modem or push the restart button. it is worth a try. 

paz from mexico

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  1. Anonymous
    2014-07-02T13:48:52+00:00

    Please don't refer me to Asus. They only refer me to Microsoft.

    I went ahead and checked BIOS, and I am up to date. They haven't released a BIOS update in over a year.

    It would be great if there was a way to selectively reinstall the key files and portion of the registry that is relevant. I'm not a software engineer but it seems like this is an issue of file corruption given that some people are finding some solutions to work but not others.

    No my computer is not connected to a domain network.

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  2. Anonymous
    2014-07-02T13:15:09+00:00

    file was not found.

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  3. Anonymous
    2014-07-02T13:09:17+00:00

    Hello Paz,

    Thank you for your reply.

    I would suggest you to rename "Pending.xml" and check if it helps. Please use following steps:

    a. Press Windows + X keys and select command prompt(admin).

    b. In the command prompt window, type the following command to take ownership of the file and then press Enter.

    takeown /f C:\Windows\winsxs\pending.xml

    c. Rename the c:\windows\winsxs\pending.xml path by typing the following command and then pressing Enter.

    Ren c:\windows\winsxs\pending.xml pending.old

    I hope this helps.

    Thank you

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  4. Anonymous
    2014-07-02T12:55:17+00:00

    did not help.  any other ideas?

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