Windows 8.1 update fails.

Hi,

I thought since you have a MS Engineer involved you would get this advice BEFORE Clean Install BUT I was WRONG!!!

W 8.1 Pro(I have never used home) has many advantages and tools under the hood that are not available or as advanced as in 8.1:

sfc /scannow

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

I use Powershell (ADMINISTRATOR) but CMD prompt  (ADMINISTRATOR) will work as well. Run these 2 alternately  several times. Between the 2 of them they will do wonders in cleaning up your W 8.1 Image.

I use SpinRite by Steve Gibson but MS CHKDSK also works to checkout a problem disks.

Do a /? or -? or PS Get-Help 'Command' -full to get detail info about how to use these 'Commands'

Additional:

In conjunction with MS Cleandisk use the following when you have your Image clean:

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /AnalyzeComponentStore

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup

To easily get into "Safe Mode" set up a Boot Manager so you get a boot request at Logon. I use EasyBCD by NEOSmart Technologies which is free for personal use. UFEI is another matter which I don't use but there is a Boot Manager Setup app for it too.

Once you have your boot request at logon, you can do F8 to access the default Image tool list. 

Another way in EasyBCD to access Safe Mode alone:

Advanced Settings>"Change ADD Name to" Name of your Safe mode>Advanced>Safe Mode=safe mode> leave the rest default unless you KNOW!

You could set none signed drivers if you want.

As far as Recovery is concerned:

I do setup MS Recovery manually but is is involved. You do need an ISO as well. The latest W 8.1 ISO MS released was released in November which includes the last massive rollup. This is why I version: W 8.1.3 Pro. It is important to search for this and download it.

Mostly I use 3rd Party Paragon Hard Disk Manager Profession(or Suite). There is a free version that I used a long time until I wanted the more advanced features. 

I take regular Image backups of my OS disk which can recover me back to the best working Image, in a more reliable way. I keep 2 or 3 available.

I hope you see this before you do a Clean Install.

All the best,

Crysta

PS. For Security I only use MS "Windows Defender"(Security Essentials in W 7). It just saves a huge amount problems over all with everything going through an MS FireWall (only as well). All these Security App tests you see, are for Marketing & Sales purposes only, not your over all well being(even the independent? ones?). On top of that there is allot of snake oil and voodoo in the various test suites to Market & sell them. In short you are getting marketed to death, AND NOT NECESSARILY SECURE!

Hello,

Thank you for providing us the opportunity to assist you.

I can imagine the inconvenience you are experiencing and will certainly help you in the right direction to fix the issue. However, I would appreciate if you could answer a few questions to narrow down the issue in order to provide you with better assistance.

1. Did you make any significant changes prior to the issue?
2. Do you have any security software installed on your computer?

As per the description which you have posted in your post seems that you are unable to install the updates and getting error**** 800F0922, 80071A91, 80246010, 80240054. This problem may occur if one or more of the following conditions are true:

1. The Windows Update database is corrupted.
2. Antivirus software is configured to scan the %Windir%\SoftwareDistribution folder.
3. The Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS) service does not receive a content link header.
4. A required system file is registered incorrectly.

Try the below methods and check if it helps.

Method 1

Try to run Windows update troubleshooter from the link provided below and if it doesn't help follow different steps mentioned in the following article.

**Troubleshoot problems with installing updates**

Method 2

If issue still persists I would suggest you to reset Windows Update components and for that try to run the fixit provided in the following article. If you had already tried the same fixit before I would request you to run the fixit again.

How do I reset Windows Update components?

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

Method 3

If issue still persist try the steps mentioned under Windows 8 in the link provided below. If you have already tried some steps mentioned in that article you can leave them and try other steps.

Fix Microsoft Windows Update Issues

Additional Information:

You can refer to the articles mentioned below for further troubleshooting and see if it helps you to fix the issue.

**Error 800F0922 when installing a particular KB3022345**

**Unable to install updates, getting error code 80071A91**

Hope this would help. If issue still persists post back with current status of your computer and result of the proposed suggestion, we will be happy to assist you.

Regards,

Kumar.

I went through all 3 methods with the following result: None of it worked.

Here are the details:

METHOD 1

I was there before and it had no effect whatsoever.

Method 2

A) I was at Fix-it before. It ran and it told me each time it had fixed issues, and all was clear. However, trying to install the updates ended in a failure for each one.

B) I then went into the manual method which is very time consuming.

The first thing I discovered was with the following command:

Del "%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Application Data\Microsoft\Network\Downloader\qmgr*.dat"

It failed because it could not find the path. I checked in File Explorer for the All Users under the folder Users, and there was no such folder "All Users", and therefore there is no qmgr*.dat. I suspect that this the issue: the missing folder All Users and all its subfolders. I have a laptop with W 8 and there is that folder. Can that be fixed?

Despite the fact described above I continued to enter the commands. About half of them worked fine but some had thre types of errors.

a) The module (see below) was loaded but the entry point DLL Register Server was not found.

Make sure .... is a valid DLL or OCX file and then try again.

the following files recorded this error message: mshtml.dll, shdocvw.dll, browseui.dll, nuweb.dll.

b) The module (see below) could not be loaded. Make sure the binary is stored at the specified path or debug it to check for problems with the binary or dependent .DLL file. The specified module could not be found.

This error message was recorded for the following files: msxml.dll, gpkcsp.dll, sccbase.dll, sllcsp.dll, initpki.dll, wuaueng.dll, wuclt.dll, wuweb.dll, wuweb.dll.

c) Then there was qmgr.dll, where I got the message that the module was loaded but could not find the entry point.

I cannot give a conclusion to all this what happened during my session. As I said above, I suspect the missing folder.

At the end it showed the link "install the latest Windows Update Agent". Installation was cancelled with the message that the update was not applicable to my PC.

Method 3

This one I had visited before and is of no help.

I do hope that my detailed report will help to understand what is going on here. I am sure it is not a virus or something in that direction causing this massive problem. I am looking forward to your reply.

update fails with code 80073B01

Thank you Ramesh.Kumar for your reply!

I will start my reply with this:

1. Did you make any significant changes prior to the issue?
2. Do you have any security software installed on your computer?

1. No did not make any significant changes. However, I changed my account from Administrative to Standard, if this is considered significant. Following this change I noticed that I could not do everything as under the Administrative account. Consequently, I changed back to Administrative account. That happened two weeks before "Patch Tuesday" in June.
2. I have Windows Defender installed which is set to automatically update. There is no other Antivirus installed. I use MS firewall. All of this has been ok since installation.

I agree with you on the 4 conditions you laid out. The question is how can the Windows Update database get corrupted without giving a warning or error? Next, I do not know whether MS Defender scans the

%Windir%\SoftwareDistribution folder, but I would assume so. I have no exclusions set.

I have no opinion on No. 3 (BITS) but I know from Services that it exists and it starts automatically and is always running.

On No. 4, I do not know, it could be many or is there a specific one. If so can I check it? I am pretty well familiar with the registry.

These are my remarks to your questions and statements. I will go through the offered methods of fixing it which can take a while. I will return here and report what happened. I keep my fingers crossed that one of these will help to solve the issue.