Windows 8.1 update fails.

Kumar.

Unfortunately the result is "Fail".

Here are the details:

Step 1:

All the services mentioned start automatically and were running, incl. their dependencies. I think there is no the issue.

Step 2:

The commands worked as you recommended: all at the same time. However, there was a problem with the command:

ren C:\Windows\System32\catroot2 catroot2.old

A message said : Access denied! I checked that in File Explorer under c:\Windows\System32 and I found three folders: catroot, catroot2.old, catroot2.

Catroot is the oldest with a creation date of 22 Aug. 13, containing 2 folders one from 22 Aug 13, the other with the same creation date and a modified date of 23 June 15.

catroot.old with a creation date of 22 Aug 13. Contains two folders and various files.

catroot2 with a creation date of 23 June 15, containing 2 folders and various files all with a creation date of 23 June 15. The folder is has nor access restriction.

I continued despite the fact with the renaming, restarted and tried the update again. As previously, the updates installed, and I then restarted the PC.

When you normally restart with an Update installed the PC tells that it updates in the form of a percentage, stops normally at 35% and continues to restart. Then it goes into the Restart and continues to do the updates to 100%.  What happens here in my case? It only says "Getting Windows ready". For me its the sign that the update fails and so it did. Of the 19 important and recommended updates 18 failed and only one succeeded and that was CAPICOM (KB931960) It has done the exact same thing before since I have this issue.

If there is a possibility to reinstall Windows 8.1 w/o destroying all other installations and personal files etc., it would probably solve the issue.

I also discovered that the refresh resp. Advanced tools for repair are no longer available. I tried that before and it did not help either. So, I suspect in some area of my system is a massive corruption. The only help would be as mentioned above. I am also worried that the upgrade to Windows 10 (is being reserved already) would not work, if not all W 8.1 updates are properly installed.

Maybe, you could escalate the issue and see what some other people concerned with the update component can contribute.

Hi,

Thank you for the update on the issue in such a detailed way.

If issue is still persisting, I would suggest you to check if you are able to access Windows Update service and also make sure that the following services are started. If it is not started follow these steps:

Step 1:

a. Click on Start, type "services.msc" (without quotes) in start search box and press Enter.

b. Locate Windows Update service.

c. Right clickon the Windows Update service and select Properties.

d. In Start-up type, select Enable.

e. Click Start under Service status.

f. Click OK.

g. Repeat the steps c to f for the following services also:

Background Intelligent Transfer Service & Cryptographic Service.

If the steps do not help resolve the issue, then you may proceed with the methods mentioned below and check.

Step 2: Step by step instructions to get the issue fixed.

a) Click on “Start” and type “cmd” (without the quotations) in the start search box.

b) When you see the “cmd” icon in the start search list, Right Click on it and select “Run as administrator”.

c) On the open Command Prompt window copy and paste the commands (all at once) –

net stop wuauserv net stop cryptSvc   net stop bits net stop msiserver ren C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution SoftwareDistribution.old ren C:\Windows\System32\catroot2 catroot2.old net start wuauserv net start cryptSvc net start bits net start msiserver

d) Wait for the process to complete.

e) Close the Command Prompt.

After completion of all these steps restart your computer and then try to install the Windows Update.

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.