Issue with Windows Server 2025 taking forever to get available updates from Windows Update

Question

Issue with Windows Server 2025 taking forever to get available updates from Windows Update

Andrew Macaulay 181

Fresh install of Windows Server 2025, updated for a few months, and have had an issue with Windows Update for a few months. This is a single-server (Standard Desktop installation and licence) installation (so no WSUS) for a home office.

Windows Update, when requested manually in Settings, gets stuck on Checking for Updates and never completes
I have reset Windows Update (files) and done SFC and DISM repairs and still the same issue

Managed to install August patch Tuesday updates through download from Update Catalog, but this is far from ideal.

Any ideas what is wrong? Are these existing bugs in Windows Server 2025?

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Answer accepted by question author

Allan Solomon Mejia 7,915

Hello @Andrew Macaulay

Since updates downloaded from the Microsoft Update Catalog install successfully, but Settings → Windows Update → Check for updates remains indefinitely at Checking for updates, I would focus on the Windows Update scan path rather than DISM/SFC or the component store.

First, even though this isn't intentionally WSUS-managed, check whether any Windows Update policies are configured:

Get-ItemProperty `
"HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate" `
-ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

Also run:

gpresult /h C:\gpresult.html

Look particularly for WUServer, WUStatusServer, UseWUServer, or policies controlling Windows Update connectivity. A stale WSUS/policy configuration can prevent the client from scanning Microsoft Update correctly.

Next, verify the relevant services:

Get-Service wuauserv,bits,cryptsvc,usosvc |
    Format-Table Name,Status,StartType

Rather than repeatedly resetting SoftwareDistribution, I would collect the Windows Update logs while reproducing the issue:

Get-WindowsUpdateLog

Also check:

Event Viewer → Applications and Services Logs → Microsoft → Windows → WindowsUpdateClient → Operational

Microsoft specifically recommends Windows Update logs and Event Viewer when troubleshooting update scan failures. Windows Update log files

Because the scan hangs rather than returning an obvious error, I would also check whether the server can reach Microsoft's Windows Update endpoints without SSL inspection, proxy authentication, or firewall filtering. You can check WinHTTP configuration with:

netsh winhttp show proxy

If a proxy is unexpectedly configured, that's worth investigating.

I wouldn't classify this as a general Windows Server 2025 bug based on the symptoms alone. The next useful evidence would be the Windows Server build:

winver

together with any errors from WindowsUpdateClient/Operational at the time the scan hangs.

Since Catalog updates install correctly, I'd avoid further SFC/DISM/reset cycles for now. The Windows Update event log should give us a much better indication of where the scan is getting stuck.

Please "Accept the Answer" if this information helped you. This will help us and others in the community as well.

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2 additional answers

Your answer

Answer 1

Andrew Macaulay 181

Still facing the same issue again this month. The Defender updates are all happening OK, it is just the main security updates that are failing - a major issue when used in small organisations and SoHo instances when not using WSUS!

Does anyone else have any suggestions?

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Answer 2

Thanks for this comprehensive response.

I completed the testing/capturing of data and at the end of it, after having rebooted machine to complete tests, this time update process completed (so will now leave well alone)! Anyway, having collected this information, below are all the outcomes in case there is something amongst it that shows up a cause of the issue.

...check whether any Windows Update policies are configured: Get-ItemProperty "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue gpresult /h C:\gpresult.html

Comes back with no registry entry and no specific Windows Update or BITS policies, but the Settings page does report (correctly) Policies: Configure automatic updates: Value: 4 - Auto download and schedule the install (Group Policy) and the relevant Registry entries are as follows, set by the SConfig option for Automatic Update:

Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\AU\
- AUOptions (REG_DWORD) = 0x00000004 (4)
- NoAutoUpdate (REG_DWORD) = 0x0000000 (0)

Check services Get-Service wuauserv,bits,cryptsvc,usosvc | Format-Table Name,Status,StartType

As expected:

bits - Stopped, Manual
cryptsvc - Running, Manual
usosvc - Running, Automatic
wuauserv - Running, Manual

Collect the Windows Update logs while reproducing the issue: WindowsUpdate.log Event Viewer → Applications and Services Logs → Microsoft → Windows → WindowsUpdateClient → Operational

I had cleared out previous Windows Update logs and event history, started update which kept on running, rebooted server and got the following logfile WindowsUpdate.log and:

Information	13/08/2026 08:04:35	(26)	Windows Update Agent	Windows Update successfully found 0 updates.
Information	13/08/2026 08:04:35	(26)	Windows Update Agent	Windows Update successfully found 0 updates.
(rebooted server)
Information	13/08/2026 08:07:00	(26)	Windows Update Agent	Windows Update successfully found 0 updates.
Information	13/08/2026 08:07:00	(26)	Windows Update Agent	Windows Update successfully found 5 updates.

Check WinHTTP configuration: netsh winhttp show proxy

Current WinHTTP proxy settings: Direct access (no proxy server).

Windows Server build: winver

Microsoft Windows Server Version 24H2 (OS Build 26100.33296)