Failed to download windows updates. Error: We were unable to configure Windows Updates

From the first minutes of working on a computer, each user slowly discovers absolutely new world computer capabilities. It has a place for the vast expanses of the Internet, and a bunch of ultra-modern programs, applications, games, thanks to which life becomes much easier and more interesting. At the same time, in the computer “barrel of honey”, there are also enough of their spoons with tar in the form of system failures, glitches and errors, from the elimination of which sometimes the head is spinning. Here's what you will order to do if they are not installed on the PC windows updates 7? How can one explain such behavior?

Reason #1: Incorrect download of updates

As practice shows, the update package for Windows 7 is most often not installed on the system due to problems with its download. The essence of the process is that it is initially loaded into the cache and stored there until the user gives the green light to the Windows Update service to install these files on the computer.

As a result, if the download is incorrect, it becomes impossible to install them into the system. At the same time, a new attempt to download updates will also be unsuccessful, because the cache accessed by Windows 7 will display files downloaded with an error.

What is the way out of this situation? Right! Delete updates from the cache, download them again and then install them on your computer without the slightest problem. Our favorite command line will help us with this. We launch it through the "Start" menu by typing three English letters cmd and clicking the value that appears in the "Programs" line with the mouse:

After that, enter into the command line, alternating with pressing Enter, the following commands:

• net stop wuauserver
• ren %windir%\SoftwareDistribution SoftwareDistribution.OLD
• net start wuauserver

After completing them, we go to the "Update Center ..." and manually update the system. If you wish, you can also remove previously installed problematic files from the update package here:

Reason #2: Problems in the Windows Registry

More than half of all failures in installing updates on 7-ku are accompanied by the appearance of error 80070308, which in turn can be caused by incorrect work Windows registry.

How to deal with this problem? First you need to call the Run utility by pressing + R, drive the regedit command into it and click the OK button. Next, go to the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE section, select the COMPONENTS tab and delete the PendingRequired item in it:

After that, it remains only to restart the system and re-download the updates.

Reason #3: Update service failure

Problems installing updates on a Windows 7 computer can also be caused by a problem with the corresponding service. How to bring her back to life? To get started, in the Start menu, type search query"Services" and click on the appropriate program in the list that appears. Then, in the displayed list of services, you need to find the "Update Center ..." tab, click on it with the mouse and stop the service by clicking the "Stop" button:

Further, without closing the system window, on the hard disk you will need to find in Windows directory SoftwareDistribution folder and manually delete all the data that is stored in it. After that, you need to return to the "Services" window, find the "Update Center ..." item again, right-click on it and select the "Run" option. Having done this, all that remains is to restart the computer and search for and install updates.

Note that the Fix it utility can also help in this case:

She works in automatic mode, so there should not be any difficulties when working with it. If it does not help, try performing a system rollback:

Other causes and solutions

No matter how trite it may sound, errors in installing updates on a Windows 7 PC can also be associated with a lack of free space on the hard drive. So, in order for the system to be fully updated without the appearance of frightening messages about system failures, you need to have at least 5 Gb of free memory on your hard drive. If the mark is moving towards this indicator, you don’t even have to ask why the system suddenly hung when installing updates, and I can’t do anything with it at all.

What solution can be? It's easier, of course, to remove from the hard drive junk files and forget about the problem. If this is not possible, you will either have to abandon the idea of ​​​​updating, or buy a removable HDD and throw all the information on it. But maybe still remove the unnecessary, huh?

Meanwhile, problems with Windows update 7 may also occur due to lack of internet connection or proxy server errors. The solution here is simple - we check the Internet settings, reconnect to the network and update the system. At the same time it would be nice to check the work antivirus program/ firewall: Does it accidentally block update files and access to the Microsoft site. If this is the case, you will need to either disable it temporarily or remove it if the process repeats.

Windows is constantly updated: new features are added, security is improved, bugs are fixed in the system. However, modernization does not always go smoothly. Some users are experiencing that after a reboot, which is required to complete the upgrade, an error message appears with text like "We were unable to configure Windows updates" or "We were unable to complete the updates."

Actions when an error message appears

Regardless of the exact text, notifications make it clear that an error occurred while trying to install updates. Windows can't complete the upgrade procedure, so it starts to undo the changes, returning to a working configuration.

What should the user do in such a situation?

Wait for the changes to be rolled back. The computer should be forced to shut down only in last resort, as this can lead to a system crash.

The rollback may take a long time (up to several hours), but after it, Windows will definitely work, and you will not have to restore the system.

How to update the system?

Leaving Windows without updates is not recommended, as this will lower the security level and leave the system without new features added by developers. If configuring Windows Update fails, there are several troubleshooting options.

Deleting the cache

The first method to apply is to clear the SoftwareDistribution folder, which contains the update cache. If the computer manages to complete the rollback and boots the system:

When the system boots into safe mode, launch a command prompt with administrator rights. Run the command "ren C:\windows\SoftwareDistribution SoftwareDistribution.old" to rename the SoftwareDistribution folder. If the system is not installed on partition C, then insert a different volume letter.

Reboot your system normally. Now, when updating Windows, it will create the SoftwareDistribution folder on its own, which will be empty.

Using the recovery drive

If the undo does not complete, and the computer constantly restarts, you will have to use another method. It implies the use of a recovery disk. If you don't have it, you can create the tool on a third party computer.

1. Boot the system from the recovery disk. Go to the "System Restore" section.
2. Go to the Troubleshooting section. Launch Command Prompt.

On the command line, run the following commands in sequence:

• diskpart.
• List vol.
• exit.
• Ren c:\windows\SoftwareDistribution SoftwareDistribution.old.

Before performing last command, make sure the system volume is assigned the letter "C". For this, the “list vol” command is needed, which displays a list of all connected media.

To cancel automatic download updates, enter "sc config wuauserv start=disabled".

After completing these steps, you can close the command prompt and boot Windows normally.

When the system boots up, press the Win + R combination on the keyboard and query "services.msc" to open a list of services. Select "Windows Update" and set the startup type to "Manual" in the properties.

If after following these steps, the update passes without errors, you can delete the SoftwareDistribution.old folder, which contains an unnecessary cache.

Using Diagnostic Utilities

If the methods above do not resolve the problem, try using the built-in diagnostic utilities. If the rollback completes and the system boots:

After the check is complete, restart your computer and try updating the system again.

If Windows won't boot:

1. Using the recovery disk, open a command prompt.
2. Run "bcdedit /set (default) safeboot minimal" to reboot into safe mode.

After booting into safe mode, to run the diagnostic utilities, write the following queries in turn in the command line:

• msdt /id BitsDiagnostic.
• msdt /idWindowsUpdateDiagnostic.

Finally, enter the command to disable safe mode - "bcdedit / deletevalue (default) safeboot". After a reboot, the update error should no longer appear.

Account verification

One more possible cause If the error appears, there may be problems with user profiles in the registry. To eliminate them

In the ProfileList directory you will find several folders with long alphanumeric names. You need to analyze their contents by looking at the parameter values.

• The ProfileImagePath parameter, whose value specifies a link to the profile, must be in only one folder.
• If the second folder also has a ProfileImagePath parameter, it must be removed.
• To determine in which folder to remove the ProfileImagePath parameter, look at the RefCount value. If specified, RefCount is 0, remove the ProfileImagePath parameter, which is located in this folder. Another indication of the need for deletion is the postscript.bak in the section title.

Before editing the registry, do it backup. If you don't want to check folder names and fix them manually, perform a registry repair.

Hello admin! Last night I worked on my laptop and did Shutdown, but the laptop did not turn off, began to install some updates, wrote to me that the computer would turn off automatically and imagine, it didn’t turn off even after an hour, I came up, and another inscription appeared on the laptop screen - Failed to configure Windows updates. Undo changes, well, I think okay, let it roll back, but even in three hours it didn’t work to roll back, already in the first hour of the night I forcibly turned off the laptop.

This morning I turn it on and again this error comes out, it was not possible to configure Windows updates. Cancel changes and so the whole day. I wanted to enter safe mode using the F8 key at boot, but to no avail, I also used the Shift + F8 key combination, also to no avail.

I got on the Internet, but there seems to be no solution to this problem, even on the official website of the Microsoft society they say that only reinstalling the system will solve the issue. What is this "such" latest Windows 8, huh?

Failed to configure Windows updates. Undo changes

Hi all! At my job, for the past month, I have encountered a similar problem every other day, apparently Microsoft released some kind of incorrect update.

1) Easy way to beat the error - Failed to configure Windows Updates. Undo changes. We will boot from the recovery flash drive and run System Restore. Works in most cases.

2) The hard way. Cleaning up the folder and stopping the service windows update. This folder contains the Windows 8 update files, in which the error lies. You will need a simple LiveCD or a rescue disk, but a professional one is better Microsoft tool Diagnostic and Recovery Toolset 8.1. if you have Win 8.1 and Microsoft Diagnostic and Recovery Toolset 8.0 if you have Win 8.

Decide this problem possible without reinstalling windows 8 using environment Windows recovery 8, but you must have either a recovery disk of eight, a recovery flash drive is also suitable. Whatever you have, you need to do all the same things.

We connect the Windows 8 recovery flash drive to the laptop and turn on the laptop, to boot the laptop from the USB flash drive, first of all, you need to enter the laptop boot menu, on my laptop the F12 key is responsible for this.

• Note: If you do not know, follow the link and read our special article.

We boot the problem laptop from the recovery flash drive. In the boot menu of the laptop, use the arrows on the keyboard to select our recovery flash drive and press Enter.

Well, here we are booted from the recovery flash drive. It is useless to choose a language, everything will be in English anyway.

Note: If you boot from a Windows 8 installation disc or recovery disc, then everything will be in Russian, so I will show you the necessary menu items in Russian as well.

Need to choose Troubleshoot(Diagnosing or fixing a problem)

advanced options(Extra options)

System Restore(System Restore).

Choose Windows 8.1

Choose the last restore point

Finish

Yes(restore cannot be undone)

The system recovery process begins, which in most cases will complete successfully.

In rare cases, this will not help, then you need to boot the laptop from any LiveCD, go to drive C: in the folder

C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download and clean it up.

Bootable Live CD AOMEI PE Builder

Microsoft Diagnostic and Recovery Toolset 8.0

I use the Microsoft Diagnostic and Recovery Toolset 8.0 Rescue Disc for Windows 8 or Microsoft Diagnostic and Recovery Toolset 8.1 instead of the LiveCD. for Win 8.1, .

Internet connection is not required. No.

Russian.

Diagnostics.

Microsoft Diagnostic and Recovery Toolset. Windows 8.

Explorer (conductor).

Please note that drive C: is not the drive with Windows 8,

And the hidden partition is System Reserved (containing Windows 8 boot files).

Section with files operating system under the letter D:, we find the folder D:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download and delete everything from it.

This folder contains the Windows 8 update files, in which the error lies. Next, we reboot.

Once System Restore did not help me and cleaning the C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download folder did not help, then I again booted from the Microsoft Diagnostic and Recovery Toolset disk. Windows 8 and chose Computer management,

Then Services, double click right mouse on the Windows Update service

And stop it, then Apply and OK. after that Windows 8 booted up.

Judging by the text of the message, for some Windows reasons 8 failed to install updates correctly. As a result, at the next boot, the "smart" system decides that its crash is caused by a problem in one of installed updates and tries to roll them back, but for some reason can't do it.

Failed to configure Windows updates. Cancel changes. Don't turn off your computer

In English, the error looks like this:

Failure configuring Windows updates. Reverting changes. Do not turn off your computer

In some cases, it’s really worth waiting a few minutes / hours, after which the system itself will correctly roll back Latest updates. But it often happens that this inscription appears at every boot and somehow it becomes impossible to remove it and log into the system normally.

In general, Microsoft described this problem in one of the articles in its knowledge base. In the article, as possible methods of "treatment", it is proposed to perform the following operations (successively, starting from the first, moving on to the next solution if the previous one did not help):

1. Restart your computer;
2. Disconnect all removable media and external hard drives from the computer, and reboot again;
3. Check the system Windows utility Update Troubleshooter;
4. Use the system recovery functionality (boot from the installation / boot disk and roll back to one of the previous restore points);
5. Reset Windows 8 through the Refresh or Reset functions;
6. Reinstall OS

Methods 1 and 2 do not need additional comments, I think. They are worth trying first.

Windows Update Troubleshooter

Regarding the 3rd method - you can run the Windows 8 update diagnostic utility only from a running system, but since it does not boot, let's try to perform such a check in safe mode.

To do this, you need to boot from a bootable or installation disk / flash drive for Windows 8. Then we need to launch the command line. If used installation disk with Windows 8, the easiest way to do this is by pressing the Shift+F10 key combination on the language/system layout selection screen.

On the command line, run:

bcdedit /set (current) safeboot minimal

After the next restart, the computer should boot into Safe Mode.

Start the Update Service Diagnostic Wizard by running the command:

msdt /id WindowsUpdateDiagnostic

Then just follow the wizard's instructions.

After finishing the wizard, disable Windows boot 8 in safe mode:

bcdedit /deletevalue (default) safeboot

We reboot the system and try to boot in normal mode. If it doesn't help, move on to the next method.

System Restore

If applicable, try performing a System Restore by booting from a boot/install disk and see if the issue goes away.

If this did not help, but you don’t want to reinstall / reset Windows, try these mods first.

Clearing the update cache

We boot into safe mode again (described above), open the command prompt and clean up the contents of the C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download\ folder (this is the Windows folder downloads updates and starts their installation from here)). You can do this directly from the explorer or with the following command:

ren C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download Download.old

Note. The command does not delete, but renames the Download directory to Download.old

Disable the automatic start of the Windows Update service:

sc config wuauserv start= disabled

We check whether Windows 8 boots in normal mode, if so, enable the autostart of the update service and start it:

sc config wuauserv start= auto
net start wuauserver

The system must re-download the updates and install them.

Storage recovery Windows components 8

Let's try to restore the Windows 8 component store with using DISM. To do this, boot into safe mode again and execute the following commands in sequence on the command line:

DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Scanhealth

Note. The command can be executed for quite a long time, up to several hours, be sure to wait for it to finish.

DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth

Disable download in safe mode and check if Windows 8 boots normally.

If this did not help, and the inscription "Configure Windows updates. Revert changes" does not disappear, you should probably think about resetting or reinstalling the system.

Let's take it in order. When updating services and Windows services license is being identified. In the case of a pirated version, the check does not end successfully and an error appears.

User actions can also be the cause. Have you seen messages on the taskbar about updates or when you turn off the computer? There still appears a message that the update is underway, for example, 47%. A little long process, and often requires resources. And when you turn off the computer, the screen does not go out, and the OS informs you that you should not try to turn off the computer, you should not pull the cord from the outlet ...

Unfortunately, many users, due to their inattention or stupidity, in combination with other character traits, harm the OS, doing everything in the opposite way. Now let's take a look at some tips to fix this violation ...

Such a plan failures are characterized by 2 main reasons:

• Installed on PC Windows pirated versions;
• User negligence or negligence

Method 1:

When you try to install updates, the OS notifies you that it is impossible to configure these updates and that changes are being canceled. The PC reboots, updates unsuccessfully again, the process repeats, repeats again, and repeats again, the evil user pulls the plug from the outlet or presses the button on the system unit to reboot in the hope of changing something, because the computer does not turn off after completion Windows work 7. Do not do this, because the work has not been completed!

We must wait for the next reboot, or you can do it through Reset. On the laptop, hold down the power button. While loading BIOS click F8 to open the OS boot menu. In the menu that appears, find the launch option Safe mode and start the system.

Because most services are inactive in safe mode, then the update download service will stop working. After loading the OS, click on the checkbox on the taskbar. Now you need to open the graph My computer .

choose local disk The OS on which Windows was installed. If you have several of them, and you have no idea which OS is on them, then run through them ( of course, what a glance! local disk with OS is flagged ), there should be a folder called Windows:

You will see a window with long and strange folder names. You will need to look by date and delete the latest ones, see picture:

If you have difficulty removing the latest update releases, then select all the existing folders and delete them. Now reboot the OS and try to enable updates, but if you own a pirated version, then updates must be disabled in order to avoid crashing again.

Of course, the screenshot where the checkboxes are selected and updates are enabled (with a green picture) shows how to deal with the licensed program. Well, where everything is disabled and the checkboxes are removed (respectively, the picture is red) - an option for pirated OS releases.

Reboot your PC again and look at the changes.

Method 2:

If you are not lucky enough to solve the problem, then there is still this option, it is also effective and quite affordable.

Also press F8 at startup, but now choose the download option safe mode with the support command line , do not confuse. This is what it looks like, you print in it msconfig, click on Enter . The command will be executed, a window will open:

Here, a window appeared on the system configuration, now go to the service, look for the system restore line. Windows 7 could not configure updates

Click ready. After the changes have been made, also go to the updates, and there you already decide whether to do them automatically or refuse altogether. If you forgot something, all this is indicated in the 1st method, do not forget to check the boxes as well. Again, restart your PC.

Please leave your comments via social media. Tell us which method worked for you. What else would you like to see on this site? Feel free to post your thoughts so you can help other visitors and administration.