With so many hardware and windows 7 stuck installing updates free download configurations out there, there's always the chance that some unexpected problem will crop up. Operating system updates can be a real chore, and you might not care for them. But like taxes and car MOTs, they are a necessary evil, essential for a happy and peaceful computing life. They keep you protected by squashing nasty bugs, and your OS running as smoothly as possible.
Even with Microsoft trying to make the process as pain-free as possible in recent versions of Windowsgetting a Windows 10 update stuck windows 7 stuck installing updates free download still happen to you. We've got you covered. We're going to cover a lot of ground here for several versions of Windows and windows 7 stuck installing updates free download variety of 'stuck' scenarios, so you may have to tweak some of these steps to suit your situation and software. The first point to make is that interfering with updates that aren't actually stuck can cause a host of problems, so you want to make sure they really are stuck.
If you've got the time, and the patience, we'd recommend waiting a couple of hours, especially with slower machines — go and cut the grass or watch a movie. It may seem extreme, but you don't want to start meddling with these fundamental processes unless you really have to. Because it so often works. There's no magic trick to this — it simply clears out your computer's temporary memory including any stalled files or processesand lets Windows start again from scratch with everything on the system.
If your updates are stuck in the background while you still have access to Windows, you can restart as normal; if they're stuck before or after the OS loads, you're going to have to hold down the power button and do a hard reset.
This can cause issues itself, so make sure your updates definitely aren't progressing at all. Windows 7 stuck installing updates free download you'll just get a message telling you to try the update again at a different time. If you click 'Advanced options' and then 'View your update history', you can see recently installed updates that were successful, and uninstall some or all of them — again, this can be a handy troubleshooting option.
Windows 10 has actually streamlined the update process, so you should be seeing fewer errors. Microsoft feels your pain: it knows the update process can cause problems every now and again, which is why it's developed a troubleshooter program specifically for it — search the old Control Panel for "troubleshooting", then select 'Fix problems with Windows Update' from the list windows 7 stuck installing updates free download.
The link should be available in Windows 7 and 8 too, but if not you can get at it on the web as well. That said, if you haven't yet upgraded to Microsoft's latest and greatest operating system then it's probably still worth your whileas it's more than likely to solve your update problems at the same time.
Safe Mode is like a restart with extras — only the very basic apps and code that Windows needs to run are loaded into memory, so there's even less chance of a rogue, damaged file interfering with the update.
In Windows 10, hold down the Shift key then choose Power and Restart from the Windows sign-in screen. On the next screen you see windows 7 stuck installing updates free download Troubleshoot, Advanced Options, Startup Settings and Restart, and you should then see the Safe Mode option appear: try running through the update process again if you can. A quick search online will give you Safe Mode windows 7 stuck installing updates free download for older versions of Windows.
System Restore has been helpful for solving Windows problems for many a year now, but it happens to be quite well hidden in Windows Go through the wizard, then choose 'Show more restore points' to see all your available options. Pick a time and date, then complete the wizard to go back to how Windows was configured at that point and hopefully solve your update issues at the same time.
The process doesn't affect your personal files or programs, but it may not be available to you depending on how Windows was originally set up. If Windows' own troubleshooter doesn't work see step 4 then you can try and carry out windows 7 stuck installing updates free download same process yourself manually: stopping the Windows Update service, deleting the temporary files it's created, then starting Windows Update again.
It's a little more involved, but it's not difficult to do. First, boot up into Safe Mode see step 5then access to the command prompt, the most basic of Windows interfaces: right-click on the Start menu, choose Command Prompt Adminand a text box should appear. Type "net stop wuauserv" and hit Enter, then follow that with "net stop bits" and hit Enter again. You're not going to break anything by doing this — these are just temporary files Windows creates so it knows where it's up to, and Windows Update will create them again from scratch.
With that done, go back to your command prompt window and type "net start wuauserv" Enter then "net start bits" Enter to get Windows Update and its related background services up and running again; hopefully this trick should be enough to kick-start the update that was previously stuck.
One of the more obscure reasons why a Windows update might not be installing is because a virus or some kind of spyware is blocking it: malicious apps like these can often be squashed by Windows security updates, which is why they try and stop the latest patches from being installed on your machine.
Try running a full and thorough virus scan using whatever security software you have installed you do have some installed, right? If you think your antivirus software has also been compromised you can download some on-demand scanners, like this one from Microsoft or this one from Dr.
Restoring key Windows files and OS options is a lot easier than it used to be, and 'resetting' Windows 10 basically means putting all the system files back to their factory state without touching your personal files along windows 7 stuck installing updates free download way although you can choose to wipe your drive completely if you want.
Windows 8 offers both 'refresh' and 'reset' optionswhile on Windows 7 the reset option will typically have been provided by the PC's manufacturer. Dave is a freelance tech journalist who has been writing about gadgets, apps windows 7 stuck installing updates free download the web for more than two decades. On TechRadar you'll find him covering news, features and reviews, particularly for phones, tablets and wearables.
North America. Found a Windows 10 update is stuck? David Nield. See more how-to articles.
