Windows Not accepting windows updates

[VISA MC]

I have a residential PC on our bench right now that won't take Windows updates. It downloads them, requests a reboot, then installs them, then fails saying it could not complete and it is undoing the changes. Here is what I have tried:

1. stopping all processes and clearing SoftwareDistribution folder
2. DISM online
3. SFC
4. Windows Update Troubleshooter
5. Manually downloading the KB from the update catalog and installing

The update we are having issues with is the Cumulative windows 10 update for December. My next thought was to Reset this PC but the client has a lot of software that would need to be reinstalled after the reset some of this software dates back to 2004, so it may not be very easy to get reinstalled. I did not see anything relating to common issues with this update, but he is saying he actually has two PC's both doing the same thing. We only have one in our possession.

Has anyone seen this or have any advice to try to get this update to take?

 

[Porthos]

What version of 10. If it is not 1809 (probably not yet) get the current ISO and upgrade. That should solve that. If you are using 3rd party AV uninstall first just to be sure.

 

[frase]

Try using WSUS Update tool to get over the problem updates
http://download.wsusoffline.net/

 

[Larry Sabo]

What version of 10. If it is not 1809 (probably not yet) get the current ISO and upgrade. That should solve that.

In my case, the winver was already 1809. I had to do an in-place "upgrade" to 1803 to fix it.

Computer Services, in-shop
- "won't install Windows update, print, install app from Appp Store, network troubleshooter"
- power on: "Working on updates, 100% complete; couldn't complete updates, undoing"
- booted to desktop; winver: 1709 Bld 16299.309
- offline upgrade-install Creators Update (1803) from within 1609 using Zalman: success

 

[Sky-Knight]

You can usually "upgrade" to any release, the process is a reinstall and it fixes all sorts of wonderfully fun Windows issues.

 

[fincoder]

If it is not 1809 (probably not yet) get the current ISO and upgrade. That should solve that.

And if already 1809 you can do the 'upgrade' anyway, also known as a 'repair install'. As Sky-Knight said above.

 

[VISA MC]

Thanks for the help everyone. I went into the office today and did get the system caught up using the media creation tool for an in place upgrade.

 

[Porthos]

And if already 1809 you can do the 'upgrade' anyway, also known as a 'repair install'.

My ONLY gripe with 10 is the computer has to boot to Windows to do a repair install.

 

[Sky-Knight]

My ONLY gripe with 10 is the computer has to boot to Windows to do a repair install.

To be fair, it's kinda hard to "fix" a system without a working configuration. If Windows 10 doesn't boot, it's because something is very wrong, paving that over with a reinstall isn't likely to fix much.

 

[Porthos]

To be fair, it's kinda hard to "fix" a system without a working configuration. If Windows 10 doesn't boot, it's because something is very wrong, paving that over with a reinstall isn't likely to fix much.

For me that is usually a drive replacement.

 

[fincoder]

To be fair, it's kinda hard to "fix" a system without a working configuration

XP had an offline repair install feature, and it worked very well. That's why we miss not having it now!

 

[Porthos]

XP had an offline repair install feature, and it worked very well. That's why we miss not having it now!

So did 7.

 

[Sky-Knight]

XP had an offline repair install feature, and it worked very well. That's why we miss not having it now!

That offline repair feature wouldn't function if the registry was corrupted, which is pretty much the only thing that keeps 10 from booting today.

Also, that feature was introduced with Windows 2000. I've used it, I know it, and I've had to splice registries back together to make it work. It's nice, but not an end all be all, and no system today that can't boot would be fixed by it.