Fix Windows Update issues in Windows 10 by resetting its options and files

After an improper shutdown, crash, power failure or something gone wrong with your Registry, Windows Update can fail to work properly. It may fail to check for updates or fail to install them, or sometimes, it cannot be opened at all. Here is how to reset the state of Windows Update and its components if it stops working in Windows 10.

To fix most of the Windows Update issues in Windows 10, in most cases it is enough to run the built-in Windows Update troubleshooter.

1. Open the Start menu and type: troubleshooting and press Enter.
2. Click "Fix problems with Windows Update" under the System and Security section
3. Click "Run as administrator" in the Troubleshooter's dialog and complete the Windows Update troubleshooter. See if Windows Update works properly.

If Windows Update still does not work, you need to reset and re-register all components of the service. Here is how.
First, start an command prompt as administrator.

Type the following commands one by one:

sc stop bits
sc stop wuauserv
sc stop appidsvc
sc stop cryptsvc

This will stop a number of services related to Windows Update. It is required to re-register components as described below.

Windows Update is using a lot of DLL files which need to be registered properly. If any one of these DLLs lack proper Registry entries, it can cause completely random issues as mentioned earlier. To register them properly, you need to type these commands in an elevated command prompt:

regsvr32.exe /s atl.dll
regsvr32.exe /s urlmon.dll
regsvr32.exe /s mshtml.dll
regsvr32.exe /s shdocvw.dll
regsvr32.exe /s browseui.dll
regsvr32.exe /s jscript.dll
regsvr32.exe /s vbscript.dll
regsvr32.exe /s scrrun.dll
regsvr32.exe /s msxml3.dll
regsvr32.exe /s msxml6.dll
regsvr32.exe /s actxprxy.dll
regsvr32.exe /s softpub.dll
regsvr32.exe /s wintrust.dll
regsvr32.exe /s dssenh.dll
regsvr32.exe /s rsaenh.dll
regsvr32.exe /s cryptdlg.dll
regsvr32.exe /s oleaut32.dll
regsvr32.exe /s ole32.dll
regsvr32.exe /s shell32.dll
regsvr32.exe /s wuapi.dll
regsvr32.exe /s wuaueng.dll
regsvr32.exe /s wups.dll
regsvr32.exe /s wups2.dll
regsvr32.exe /s qmgr.dll
regsvr32.exe /s wudriver.dll

Now, it is a good idea to reset your network configuration. It might be broken by a virus, by some dangerous tweaker app or even by another user on the PC you are using. WARNING. You might need to re-configure the proxy server if you are using one and also the IP configuration if you are using any special settings. The following commands can be used for that purpose:

ipconfig /flushdns
netsh winsock reset
netsh winsock reset proxy

Next, let's clear Windows Update cache files, so the operating system will be able to re-download the required updates. This helps to resolve any issues with corrupted updates.

rmdir %systemroot%\SoftwareDistribution /S /Q
rmdir %systemroot%\system32\catroot2 /S /Q

This should be enough to fix Windows Update in Windows 10. Start the services you stopped earlier using this command:

sc start bits
sc start wuauserv
sc start appidsvc
sc start cryptsvc

It is a good idea to restart Windows 10.

That's it. Now Windows Update should work as expected in Windows 10.