Yesterday I realised that Windows Update wasn't working on my Windows 7 (32-bit) laptop.
It sometimes found updates but then when I selected them and tried to download them it just hung on 0 kb and 0%.
I uninstalled SP1 and Windows Update worked fine. Then , when reinstalled SP1 Windows Update stopped working - it just hangs while it says its looking for updates.
I have used two tools to try to fix it - Windows Update Diagnostic and Microsoft FixIt 50202. Neither have worked...
I've dealt with lots of servers and clients that had problems with Windows Update.
Make sure your running the newest version of Windows Update Agent (this has solved many problems for me). The newest version can be found here: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/949104 Find your OS, download the package and install it. Then reboot.
If that doesn't resolve it, try this:
In some rare cases it's even harder to resolve the issue. I'd recommend you try running the following lines in Command Prompt as Admin (To open Command Prompt as Administrator, search for CMD > Right-click > Run as Administrator)
net stop cryptsvc
md %systemroot%\system32\catroot2.old
xcopy %systemroot%\system32\catroot2 %systemroot%\system32\catroot2.old /s
I had the same problem for two weeks. Then I came across this page Windows 7 SP1 Windows Update stuck checking for updates
It fixed my issue completely. Thanks to you guys on this site.
I've found this command from an administrative command prompt can do wonders for windows updates when they fail to start.
fsutil resource setautoreset true c:\
Open Windows Update settings and uncheck the two options:
Give me recommended updates the same way I receive important updates.
Give me updates for other Microsoft products when I update Windows.
Then manually check for updates. It should work after disabling both options.
SOLUTION: Install this https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3125574 including prerequisites: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3020369
