Windows Update Not Downloading: Fix With Exact Solutions

Whenever an update is available, Windows downloads it automatically. Otherwise, it becomes difficult for Windows to execute the functions that require the latest update. Moreover, Windows may run sluggishly or prevent you from performing certain tasks without the update. But, Windows update not downloading issue often arises during the process. As a result, the update gets stuck and it seems to you as if the process is quite confusing and difficult. Sometimes it may happen that there are a lot of pending updates on your Windows. You may see in the status of the Windows update, that some updates are pending to be downloaded, while others are yet to be installed. This becomes a matter of concern as it does not allow your PC to function properly.

Solutions To Fix Windows Update Not Downloading Windows 10

We have discussed below the solutions which have been proven to fix this issue successfully in the least possible time.

Run Windows Troubleshooter

1. Type ‘troubleshooting’ in the search box and press ‘Enter’ to open the ‘Troubleshooting(Control Panel).’
   
2. Navigate to the ‘System and Security’ section and click on ‘Fix problems with Windows update.’
   
3. Click on ‘Advanced’ in the ‘Windows update troubleshooting’ window.
   
4. Check the box for ‘Apply repairs automatically.’
   
5. Select ‘Run as Administrator’ and click on ‘Next.’
6. The troubleshooter now scans your PC and try to fix the update problem. You will get a confirmation message once the troubleshooting fixes the problem.

Clean Up Extremely Large And Junk Files

If your PC has an excessive amount of large and junk files, then they may stop Windows from downloading the updates. Hence, perform the steps as discussed below and get rid of this inconvenience.

1.  Press the Windows icon and ‘R’ simultaneously to open the Run box.
2.  Type the command ‘%temp%’ in the Run box and hit the ‘Enter’ key.
3. Click ‘Tools’ in the Temp folder and select ‘Folder Options.’
4. Click the ‘View’ tab in the ‘Folder Options’ window.
5. Go to ‘Hidden Files and Folders’ to view the hidden files and folders and click ‘OK.’
   
6. Press Ctrl and ‘A’ together to select all the files in the Temp folder. After that, press the ‘Delete’ key on your keyboard.
7. Right-click on those files and select ‘Delete’ to erase the specified files.
8. If Windows displays a confirmation box, then click ‘Yes’ to confirm the deletion of temporary files and folders.
9. If you have moved some temporary files and folders in the Recycle Bin, then you need to delete them as well.
10. For that, open the Recycle Bin, double-click on it and choose ‘Empty Recycle Bin.’
11. Finally, click on ‘Yes’ to confirm the permanent deletion of the temp files and folders.

Windows Update Service Must Be Running

1. Hold down the Windows logo key and press ‘R’ on the keyboard to open the ‘Run’ dialog box.
2.  Type ‘sevices.msc’ in the ‘Run’ dialog box and hit ‘Enter.’
3.  Navigate to ‘Windows Update Service,’ right-click on it and select ‘Properties.’
4. Then go to the ‘Startup’ section and change its value to ‘Automatic.’
5. Click on the ‘Start’ button if you find that the services have stopped.
6. After that, hit ‘Apply’ and tap the ‘OK’ button to save the changes.
7. Right-click on ‘Background Intelligent Transfer Service,’ select ‘Properties’ and set the ‘Startup’ value to automatic.
8.  Now locate ‘Cryptographic Service’ and right-click on it to select ‘Properties.’
9. Once again set the ‘Startup’ value to ‘Automatic’ and click on ‘Apply’ followed by the ‘OK’ button.

Run System File Checker

This inbuilt tool of Windows 10 scan the system files and fix the glitches automatically.

1. Type ‘taskmgr’ command in the ‘Run’ dialog box and hit ‘Enter’ to open the ‘Task Manager. Then, click on the ‘File’ tab and select ‘Run a new task.’
2. Type ‘PowerShell’ in the ‘Run’ box and check the box for ‘Create this task with administrative privileges.’
3. Type ‘sfc/scannow’ in the PowerShell window and press ‘Enter.’ System File Checker will start scanning the Windows OS for errors.
4. If you get an error message that Windows has found some errors, but is unable to fix them, then you will need to run the DISM command.
5. Type the command, ‘DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth’ on the ‘PowerShell’ window to launch the DISM tool.

Install The Windows Update Manually

1. Go to the ‘Start’ button, type ‘information’ in the search box and select ‘System Information.’
2.  Then check that the value of ‘System Type’ is x64-based/x86-based or ARM64-based).
3.  Go to Update History and identify the updates starting with the code ‘KB.’ ‘KB” is a code for the failed updates on your Windows.
4. Now note down these system updates that have failed to install.
5.  Click on ‘Microsoft Update Catalog’ and search for the updates Windows have failed to install.
6. If the search result matches your Operating System and system type, then move to the next step.
7. Tap the ‘Download’ button next to the pending updates in the search result.
8. As the new window appears, click on the link to download the update.
9.  After the file has been downloaded on your PC, follow the on-screen instructions to install the update.

Reset Windows Update Components

1. Type ‘cmd’ in the search box and press ‘Enter.’
2. Click on Command Prompt and select ‘Run as administrator.’
3. Then type net stop bits, net stop wuauserv, net stop appidsvc and net stop cryptsvc one by one in the command line.
4. Hit the ‘Enter’ key to let the commands mentioned above stop the services that Windows Update requires for downloading and installing the updates.
5.  Now go back to the Command Prompt and copy the ‘Ren %systemroot%\SoftwareDistribution SoftwareDistribution.old’  to it.
6.  Press ‘Enter,’ then copy ‘Ren %systemroot%\system32\catroot2 catroot2.old’ command and hit ‘Enter’ again.
7.  Now Windows Update can avoid issues that were arising from the previous Software Distribution folder and catroot2 folder.
8. Type these commands one at a time and press ‘Enter’ to execute them: net start bits, net start wuauserv, net start appidsvc, net start cryptsvc.

Run Windows Module Installer

This built-in Windows service helps to fix the Windows updates that are unable to get installed on your PC. So run this service and give a try to fix this issue with the following steps:

1.  First, type ‘cmd’ in the search box and select ‘Command Prompt with administrative privileges.’
2. Then, enter ‘SC config trustedinstaller start-=auto’ in the command line and hit ‘Enter.’
3. Windows displays SC] ChangeServiceConfig SUCCESS within the Command Prompt console once the command has been successfully executed.
4. After that, close the Command Prompt window and check whether Windows can now download the update or not.
   Hope the given solutions will be able to fix Windows Update not downloading issue and won’t bother you afterwards.