How do I reset Windows Update components?

This article helps you reset the Windows Update components.

To have us reset the Windows Update components for you, go to the "Fix it for me" section. To reset the Windows Update settings yourself, go to the "Let me fix it myself" section.

To reset the Windows Update components automatically, click the Fix it button or link. Click Run in the File Download dialog box, and then follow the steps in the Fix it wizard.

Note this Fix it Solution has two modes Default and Aggressive. You should run the Fix it solution in Default mode and determine if it resolves your problem with Windows Update before running it in Aggressive mode.

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Note this wizard may be in English only; however, the automatic fix also works for other language versions of Windows.

Note if you are not on the computer that has the problem, save the Fix it solution to a flash drive or a CD and then run it on the computer that has the problem.

Next, go to the "Did this fix the problem?" section.

Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: To reset the Windows Update components, follow these steps:

1. Open a Windows Command Prompt. To open a command prompt, click Start and then click Run. Copy and paste (or type) the following command in the Open box and then press ENTER: cmd
2. Stop the BITS service and the Windows Update service. To do this, type the following commands at a command prompt. Press ENTER after you type each command.
   • net stop bits
   • net stop wuauserv
3. Delete the qmgr*.dat files. To do this, type the following command at a command prompt, and then press ENTER:
   Del "%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Application Data\Microsoft\Network\Downloader\qmgr*.dat"
4. If this is your first attempt at resolving your Windows Update issues by using the steps in this article, go to step 5 without carrying out the steps in step 4. The steps in step 4 should only be performed at this point in the troubleshooting if you cannot resolve your Windows Update issues after following all steps but step 4. The steps in step 4 are also performed by the "Aggressive" mode of the Fix it Solution above:
   1. Rename the following folders to *.BAK:
      • %systemroot%\SoftwareDistribution\DataStore
      • %systemroot%\SoftwareDistribution\Download
      • %systemroot%\system32\catroot2
      To do this, type the following commands at a command prompt. Press ENTER after you type each command.
      • Ren %systemroot%\SoftwareDistribution\DataStore *.bak
      • Ren %systemroot%\SoftwareDistribution\Download *.bak
      • Ren %systemroot%\system32\catroot2 *.bak
   2. Reset the BITS service and the Windows Update service to the default security descriptor. To do this, type the following commands at a command prompt. Press ENTER after you type each command.
      • sc.exe sdset bits D:(A;;CCLCSWRPWPDTLOCRRC;;;SY)(A;;CCDCLCSWRPWPDTLOCRSDRCWDWO;;;BA)(A;;CCLCSWLOCRRC;;;AU)(A;;CCLCSWRPWPDTLOCRRC;;;PU)
      • sc.exe sdset wuauserv D:(A;;CCLCSWRPWPDTLOCRRC;;;SY)(A;;CCDCLCSWRPWPDTLOCRSDRCWDWO;;;BA)(A;;CCLCSWLOCRRC;;;AU)(A;;CCLCSWRPWPDTLOCRRC;;;PU)
5. Type the following command at a command prompt, and then press ENTER:
   cd /d %windir%\system32
6. Reregister the BITS files and the Windows Update files. To do this, type the following commands at a command prompt. Press ENTER after you type each command.
   • regsvr32.exe atl.dll
   • regsvr32.exe urlmon.dll
   • regsvr32.exe mshtml.dll
   • regsvr32.exe shdocvw.dll
   • regsvr32.exe browseui.dll
   • regsvr32.exe jscript.dll
   • regsvr32.exe vbscript.dll
   • regsvr32.exe scrrun.dll
   • regsvr32.exe msxml.dll
   • regsvr32.exe msxml3.dll
   • regsvr32.exe msxml6.dll
   • regsvr32.exe actxprxy.dll
   • regsvr32.exe softpub.dll
   • regsvr32.exe wintrust.dll
   • regsvr32.exe dssenh.dll
   • regsvr32.exe rsaenh.dll
   • regsvr32.exe gpkcsp.dll
   • regsvr32.exe sccbase.dll
   • regsvr32.exe slbcsp.dll
   • regsvr32.exe cryptdlg.dll
   • regsvr32.exe oleaut32.dll
   • regsvr32.exe ole32.dll
   • regsvr32.exe shell32.dll
   • regsvr32.exe initpki.dll
   • regsvr32.exe wuapi.dll
   • regsvr32.exe wuaueng.dll
   • regsvr32.exe wuaueng1.dll
   • regsvr32.exe wucltui.dll
   • regsvr32.exe wups.dll
   • regsvr32.exe wups2.dll
   • regsvr32.exe wuweb.dll
   • regsvr32.exe qmgr.dll
   • regsvr32.exe qmgrprxy.dll
   • regsvr32.exe wucltux.dll
   • regsvr32.exe muweb.dll
   • regsvr32.exe wuwebv.dll
7. Reset Winsock. To do this, type the following command at a command prompt, and then press ENTER:
   netsh reset winsock
8. If you are running Windows XP or Windows Server 2003, you have to set the proxy settings. To do this, type the following command at a command prompt, and then press ENTER:
   proxycfg.exe -d
9. Restart the BITS service and the Windows Update service. To do this, type the following commands at a command prompt. Press ENTER after you type each command.
   • net start bits
   • net start wuauserv
10. If you are running Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008, clear the BITS queue. To do this, type the following command at a command prompt, and then press ENTER:
    bitsadmin.exe /reset /allusers
11. Install the latest Windows Update Agent. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
    949104  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/949104/ ) How to obtain the latest version of the Windows Update Agent to help manage updates on a computer
12. Restart the computer.

Check whether the Windows Update components are reset. If the Windows Update components are reset, you are finished with this article. If the Windows Update components are not reset, you can contact support (https://support.microsoft.com/oas/default.aspx?gprid=6527) .