Windows 7 - Win7 SP1 update fail [err 80004005] - CBS.log shows unrepairable files

Hello all,

Not much of a windows user, so I'm really leaning on you all for help. I have a Dell quadcore system that I re-imaged with Ubuntu Server, and via virtualbox, I run the Windows 7 professional OS it came with via raw-disk access. I've been unable to perform the update to SP1 due to the error in the title (8004005) for some time, but I finally making time to pursue this. With the help of google, I wound up here and noticed that this cbs.log file is often asked for, so I ran the sfc /scannnow command which triggers it, as the administrator. It's pretty huge, so I trimmed all but the interesting bits, below. If anyone can help, it would be awesome.

What I've done:

• Scanned the disk (chkdisk or whatever at startup AND fdisk via ubuntu)
• Tried reverting from restore point
• cloned disk and tried running it as a .vdi disk in Virtualbox
• Ran disk cleanup
• Ran Windows 7 repair from startup
• uninstalled/reinstalled whatever I could on windows
• Moved SoftwareDistribution folder

All had no effect, still the same. The system otherwise runs just fine when I power up the VM and is pretty isolated on the network - so I haven't worried about being well behind with updates.

You have done your homework. The cbs.log snippet indicates some of the files that could not be repaired are important enough to consider either a repair install or re-install.

Other things of note

Before SP-1 update you should run the update readiness tool



Ensure you install the correct 64 or 32 bit option for your system)
Download the System Update Readiness Tool (64bit)
Download the System Update Readiness Tool (32bit)



We could also use the entire cbs.log file

thanks for the quick reply. I forgot to include in my list that I ran the readiness tool first, and it found no errors at all, actually - this sfc utility was the first to say something is wrong.

Also, You mentioned running a repair install. Stupid as it may seem, how do I go about doing this? (Pointing me to any form of how-to is ample for me). I haven't in a while mind you, but I recall having done so a few months ago when I first tried and failed, and it just said everything was OK, nothing to repair. It also told me this in something like 2 minutes, which I did find suspiciously quick, so the likelihood of my having done something wrong there is rather high. It's also possible that the dell CD doesn't contain the same tools as the actual windows 7 CD from MS - is this possible?