Win7 & Defender no longer finds/installs updates—perpetually checking
Hello and thanks for reading.
My Win7 system has run without issues for years now (I keep a clean, well-organized PC). However, within the last few months (I believe it started in late November or December) Windows Update simply stopped working (FYI, I have it set to automatically check for, but not install, updates, at which point I trigger the system to download and install). It's been "Checking for updates..." perpetually for hours (never left it for more than, say, four hours) until the present.
I made some rudimentary attempts at fixes, like running Windows Update Troubleshooter, but nothing worked. I did receive a few errors at one time (that I didn't record), but then whatever steps I took seemed to clear them. Now it simply goes nowhere.
The same applies to Windows Defender. I believe that one of the updates that my machine is unable to download and install is a Defender definition update.
At some point, I read about a fix that included resetting your Windows Updates, which I was able to implement to at least some degree. I believe that this involved booting in safe mode, clearing C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution and deleting all files. So now my update log appears clear (as if I've downloaded no updates), but the updates through November 2016 are still clearly installed.
I assume that this is inadequate information for an accurate diagnosis, so could you please let me know what you need and, if somewhat involved (error report, etc.), how to obtain it?
Obviously, I want to keep my system updated, but re-installing Windows is a time-consuming nightmare. I'm really hoping that I can avoid this at all costs.
Thanks so much for taking the time to read and offer guidance.
- MrELB
Hello and thanks for reading.
My Win7 system has run without issues for years now (I keep a clean, well-organized PC). However, within the last few months (I believe it started in late November or December) Windows Update simply stopped working (FYI, I have it set to automatically check for, but not install, updates, at which point I trigger the system to download and install). It's been "Checking for updates..." perpetually for hours (never left it for more than, say, four hours) until the present.
I made some rudimentary attempts at fixes, like running Windows Update Troubleshooter, but nothing worked. I did receive a few errors at one time (that I didn't record), but then whatever steps I took seemed to clear them. Now it simply goes nowhere.
The same applies to Windows Defender. I believe that one of the updates that my machine is unable to download and install is a Defender definition update.
At some point, I read about a fix that included resetting your Windows Updates, which I was able to implement to at least some degree. I believe that this involved booting in safe mode, clearing C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution and deleting all files. So now my update log appears clear (as if I've downloaded no updates), but the updates through November 2016 are still clearly installed.
I assume that this is inadequate information for an accurate diagnosis, so could you please let me know what you need and, if somewhat involved (error report, etc.), how to obtain it?
Obviously, I want to keep my system updated, but re-installing Windows is a time-consuming nightmare. I'm really hoping that I can avoid this at all costs.
Thanks so much for taking the time to read and offer guidance.
- MrELB
My Computer
At a glance
Win 7 64 Home Premium
- OS
- Win 7 64 Home Premium
. (and a lot of them were hidden and undocumented)
