win7 update,unknown error.help!

[mrmurder1975]

hi folks. for the life of me i cant get windows update to run.it keeps hitting this unknown error.ive tried to fix this myself but my knowledge is very limited and i cant do it.ive searched the windows database to try and find out exactly what this error means but as far as i can tell its not even listed anywhere. ive only had this laptop a few days,bought it 2nd hand so i dont know if this problem existed for the last owner as well. i thought a sysytem restore might do it but there are only 2 restore points available,both created while this problem was evident. anyway,id be most greatfull of any help offered.thankyou!

the message i get after update check runs for 2 seconds is:

an error occured while checking for new updates. error code:80070005 windows encountered an unknown error.

 

[mrmurder1975]

anybody out there?!!:huh:

 

[marsmimar]

See Option Two in this tutorial:

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/91738-windows-update-reset.html

Let us know if problem persists.

 

[Britton30]

Have a read through this Thread too.

 

[karlsnooks]

mrmurder,

Automatically diagnose and fix common problems with Windows Update

 

[mrmurder1975]

thnakyou very much folks.i shall follow up all that and post back as to what happens. thankyou!

 

[mrmurder1975]

well,i tried all the steps kindly outlined above,plus all the steps outlined in the threads the links posted took me too,with no luck

im still getting the same error message.:huh:

im wondering if re installing windows 7 will sort it?
ive only had this laptop a few days so have nothing on it i would want to keep really.
i have a genuine copy of the same os as on this machine,on my dinosaur of a pc,so i have the genuine installation disk from that i could use. what im unsure about is if i could use it on the laptop as its already been registered to the desktop? i dont want to format this only to find i cant put it on! my name would be mud with the mrs if i did that
assuming i can use it on there,is it just a case of re formatting the drives on here,then whacking in the disk and running it? i think its that easy,but ive never done it before and as you may of gathered im not very tech savvy!

thanks in advance of anymore help offered.

 

[marsmimar]

Try running System File Checker to se if there are any damaged or corrupt system files that might be contributing to this problem. If any problems are noted run the scan 3-4 times.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/1538-sfc-scannow-command-system-file-checker.html

If you still have issues you could try a repair install before resorting to a full reinstall. Pay attention to the warnings in this tutorial as there are very specific requirements as to what kind of install disc you can use.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/3413-repair-install.html

 

[karlsnooks]

mrmurder,

UPDATE YOUR SEVENFORUMS SYSTEM SPECS


User CP (3rd item in the top menu bar) |
in left-hand column, under Your Profile, Edit System Spec |


Use Speccy - System Information - Free Download
and/or SIW to gather info for filling in the blanks.

Do me a favor and add the word laptop or desktop to the “system manufacturer” block.

Use the “Other Info” block for Optical Reader, Mouse, touchpad, wifi adapter, speakers, monitor

Scroll down and click on the SAVE CHANGES button.

=================================


after doing that, then on the bottom of that laptop should be a sticker, called a COA (certificate of authority) . That sticker has a series of characers on it. That's the number that you will need when you get ready to install.


I also suggest you download and run the little program in my sig "Ur Office & OS Keys". You run that program and save the output.

 

[niemiro]

Hello!

Sorry for the delay! What anti-virus software are you using? Any additional malware protection software? That error code is an Access Denied message, and is very often caused by anti-virus software preventing Windows Update from overwriting the file it wished to.

As a test, please disable EVERY malware protection software you have installed, list them here, and then re-try Windows Update. Please don't surf on the Internet too much while all that lot is disabled!

If no joy, please copy the C:\Windows\Logs\CBS folder to your Desktop, right click on it > Send to > Compressed (zipped) folder, and upload the new file which is created on your Desktop here.

Thanks a lot!

Richard

 

[karlsnooks]

niemiro,

If we are looking for system files which SFC could not repair, then alll we need is the output of findstr as explained by Brink in his tutorial.

those cbs.log files can become very large and unwieldy as they are 99% success reports and all we need is the one percent that Brink explains how to extract.

 

[niemiro]

niemiro,

If we are looking for system files which SFC could not repair, then alll we need is the output of findstr as explained by Brink in his tutorial.

those cbs.log files can become very large and unwieldy as they are 99% success reports and all we need is the one percent that Brink explains how to extract.

Hello!

I still want the whole CBS.log. If you look at the actual error code given by the OP, to actually view details about what caused the error code, you need to look at the whole CBS.log.

I really seem to be fighting a losing battle here, but when I fix things in a CBS.log, I do things my way. SFC is useful, but CBS.log is more useful. The details as to why CBS failed the Windows Update is FAR more important than SFC ever is.

Nobody will ever convince me to use a parsed log again (I know that you never suggest this, this is not aimed at you, karlsnooks, but a log which is outputted to the Command Prompt is wordwrapped, and so messy that I won't even waste time reading them any more, and the top is chopped off.)

Originally, when I first started using SFC logs, I used a parsed log and an MD5 scan. But this wasted a lot of time. I now use the whole CBS.log and save myself a lot of time. I scroll down the whole log with the slider in about 10 seconds, looking at the line lengths and shapes, and this way find the relevant sections. Oh yes, it takes practice, but it speeds things up immesurably. SFC sections are incredibly distinctive. I can find them in seconds. I page down to the bottom of the SFC section, and know the result in less time than it takes to parse the log, let alone parse and read the log.

So, 10 seconds towards SFC, then I go to the bottom, and search upwards for "Error ", with that space.

This is the most important part, and is lost in a parsed log (as are useful details about SFC)

I really sound like a broken record, but I have been there, done that, with parsed logs, and now that I am better, I always use the whole CBS.log.

Richard

 

[karlsnooks]

Have you had an opportunity to read Brink's tutorial?

 

[HammerHead]

Update Prob

I'll post some links for you to look at.

Download Details - Microsoft Download Center - System Update Readiness Tool for Windows 7 (KB947821) [May 2011]

Kb947821 Discussions

 

[niemiro]

Have you had an opportunity to read Brink's tutorial?

Yes, and I used to use it (and anyway, Brink just takes it from Microsoft eg: How to use the System File Checker tool to troubleshoot missing or corrupted system files on Windows Vista or on Windows 7 and other KB articles, eg: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/928228) but you will never persuade me to use it again (except to show the OP how to actually run SFC)

P.S. The Microsoft KB article on analysing SFC logs is incredibly bad. Absolutely awful. Which is why I have my own tutorials which I can PM to people when I want to, which are far more comprehensive. Also, there are many, very many, subtitles of SFC which are completely ignored. (eg "manifest may be corrupt(TRUE)" and "manifest may be corrupt(FALSE)", what these actually mean (usually there is no corrupt manifest no matter what that message says), when SFC fails with "failed to compete the repair operation" and how to fix it (you have to use the whole CBS.log, the parsed log parses out the failure reason!), how to replace hard links in winsxs, how to check that SFC has not falsely identified a corrupt file, how to repair a whole winsxs folder, how to tell when SFC could have replaced the file had it not been in use, if there is a good copy on the computer, if there isn't, which way around the hard link lies etc. etc. etc.

When I started off, I read that KB article, and jumped straight in. Now that I have the experience, I use the whole CBS.log. *Please will people lay off me for using the whole CBS.log.