win7 update,unknown error.help!

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.

anybody out there?!!

See Option Two in this tutorial:

Windows Update - Reset

Let us know if problem persists.

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

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.

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.

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.

SFC /SCANNOW Command - System File Checker

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.

Repair Install

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