The same Windows update keeps failing on one computer, and Windows keeps trying it again.
You see it in Update history as the same entry with an error code instead of a finished install, or the computer asks for a restart every few days and the update is still there afterward.
Windows retries failed updates on its own, and for most computers that is enough. A retry runs the same steps under the same conditions, though. Until the cause changes, the fifth attempt ends like the first, and the computer goes without that update the whole time.
Write down what Windows says before you change anything
Microsoft describes Update history as the list of which updates were installed and when. The code can appear on the Windows Update page itself, under the failed update, as well as in the history.
- On Windows 11, open Start, Settings, Windows Update, then Update history. On Windows 10, open Start, Settings, Update & Security, Windows Update, then View update history.
- Find the entry that keeps coming back. Write down its name, the code that begins with 0x if one is shown, and the dates of the attempts.
- Count the attempts. Then look at one other computer of about the same age. If only this one fails, the cause is on this computer. If several fail, look at what they share: the network, where they get updates from, or a setting pushed to all of them.
What the code points to
Microsoft publishes a list of Windows Update error codes with a first move for each. The ones people meet most:
- 0x800f0922: Microsoft says to clear disk space and turn off any VPN.
- 0x80070002, 0x80070003, 0x80070057: restart, run the troubleshooter, and check disk space.
- 0x800705b4: check the connection, pause security software for a moment, and restart.
- 0x80070422: the Windows Update service is not set to start automatically.
- 0x800F081F, 0x80073712: Microsoft points to damaged system files and the System File Checker.
- 0xC1900101: Microsoft points to network or display drivers.
- 0x8024402d: the update service was under heavy load. Microsoft says no action is needed because the device tries again later.
The ordinary fixes, in the order Microsoft lists them
- Plug the computer in, confirm it is online, and unplug docks and external drives it doesn’t need.
- Check the room left on the system drive. Microsoft says a 64-bit system needs at least 20 GB of available space for updates. On Windows 11, open Settings, System, Storage, then Cleanup recommendations. On Windows 10, search for Disk Cleanup. If the computer was upgraded in the last 10 days, the previous Windows version appears as a deletable file. Removing it deletes Windows.old, and you can’t go back.
- Run the troubleshooter. On Windows 11: Settings, System, Troubleshoot, Other troubleshooters, Windows Update, Run. On Windows 10: Update & Security, Troubleshoot, Additional troubleshooters.
- Confirm the date and time are set automatically.
- Open Windows Update, choose Check for updates, then Update and restart.
Steps for whoever administers the computer
These come from Microsoft’s troubleshooting pages and need an administrator account. Write down what you change as you go.
- Open Services (type services.msc) and confirm Windows Update and Update State Orchestrator are running. Microsoft lists this for a Settings page that freezes at “scanning.”
- In a Command Prompt opened as administrator, run “DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth”, then “sfc /scannow”.
- Clear the update download cache: stop the Windows Update and BITS services, empty or rename the C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution folder (and catroot2), restart the services, and reboot.
- Run “chkdsk /f C:”, which Microsoft includes in the same list.
When a failing update points at something else
- The repair tools fail too. If DISM or the System File Checker can’t finish, or the disk check reports problems, the update isn’t the trouble. The system files or the drive underneath are, and that is a repair question.
- The computer gets updates from a server you don’t see. Microsoft notes that a computer managed by a Windows Server Update Services server is offered only what that server has, and that a conflicting policy can produce results that look like a failure.
- The computer can’t reach Windows Update. Microsoft documents a case where a proxy is set for the browser but not for Windows itself, and connections to Windows Update fail. Whoever runs your network can check.
- It isn’t failing, it’s past support. Microsoft ended Windows 10 support on October 14, 2025, and says it no longer provides security updates after that date. A Windows 10 computer needs version 22H2 to qualify for the Extended Security Updates program or the move to Windows 11. A computer that can’t run Windows 11 is a different decision. See “what to do with computers that cannot be updated.”
What these steps can and can’t tell you
If an update installs after a fix, you know that one update installed on that date. You don’t know why it failed, and you don’t know whether other updates were missed in the meantime. Updates that broke a printer or a driver once are a common reason someone pauses them, which is a reasonable choice that leaves a trail of its own.
We read the update history and the error with you, across every computer, and tell you what we found and what we didn’t, with dates. A person reads the result.
Each failed attempt is a dated record that this computer is behind, and the retry loop is the part that hides it.
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Written by Craig Peterson, 35+ years successfully running IT and security for businesses. Last reviewed October 27, 2026.