Windows update won’t check because the service isn’t running

I recently inherited a laptop with an OEM Vista Home Premium 64 bit DVD, installed a new hard drive, added some memory, and went about setting up a system from scratch. I created two users, both administrators. Everything was fine until I noticed ACDSee 9.0 wasn't starting for one of the users, coincidentally the second one I created, while it worked fine for the first. I decided to see how up to date Vista was and couldn’t start Windows Update from either user. Windows Explorer opened, then it remained empty. I tried running both

MicrosoftFixit.wu.LB.34286362368396555.1.1.Run.exe

and

MicrosoftFixit50202.msi

but with the former it hung with

“Troubleshooting cannot continue because an error has occurred.

We’re sorry, but Windows PowerShell failed to install. Please try again later.”

and with the second it processed, then I restarted the system and it let me check for updates, but then I immediately got a window with

“Windows Update cannot currently check for updates, because the service is not running. You may need to restart your computer.”

When I check services, however, I see that the Windows Update service is started and its Startup Type is “Automatic (Delayed Start)”. Nonetheless when I restart the computer the same thing happens, it says it can’t check for updates because the service isn’t running even though it is. I also ran sfc and found some corrupted files, but they had to do with uninstall functions, so nothing changed with updates. Can anyone help me with this? I apologize if I’ve rehashed any previous posts!

Hello Grabby and welcome to the forums

In order for us to best help you, could you follow these instructions please:

Windows Update Posting Instructions - Windows 7 Help Forums

I originally wrote them for Windows 7 but the same applies to Vista.

I would also like you to download and run FSS please: Farbar Service Scanner Download

Tick every box then click Scan. Post the log when it opens please.

Tom

Thanks for the quick response, tom982!

I downloaded and ran SURT as instructed, but received the following notice:

“Installer encountered an error: 0xc8000222”

Then I did another SFC scan, for which I am attaching the log.

Finally, I’m attaching the Farbar scan results.

Thanks for the welcome!

Hi Grabby,

I'm not quite sure what's gone wrong here but I can't see the attachment, would you mind doing it again please?

Tom

Sorry about that. Hopefully this works.

No luck there either I'm afraid. Try following the tutorial:

http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/289032-screenshots-files-upload-post-vista-forums.html

mmm … I tried using the Manage Attachments feature under Additional Options, but I guess it didn’t work. Now I’ll try the paperclip.

Once again, I don’t see the attachments in my post. I followed the instructions in the tutorial, but instead of Browse buttons I got the Manage Attachments pane I saw earlier with my already uploaded files sitting there. I inserted them, saw them in the preview of my post, but they appear to be missing from the actual post. Not sure what to do next!

Hi Grabby,

Hmm, that's strange. Try uploading them, but not inserting them into your post. They'll still appear as links at the bottom for me to download. I've had issues with inserting attachments in the past as well.

Tom

OK, I think I see what I was doing wrong … I wasn’t inserting them! I thought they would be available somewhere outside the text part of the post. Hope this works

View attachment 27750View attachment 27751

Hi Grabby,

Thanks for the logs, I can see them perfectly now.

I haven't seen a problem like this in a long time! This is caused by a bug in a Windows Update and as of now, there's only one known fix. Could you do the following please:

Command Prompt

Warning: this fix is specific to the user in this thread. No one else should follow these instructions as it may cause more harm than good. If you are after assistance, please start a thread of your own.

1. Click on the Start
   
   button and in the search box, type Command Prompt
2. When you see Command Prompt on the list, right-click on it and select Run as administrator
3. When command prompt opens, copy and paste the following commands into it, press enter after each
   
   wusa /uninstall /kb:2761494
   
   
4. Right-click on the Command Prompt window and click Select All, this will invert all of the colours by selecting the text, now press enter. All of this text is now copied.
5. Paste (Ctrl+V) it into your next post please.

Tom

Hi Tom,

I did as you said, but nothing really happened. An information window did pop up with the only option being to “OK” it, but with ACDSee not running for this user I wasn’t able to take a screenshot. Perhaps haphazardly I repeated the command, after which the following is how the Command Prompt window looked:


Microsoft Windows [Version 6.0.6002]
Copyright (c) 2006 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

C:\Windows\system32>cd ..

C:\Windows>cd ..

C:\>wusa /uninstall /kb:2761494

C:\>wusa /uninstall /kb:2761494

C:\>


Hope I did it right!

Hi Grabby,

That's great, thanks, you did everything perfectly. Can you run another SFC please:

SFC Scan

1. Click on the Start
   
   button and in the search box, type Command Prompt
2. When you see Command Prompt on the list, right-click on it and select Run as administrator
3. When command prompt opens, copy and paste the following commands into it, press enter after each
   
   sfc /scannow
   
   Wait for this to finish before you continue
   
   copy %windir%\logs\cbs\cbs.log %userprofile%\Desktop\cbs.txt
   
   
4. This will create a file, cbs.txt on your Desktop. Please attach this to your next post.

Tom

Hey Tom,

Here goes!

G

View attachment 27756

Hi Grabby,

SFCFix Script

Warning: this fix is specific to the user in this thread. No one else should follow these instructions as it may cause more harm than good. If you are after assistance, please start a thread of your own.

1. Download SFCFix.exe (by niemiro) and save this to your Desktop.
2. Download the attached file, SFCFix.txt, and save this to your Desktop. Ensure that this file is named SFCFix.txt - do not rename it.
3. Save any open documents and close all open windows.
4. On your Desktop, you should see two files: SFCFix.exe and SFCFix.txt.
5. Drag the file SFCFix.txt onto the file SFCFix.exe and release it.
6. SFCFix will now process the script.
7. Upon completion, a log should be created on your Desktop: SFC.txt.
8. Copy (Ctrl + C) and Paste (Ctrl + V) the contents of this into your next post for me to analyse please - put [noparse]
   Code:

   [/noparse] tags around the log to break up the text.

View attachment 27759View attachment 27759

Tom

Hi Tom,

Did as instructed, though the resulting file was also SFCFix.txt, not SFC.txt, thereby replacing the script that was originally in SFCFix.txt. In any case, the contents are as follows:

CODE

SFCFix version 1.3.1.0 by niemiro.
Start time: 2013-03-13 23:56:14.277
Using .txt script file at C:\Users\G_2\Desktop\SFCFix.txt




FileScan::
[0: 1] C:\Windows\winsxs\amd64_microsoft-windows-wdf-kernellibrary_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6002.22806_none_d4e7d728ec87fa9e\Wdf01000Uninstall.mof
Expected: Khw6Snu1wJ++GNIoY6yxl9I9YcMFd1DIgoHfKZafkno=
Expected: 6.0.6002.22806 Found: Version number not available.
Trace not available.



[1: 2] C:\Windows\winsxs\amd64_microsoft-windows-wdf-kernellibrary_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6002.18574_none_d4108689d3a4f16f\Wdf01000Uninstall.mof
Expected: Khw6Snu1wJ++GNIoY6yxl9I9YcMFd1DIgoHfKZafkno=
Expected: 6.0.6002.18574 Found: Version number not available.
Trace not available.

[C:\Windows\System32\wbem\Wdf01000Uninstall.mof]


[2: 1] C:\Windows\winsxs\amd64_microsoft-windows-wdf-kernellibrary_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6001.23004_none_d2ff3902ef63abc0\Wdf01000Uninstall.mof
Expected: Khw6Snu1wJ++GNIoY6yxl9I9YcMFd1DIgoHfKZafkno=
Expected: 6.0.6001.23004 Found: Version number not available.
Trace not available.



[3: 1] C:\Windows\winsxs\amd64_microsoft-windows-wdf-kernellibrary_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6001.18703_none_d274c1e5d646c236\Wdf01000Uninstall.mof
Expected: Khw6Snu1wJ++GNIoY6yxl9I9YcMFd1DIgoHfKZafkno=
Expected: 6.0.6001.18703 Found: Version number not available.
Trace not available.



[4: 2] C:\Windows\winsxs\amd64_microsoft-windows-wdf-kernellibrary_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6002.18574_none_d4108689d3a4f16f\Wdf01000.mof
Expected: ew+xsUJbni5eIvJoq16I+phaGGLWets5I4YF9P6gDL0=
Expected: 6.0.6002.18574 Found: Version number not available.
Trace not available.

[C:\Windows\System32\wbem\Wdf01000.mof]


[5: 1] C:\Windows\winsxs\amd64_microsoft-windows-wdf-kernellibrary_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6001.23004_none_d2ff3902ef63abc0\Wdf01000.mof
Expected: ew+xsUJbni5eIvJoq16I+phaGGLWets5I4YF9P6gDL0=
Expected: 6.0.6001.23004 Found: Version number not available.
Trace not available.



[6: 1] C:\Windows\winsxs\amd64_microsoft-windows-wdf-kernellibrary_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6001.18703_none_d274c1e5d646c236\Wdf01000.mof
Expected: ew+xsUJbni5eIvJoq16I+phaGGLWets5I4YF9P6gDL0=
Expected: 6.0.6001.18703 Found: Version number not available.
Trace not available.



[7: 1] C:\Windows\winsxs\amd64_microsoft-windows-wdf-kernellibrary_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6002.22806_none_d4e7d728ec87fa9e\Wdf01000.mof
Expected: ew+xsUJbni5eIvJoq16I+phaGGLWets5I4YF9P6gDL0=
Expected: 6.0.6002.22806 Found: Version number not available.
Trace not available.



[8: 2] C:\Windows\winsxs\amd64_microsoft-windows-wdf-kernellibrary-mof_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6001.18000_none_de7c1326d3b45cb9\Wdf01000.mof
Expected: rjBJp3JUDkwqQn/7E5mVEcjWSk0b/GPJ4b/7QWTo3N8=
Expected: 6.0.6001.18000 Found: Version number not available.
Trace not available.

[C:\Windows\winsxs\amd64_microsoft-windows-wdf-kernellibrary-mof_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6000.16386_none_dc45512ad6c94be5\Wdf01000.mof]


[9: 2] C:\Windows\winsxs\amd64_microsoft-windows-wdf-kernellibrary-mof_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6001.18000_none_de7c1326d3b45cb9\Wdf01000Uninstall.mof
Expected: Yt1Cj1cn2TiRYuRVf4giD3Kg40g43GBdTTr4ip5TNCI=
Expected: 6.0.6001.18000 Found: Version number not available.
Trace not available.

[C:\Windows\winsxs\amd64_microsoft-windows-wdf-kernellibrary-mof_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6000.16386_none_dc45512ad6c94be5\Wdf01000Uninstall.mof]
FileScan:: directive completed successfully.




Successfully processed all directives.
SFCFix version 1.3.1.0 by niemiro has completed.
Currently storing 0 datablocks.
Finish time: 2013-03-13 23:56:20.174
----------------------EOF-----------------------

/CODE


Thanks for all your help with this!

Hi Grabby,

Thanks for the log.

SFCFix Script

Warning: this fix is specific to the user in this thread. No one else should follow these instructions as it may cause more harm than good. If you are after assistance, please start a thread of your own.

1. Download SFCFix.exe (by niemiro) and save this to your Desktop.
2. Download the file below, SFCFix.zip, and save this to your Desktop. Ensure that this file is named SFCFix.zip - do not rename it.
   
   https://dl.dropbox.com/u/16537616/SFCFix/Scripts/Grabby/SFCFix.zip
   
3. Save any open documents and close all open windows.
4. On your Desktop, you should see two files: SFCFix.exe and SFCFix.zip.
5. Drag the file SFCFix.zip onto the file SFCFix.exe and release it.
6. SFCFix will now process the script.
7. Upon completion, a files should be created on your Desktop: SFC.txt.
8. Copy (Ctrl + C) and Paste (Ctrl + V) the contents of this file into your next post for me to analyse please - put [noparse]
   Code:

   [/noparse] tags around the log to break up the text.

SFC Scan

1. Click on the Start
   
   button and in the search box, type Command Prompt
2. When you see Command Prompt on the list, right-click on it and select Run as administrator
3. When command prompt opens, copy and paste the following commands into it, press enter after each
   
   sfc /scannow
   
   Wait for this to finish before you continue
   
   copy %windir%\logs\cbs\cbs.log %userprofile%\Desktop\cbs.txt
   
   
4. This will create a file, cbs.txt on your Desktop. Please attach this to your next post.

Tom

Hi Tom,

I did the first part of what you instructed, for which the contents of the SFCFix.txt (names it this instead of SFC.txt) file is as follows:

CODE

SFCFix version 1.3.1.0 by niemiro.
Start time: 2013-03-15 12:33:49.020
Using .zip script file at C:\Users\G_2\Desktop\SFCFix.zip




TakePermissions::
Successfully took permissions for file or folder C:\Windows\winsxs\amd64_microsoft-windows-wdf-kernellibrary-mof_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6001.18000_none_de7c1326d3b45cb9
Successfully took permissions for file or folder C:\Windows\system32\wbem
TakePermissions:: directive completed successfully.




CopyFiles::
Failed to copy file \\?\C:\Users\G_2\AppData\Local\niemiro\Archive\Wdf01000.mof to \\?\C:\Windows\winsxs\amd64_microsoft-windows-wdf-kernellibrary-mof_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6001.18000_none_de7c1326d3b45cb9\Wdf01000.mof with error code 0x5.
Successfully copied file \\?\C:\Users\G_2\AppData\Local\niemiro\Archive\Wdf01000.mof to \\?\C:\Windows\system32\wbem\Wdf01000.mof.
Failed to copy file \\?\C:\Users\G_2\AppData\Local\niemiro\Archive\Wdf01000Uninstall.mof to \\?\C:\Windows\winsxs\amd64_microsoft-windows-wdf-kernellibrary-mof_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6001.18000_none_de7c1326d3b45cb9\Wdf01000Uninstall.mof with error code 0x5.
Successfully copied file \\?\C:\Users\G_2\AppData\Local\niemiro\Archive\Wdf01000Uninstall.mof to \\?\C:\Windows\system32\wbem\Wdf01000.mof.
CopyFiles:: directive failed to complete successfully.




RestorePermissions::
Successfully restored ownership for C:\Windows\winsxs\amd64_microsoft-windows-wdf-kernellibrary-mof_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6001.18000_none_de7c1326d3b45cb9
Successfully restored permissions on C:\Windows\winsxs\amd64_microsoft-windows-wdf-kernellibrary-mof_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6001.18000_none_de7c1326d3b45cb9
Failure code returned from icacls process in RestoreFromDataBlock function for file C:\Windows\system32\wbem. Error code 0x5.
RestorePermissions:: directive failed to complete successfully.




Failed to process all directives successfully.
SFCFix version 1.3.1.0 by niemiro has completed.
Currently storing 2 datablocks.
Finish time: 2013-03-15 12:33:56.711
----------------------EOF-----------------------

/CODE


Regarding the second part of your instructions – the SFC Scan – the verification phase of the system scan reached 71% completion, but then stopped with the following message:

“Windows Resource Protection could not perform the requested operation.”

Can’t wait to hear what you think!

G

Hi Grabby,

SFCFix has recently been updated to fix a bug that was causing these 0x5 errors that we were facing so can you delete your copy of SFCFix, then follow all of my instructions in this post again please:

http://www.vistax64.com/windows-upd...ause-service-isn-t-running-2.html#post1387090

Tom

Tom, I tried downloading SFCFix.exe and SFCFix.zip again and running SFCFix.exe as instructed, but got the following notification:


C:\Users\G_2\Desktop\SFCFix.exe

The application has failed to start because its side-by-side configuration is incorrect. Please see the application event log for more detail.


Not sure where to look for the application event log!

G