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I'm posting this to hopefully helpout anyone else who might encounter this.

I have a Win2008r2 domain, and my clients decided to stop talking to the WSUS server. All indications were that they were communicating, with some even showing up as having new updates. However, clicking 'Install updates' would result in a "failed to install" and then the box would show new updates ready to install.

My clients could ping the WSUS server, and no firewalls network devices were blocking traffic on 8530 (the WSUS update port). I was stumped as to why the clients were not seeing the new updates that the WSUS server said were pending.

Kyle
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9 Answers9

17

The solution depends on your configuration, and theres some things you should check first:

  • Ensure BITS service is running: net start BITS
  • Ensure Windows Update service is running: net start wuauserv
  • Ensure that your machine has a unique SusClientID (especially if the system is a clone). You can delte the key, run the 3 commands below, and restart the machine to regenerate it: HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\WindowsUpdate
  • Reset the authorization cookie on your client: wuauclt /ResetAuthorization /DetectNow
  • Run wuauclt /ReportNow on your client to make sure it can sync with WSUS
  • Ensure your current policies on your client is applied (the /boot is optional): gpupdate /force /boot

If you use a proxy server you should also:

  • Ensure WinHTTP services is running: netsh start WinHttpAutoProxySvc
  • Verify WinHTTP proxy settings are set correctly (my proxy settings are deployed via group policy): netsh WinHTTP import proxy source=IE

In my case the proxy settings on WinHTTP were not correctly imported, and manually forcing the import fixed the issue. I hope this may save someone else the headache it caused me. It should be noted you will have to use an Administrative Command Prompt to run the commands above.

Kyle
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    This happened to me after cloning a virtual machine. The SusClientID delete/regenerate steps worked for me. – spiffytech Nov 24 '15 at 21:10
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    Running Windows Server 2012 R2 on Hyper-V. Didn't clone my VM or anything, but Windows Update just stopped working and this fixed it. Thanks! – omni Jun 29 '16 at 16:54
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I post this answer in the hope of helping some poor soul get unstuck since I have not seen this solution anywhere on the web :

Situation : W2012R2 Datacenter acting mostly as Hyper-V server, lost Windows Update from MS servers (not WSUS), for no reason I could identify. (The hosted installations could get their updates just fine).

I tried the various classic solution, as described on MS websites, with no luck (Fixit and all that)

I eventually put things back to work by :

  1. WU - Change settings
  2. Disable updating, uncheck both check boxes under the combo
  3. when I validated, I unexpectedly got a working "check for update session" running (I had just disabled updates ? and it starts updating ???)
  4. Installed the update provided (they were critical)
  5. rebooted
  6. set back to "install automatically" + "give me recommended updates the same way..."
  7. it worked !!!

As far as I can diagnose the problem, it seems like the trouble was with "Give me updates for other Microsoft products when I update Windows", I had no "other products" and it may have confused WU ?

I guess I absentmindedly checked the box while reviewing some emergency security patch.

Anyway if i check it again, I'm back in trouble.

Worth a try anyway, its not a lot of work.

Michel de Becdelièvre
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Instead of specifying port 8530 explicitly (8531 for HTTPS) to WSUS URL published in GPO, I've manually added an additional binding to "WSUS Administration" website in IIS to use "http" protocol on TCP port 80. This way there was no need to change GPO, firewall rules etc.

For example: My published "Specify intranet Microsoft update service location" in GPO remains set to "http://wsus" ("wsus" is a CNAME alias for the company's WSUS server). Website binding would then be:

  • Type: http
  • IP Address: All Unassigned
  • Port: 80
  • Hostname: "wsus" (without quotes)
Reaces
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Simon Rozman
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  • I edited your answer to remove the comment. to Josh. If you want to add a reply to him, use the site until you have the required reputation and comment on his answer. The chances of him seeing the reply in your answer a year after the fact are slim to say the least. – Reaces Jul 19 '15 at 20:03
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I had a similar error to the ones reported. In my case, the machines were not reporting to the WSUS server (virtual server running Windows 2012 R2 over vSphere), and suddenly the WSUS server stopped to update itself through Windows Update.

This is what solved the WU problem:

  • Firstly, I executed the following commands, as instructed by Kyle:

    1. net start BITS (the service was already running)
    2. net start wuauserv (the service was also running)
    3. wuauclt /ResetAuthorization /DetectNow
    4. Run wuauclt /ReportNow
    5. gpupdate /force /boot

  • Finally, I unchecked the option "give me recommended updates the same way..." like instructed by Michel de Becdelièvre. The steps, goes like this:

    1. Go to: WU -> Change settings
    2. Uncheck "give me recommended updates the same way..." option (and ensure that both check boxes are unmarked) and accept.
    3. Execute an online scan for updates on WU.

I still have to work on the machines not reporting to WSUS (probably some GPO related stuff) but now the server updates beautifully!

Lawrence Fernandes
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When verify in regedit the value of "UseWUServer" , if this value is set to 1 , this mean that windows update try to download updates from specify address setting in "WUServer" , but if you set to "UseWUServer" = 0 , windows find on the internet. I changed the value from 1 to 0 and my windows update worked again.

Manuel Loaiza
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I ran into this same error code when upgrading our WSUS server from 2008R2 to 2012R2. Clients could ping the server but not check for updates. It turns out that I needed to explicitly call out the port (8530) in the GPO I created for the clients, which I did not have to do for 2008R2.

Originally found the answer here:

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1801481

josh
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I've found that this error occurs when the version of Windows Update isn't compatible with WSUS. In this case, checking online for updates prompts the user to install the new Windows Update software, then updating works from there.

Jim Lutz
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Encountered this error which does not related WSUS.

Instead Windows update win2008R2 80243004 error related to silly behaviour.

Quoted from Boo_MonstersInc in https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/windowsserver/en-US/ac88f05d-91e6-48c2-bdbc-e4f305c87769/error-80243004?forum=winservermanager

The WU error 80243004 means a failure occurs when Windows Update trying to create an icon in the taskbar notification area.

This problem is likely caused by the abnormal System Notification Area.

A simple solution is to reboot the server and check WU again. If the error persists, resize the System Tray and select "Always show all icons and notifications on taskbar."

Simply ctrl+shift+Right Click on Start Menu blank area -> Click "Exit Explorer", then run "explorer.exe", and try again would solve the issue.

Ivan Chau
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A quick fix would be to do the following:-

  1. Go to Control Panel

  2. Windows Update

  3. Change Settings

  4. Un-check Get updates for Other Microsoft products

  5. Click Ok and Try again or refresh the Windows Update to check again.

Froggiz
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DJSampat
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