Problems With WindowsUpdate

When it comes to keeping your computer stable and secure, one of the most necessary utilities available is WindowsUpdate. Whether you run WindowsUpdate manually, or let your computer download and update automatically as updates are offered by Microsoft, WindowsUpdate just has to run.

What do you do if it doesn't run successfully? Well, you don't have to accept its failings blindly; you can interrogate the Windowsupdate.log file. In (KB902093): How to read the Windowsupdate.log file, you can see how to diagnose problems with WindowsUpdate.

There is one immediately possible cause for a problem here. If you are the victim of a DNS problem, whether an actual DNS server issue, or a Hosts file problem, WindowsUpdate access can be blocked. This could be due to either your error in configuration, or a DNS hijack by malicious code (aka hacking).