Rerun failed Windows Update

Question

One of my Windows 7 updates (Platform update for Windows 7 64bit) failed to install. It is an optional update but I want it to install anyway. I think since the update failed I have problems opening https websites in Chrome.

How can I rerun the installation of the update? I can't find a button or something else to do that. It is simply listed as failed in my Windows Update History.

If I download the update manually (KB2670838) and run it, it says the update is already installed.

Solution 1

Go to

Windows Update -> Update History -> Installed Updates

and deinstall the update. After that you can reinstall it manually.

Solution 2

Googling reinstalling failed windows update turned up a number of possible answers, including this page which points out "If an update has failed to install in the past but it's listed in Installed Updates now, you don't need to "reinstall" it."

Start by checking if the update is currently installed. It may be that the failed update worked on a later attempt. That would explain why downloading the update manually reports that it is already installed.

However it may be that the installation didn't install correctly. This post has a long, and fairly complicated, procedure that may help. I haven't used it though and you will have to work out it's value for yourself.

I think since the update failed I have problems opening https websites in Chrome.

Start by checking if you have the same problems using Internet Explorer or Firefox. If the problem persists then the Windows update may be the source of the problem. If not, you've got a Chrome problem than needs investigating.

Solution 3

Sometimes downloaded files are/become corrupted. In this situation, you can delete downloaded files and force Windows update to re-download them.

So, here’s what you do:

1. Open Explorer
2. Go to C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download
3. Select all the files in this Download directory, and delete them
4. Rerun Windows Update

Wasn’t that easy? Of course it was.

From Windows Update Error: How to make Windows Re-download Corrupted Update Files

Solution 4

Note that there are two lists of relevance:

1. The Update history list, which lists installation attempts. Items may appear multiple times here, when they fail and are retried.

2. The Installed updates list, which lists currently installed updates only.

The tricky part in working with these is getting the data from them. On my machine the first list has 1258 and the second 734 items.

Here is an Autohotkey script that will get the data from them:

#SingleInstance Force
#NoEnv

#c::
MouseGetPos, , , , ListView_hwnd, 2     ;2 means return HWND
;Use this line instead of the following one to copy only the selected row.
;ControlGet, selected_row_text, List, Selected, , ahk_id %ListView_hwnd%
ControlGet, selected_row_text, List, , , ahk_id %ListView_hwnd%
Gui, +ToolWindow +AlwaysOnTop -Caption
Gui, Add, Edit, unused_variable x11 y15 w950 h66, %selected_row_text%
Gui, Add, Button, x62 y84 w140 h30 +Center, Close
Gui, Show, ,
return

ButtonClose:
Gui, Destroy
return

How to use it: (install Autohotkey if you don't have it already), save the script as an AHK file, run, then select any item from the Update history or Installed updates list (this also works for many other lists on Windows), leave your mouse pointer over the list, press Windows key + C, and a little dialog will appear with a text box containing all the text from the list, so that it can be copied to clipboard. Note: this is a modified script from my answer here, where there is a screenshot.

Now that you have the updates data as text, with a text editor or spreadsheet you can search, filter, sort, diff, not to mention drill down to the update ID of interest.

Solution 5

If there has not been a successful update following the failed one, go to Troubleshooting from Control Panel or Action Center (or type it in the Start Search box). There is a Windows Update troubleshooter that you can run.

There is also a Fix it.

View more solutions

Comments

[Admin]

You think you have the problem? Do you actually have the problem and think its because of the update or do you think you have the problem? The two statements are different. If the installer says its already installed then its already installed, so I would try to uninstall it, see if that helps.

[Admin]

Like in my question stated, the update is listed as failed. I think I have https problems because of the failed update. But it doesn't really matter. I just want to install it again.

[Admin]

Your question is not clear thus the reason I am asking the questions. Verify the update was never actually installed.

[Admin]

@Ramhound: Your hint brought me to the "Installed updates" dialog which I wasn't aware of before. I could deinstall the update and reinstall it manually.

[Pacerier]

What would be an easy solution to see which of the items in the "Failed Update" list are also inside the "Installed Updates" list? There doesn't seem to be any easy way besides manually one-by-one comparison....

[Evgeni Sergeev]

@Pacerier See my answer below for a way to get the contents of these lists as text.