WSUS Windows Update Client stuck

Question

I have a Windows Server 2012 R2 running WSUS in the domain. I can see several Windows 8.1 computers not reporting status for over 2 weeks, and not installing any new updates, in the WSUS console.

On the client computer, manually clicking on 'Check for updates' results in an infinite loop of the client computer 'checking for updates' despite having a reliable and fast Ethernet connection to the WSUS server.

I have restarted the Windows Update service multiple times and removed the C:\Windows\Software Distribution directory, to no avail. The clients just keeps on searching for hours and hours with no end in sight.

Any ideas what I can do since Windows Update never displays any error message?

Solution 1

I was able to solve the problem by deleting the SoftwareDistribution and then running this reset tool: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/971058.

Solution 2

What we have managed to find is that the Update Orchestrator service is to blame so we have created a script that finds the process ID for Windows Update service (the update orchestrator works off of the same Process ID) kills it, deletes the software distribution folder (which might be unnecessary) and starts the Windows Update service again. The Update Orchestrator will follow shortly and updates will be able to resume. This requires being "run as administrator".

$ServicePID = (get-wmiobject win32_service | where { $_.name -eq 'wuauserv'}).processID
Stop-Process $ServicePID -Force
Remove-Item -Recurse -Force C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution
net start wuauserv

Comments

[jscott]

What do the client logs have to say?

[pfolta]

Oh, I completely forgot to mention the logs: So the standard Windows logs (application, security, system...) don't really have any entries relating to Windows Update. The log under WindowsUpdateClient\Operational logs an error when the Windows Update service is stopped, either with error code 0x8024002E or 0x80248014. I couldn't really find anything helpful online yet.

[jscott]

And the Windows Update client log, anything interesting there?

[pfolta]

Here's the client log file: pastebin.com/HUn2GuUC

[Citizen]

Are group policies updating and working on the Windows 8.1 clients?

[pfolta]

Yes, group policies are updating and working.

[yagmoth555]

do the windows update agent update and try again from a computer