Some updates have been canceled. Failed to configure Windows updates. Cancellation of changes. Users often forget about the automatic system update and when the update is loaded, they simply turn off the computer. Which leads to a system error. The same for

The version is that the update packages, constantly released by Microsoft, are not always installed, even with their automatic search and installation enabled. In this case, the system displays a message stating that it was not possible to install the Windows 10 update package. Why is this happening, and how to fix such failures, read on. There are not so many ways, but in most cases they turn out to be quite effective and eliminate the problems that arise.

Why Updates Cannot Be Installed Possible Reasons

As for the manifestation of such failures, there can be quite a lot of situations: from the banal effects of viruses to the errors of the system itself.

Sometimes the system may report that it was not possible to install some Windows 10 updates or configure them also due to lack of free space in the system partition, clogged with incorrectly downloaded cache update files, blocking the Internet connection by a firewall, etc. But this is not common.

Can't install Windows 10 update: what to do first?

However, let's see what you can do in such a situation. If the user sees a message stating that the Windows 10 update cannot be installed, the failure may be due to the incorrect functioning of the service itself, which is responsible for the operation of the Update Center.

First of all, you can try to set the search for available updates in manual mode. To do this, use the settings section, called directly from the main "Start" menu, where you select the update and security menu, after which the button for checking for updates is pressed in the "Update Center". Everything that will be found, at the end of the search, will need to be integrated into the system or select only what needs to be installed.

Along the way, in the same section, use additional parameters and make sure that the recommended automatic mode is used to check and install updates.

System troubleshooting

Another technique for fixing the situation when the system fails to install the Windows 10 update is to use the built-in troubleshooting tool, which is called from the classic "Control Panel" (control command in the "Run" console), where the search bar is selected in the system and security section and bug fixes.

Next, you select the use of the "Update Center", in a new window, the "Advanced" button is pressed, after which the launch as an administrator is applied (you can also select the checkbox on the line of automatic application of corrections).

Next, the troubleshooting process is activated. The results will most likely indicate the corruption of the Update Center database itself, after which you must use the patch apply string. After that, a report on the resolved faults will be displayed.

Fixing crashes with a utility from Microsoft

Let's consider one more remedy. Suppose that even after using the described tools, the updates could not be installed (the Windows 10 update log may contain information about errors).

In this case, you can go to the official Microsoft website and download a small utility from it to prevent errors of this kind. It is called Windows Update Diagnostic.

After starting the utility, you just need to follow the instructions, after which the report will show the problems that could be fixed or not. If there is an entry regarding the Service registration component, you will have to check the integrity of the Windows system files (sfc / scannow in the command line, launched with admin rights).

Activating the "Update Center" service

However, it is possible that the system is unable to install Windows 10 updates just because the service itself is in a deactivated state.

You can check this in the appropriate section, which is called by the services.msc command in the Run console. Here you need to find the "Update Center" service, double-click to edit the parameters and check it. If the button to start the service is active in the window, it means that it is indeed disabled. We press the start button, and at the same time we check the launch type (it must be set to manual, as it was by default).

Actions with the system registry

Rarely, of course, but sometimes you can see update errors associated with duplicate user profiles. This problem can only be fixed in Registry Editor (regedit on the Run menu).

In the HKLM branch, you need to go down the directory tree and find the ProfileList directory there, as shown in the image above. In each directory, you should check for the presence of the ProfileImagePath parameter. If in several sections there is a link to the directory of the same user, the extra lines must be deleted. It is quite simple to define them. Only those lines for which the value of the RefCount parameter is set to zero, or those lines whose names contain ".bak" at the end will be superfluous.

SoftwareDistribution catalog

Finally, very often problems with installing updates are associated with the SoftwareDistribution folder and its contents, which is located in the main directory of the system. To fix the problem, this directory must be renamed, adding at the end of the name, for example, "Old" and first disabling the "Update Center" service, as shown above, but with the system booting in safe mode.

You can also do this from the command line, starting with administrator rights (or from removable bootable media), where you enter the command ren c: \ windows \ SoftwareDistribution SoftwareDistribution.old. After that, the system is restarted as usual. Next, you can check for updates. If the installation proceeds without problems (a new folder with the initial name will be created automatically), the renamed directory can be deleted and the update service can be re-enabled.

It is necessary to wait for the next restart of the computer, or press the "Reset" key. In the case of working with a laptop, hold down the power button. When loading the BIOS, press the F8 key. In the system boot data that opens, select the "Safe Mode" line and wait. At this time, the system is booting. When the familiar desktop appears to everyone, we go to the start menu. Next, select the line "Computer" and the local disk on your device, which in most cases is designated by the letter "C". After that, go along the following path: "С: / windows / SoftwareDistribution / Download /". This will lead to the final step - deleting the downloaded Microsoft update files for Windows. If the selective deletion of only the latest updates will cause difficulties, you can by holding down the "Ctrl + A" keys and then pressing "Del" to delete all existing files. After that, reboot the system and enable its updates.

Restoring a system backup

The method of troubleshooting by restoring the backup option begins in the same way as the previous one - when you restart the computer, press the F8 key. Further:

Select the line "Safe mode with command line support" and confirm with the Enter key.
In the line, type the word "msconfig" and click on Enter again.
The "System Configuration" window opens.
At the top right of the window, select "Service", and in the new window that appears - "restore the computer system to one of the previous states."
In the window that opens under the name "System Restore", confirm the actions with the "Next" button.
We select the line "Removed Windows 7 ..." we need and click "Next" again.
We confirm the final completion of the procedure with the "Finish" button.

After confirming the recovery notification with the "Yes" button, you need to restart your computer, update the system, or disable updates altogether.

Last resort troubleshooting methods

If no procedures to fix the problem have been successful, you can resort to the proven method - reinstalling the OS. You can perform this procedure either with your own hands using a bootable USB flash drive or disk, or contact a specialist. This method is quite effective, but it is accompanied by the loss of data on the computer.

There are also cases when data on a PC must be saved. Then it is better to contact the service center, where experienced staff will help resolve the update problem, reinstall the OS and save the necessary files.

Updates to the operating system are necessary to keep it in an optimal state for comfortable operation. In Windows 10, the update process itself requires little or no user input. All important changes in the system, which relate to safety or usability, take place without the direct participation of the user. But the chances of problems occurring in any process, and updating Windows is no exception. In this case, human intervention will be necessary.

Problems updating the Windows 10 operating system

All kinds of problems can occur when installing updates. Some of them will be expressed in the fact that the system will immediately need to be updated again. In other situations, the error will interrupt the current update process or prevent it from starting. In addition, an interrupted update may even lead to undesirable consequences and require a system rollback. If your update does not finish, do the following:

And now that your system is safe, it is worth finding out what was the cause of the problem and trying to fix the situation.

Update not available due to antivirus or firewall

Any installed antivirus with incorrect settings can block the Windows update process. The easiest way to check is to simply disable this antivirus for the duration of the check. The actual shutdown process depends on your antivirus program, but usually it is not difficult.

Almost any antivirus can be disabled via the tray menu

Turning off the firewall is a completely different matter. Disabling it forever, of course, is not worth it, but it may be necessary to suspend its work for the correct installation of the update. To do this, do the following:

Press Win + X to open the Quick Access Toolbar. There, find and open the "Control Panel" item.
Select "Control Panel" from the shortcut menu
Among the other items in Control Panel is Windows Firewall. Click on it to open its settings.
Open Windows Firewall in Control Panel
On the left side of the window there will be various settings for this service, including the option to disable it. Select it.
Select "Turn Windows Firewall on or off" in its settings
In each of the sections, set "Disable Firewall" and confirm the changes.
For each type of network, set the switch to "Disable Firewall"

After disconnecting, try again to update Windows 10. If it is successful, then the reason really was in limiting access to the network for the updater.

Failure to install an update due to lack of space

The update files must be downloaded to your computer before installation. Therefore, you should never fill up hard disk space to the eyeballs. If the update was not downloaded due to lack of space, you need to free up space on your drive:

First of all, open the Start Menu. There is a gear icon that you need to click on.
From the start menu select the gear symbol
Then go to the "System" section.
In Windows settings, open the "System" section
There, open the "Storage" tab. In the "Storage" you can track how much space on which disk partition you have free. Select the partition on which you have Windows installed, because this is where the updates will be installed.
Go to the "Storage" tab in the system section
You will receive detailed information about what exactly is occupied by the space on the hard disk. Study this information and scroll down the page.
You can find out what your hard disk is doing through the "Storage"
Temporary files can take up a lot of space and can be deleted directly from this menu. Select this section and click "Delete temporary files".
Find the "Temporary files" section and delete them from the "Storage"
Chances are, most of your space is occupied by programs or games. To remove them, select the Programs and Features section in the Windows 10 Control Panel.
Select the "Programs and Features" section through the control panel
Here you can select all the programs you do not need and uninstall them, thereby freeing up space for the update.
Using the "Uninstall or Change Programs" utility, you can remove unnecessary applications

Even a major Windows 10 update shouldn't require too much free space. Nevertheless, for the correct operation of all system programs, it is advisable to leave at least twenty gigabytes of free space on a hard or solid-state drive.

Video: instructions for cleaning up hard disk space

Windows 10 updates won't install

It is good if the cause of the problem is known. But what if the update downloads successfully but fails to install without any errors. Or even the download fails, but the reasons are also unclear. In this case, you should use one of the ways to fix such problems.

Fixing problems with updating through the official utility

Microsoft has developed a special program for one task - fixing any problems with updating Windows. Of course, this method cannot be called completely universal, but the utility can really help you in many cases.

To use it, do the following:

Reopen the control panel and select the "Troubleshooting" section there.
Open Troubleshoot in Control Panel
At the very bottom of this section, you will find the item "Troubleshoot with Windows Update". Click on it with the left mouse button.
At the bottom of the Troubleshoot window, select "Troubleshoot with Windows Update"
The program itself will start. Click on the "Advanced" tab to make some settings.
Click on the "Advanced" button on the first screen of the program
You should definitely choose to run with administrator rights. Without this, there will most likely be no point in such a check.
Select "Run as administrator"
And then already press the "Next" button in the previous menu.
The program will automatically search for certain problems in Windows Update. The user is only required to confirm their correction in case the problem is actually found.
Wait until the program detects certain problems
As soon as the diagnostics and fixes are completed, you will receive detailed statistics on the corrected errors in a separate window. You can close this window, and after restarting your computer, try to update again.
You can examine the fixed issues in the diagnostic complete window

Manual download of Windows 10 updates

If all your problems are related exclusively to the Windows Update Center, then you can download the update you need yourself. There is an official update catalog specifically for this feature, from where you can download them:

Make sure updates are enabled on your computer

Sometimes a situation may arise that there are no problems. It's just that your computer is not configured to receive updates automatically. Check it:

Windows update version kb3213986 is not installed

The cumulative update package for version kb3213986 was released in January this year. It includes many fixes, for example:

fixes problems connecting multiple devices to one computer;
improves the background work of system applications;
fixes many Internet problems, in particular, problems with the Microsoft Edge and Microsoft Explorer browsers;
many other fixes to improve system stability and bug fixes.

And unfortunately, errors can occur when installing this service pack as well. First of all, if the installation fails, Microsoft recommends that you delete all temporary update files and download them again. This is done as follows:

Another cause of problems with this update is outdated drivers. For example, an old driver for a motherboard or other hardware. To check this, open the Device Manager utility:

To open it, you can use the Win + R keyboard shortcut and enter the devmgtmt.msc command. After that, confirm the entry and the device manager will open.
Enter the command devmgtmt.msc in the Run window
In it, you will immediately see devices for which drivers are not installed. They will be marked with a yellow exclamation mark, or they will be labeled as an unknown device. Be sure to install drivers for such devices.
Select to automatically search for updated drivers in the next window
If a newer version is found for the driver, it will be installed. Repeat this process for each of the system devices.

After all this, try installing the update again, and if the problem was in the drivers, then you will not face this update error again.

Issues with March Windows updates

March 2017 also saw some update issues. And if you can't install some of the versions now, check to see if they were released in March. For example, an update to version KB4013429 may not want to be installed at all, and some other versions will cause errors in the operation of the browser or video playback programs. In the worst case scenario, these updates can cause serious problems with your computer.

If this happens, then you need to restore the computer. This is not so difficult to do:

Your best bet is to simply not install unstable builds. Now there are many versions of Windows that do not contain critical errors, and the likelihood of problems during their installation is much less.

Video: Fix Various Windows 10 Update Errors

How to avoid problems installing Windows update

If you encounter problems updating frequently, then perhaps you yourself are doing something wrong. Make sure you don't commit to common violations while updating Windows 10:

Usually the cause of the problem is on the user's side. By following these simple tips, you can avoid critical situations with new Windows updates.

Windows 10 operating system has stopped updating

After some errors appear in the update center, the operating system may refuse to update again. That is, even if you fix the root cause of the problem, you will not be able to re-update.

Sometimes the update error appears over and over again, preventing you from installing it

In this case, you need to use the diagnostics and recovery of system files. This can be done as follows:

Video: What to do if Windows 10 updates won't download

Windows 10 updates often contain important security fixes for this system. Therefore, it is important to know how to install them if the automatic method fails. Knowledge of different ways to fix update errors will come in handy to the user sooner or later. And although Microsoft is trying to make new builds of the operating system as stable as possible, the probability of errors remains, respectively, you need to know ways to solve them.

One of the common problems for Windows 10 users is the message “We were unable to configure Windows updates. Undoing changes in progress "or" We were unable to complete the updates. Cancellation of changes. Do not turn off your computer "after restarting your computer to finish installing updates.

This manual provides details on how to fix the error and install updates in this situation in various ways. If you have already tried a lot, for example, methods related to clearing the SoftwareDistribution folder or diagnosing problems with Windows 10 Update, below in the guide you can find additional, rarely described solutions to the problem.

Note: if you see the message “We were unable to complete the update. Cancellation of changes. Do not turn off the computer "and observe it at the moment, while the computer restarts and again shows the same error and you do not know what to do - do not panic, but wait: perhaps this is a normal cancellation of updates, which can occur with several reboots and even a few hours, especially on laptops with slow hdds. Most likely, you will end up in Windows 10 with the changes reverted.

Clearing the SoftwareDistribution folder (Windows 10 update cache)

All Windows 10 updates are downloaded to a folder C: \ Windows \ SoftwareDistribution \ Download and in most cases clearing this folder or renaming the folder SoftwareDistribution(in order for the OS to create a new one and download updates) allows you to fix the error in question.

Two scenarios are possible: after canceling the changes, the system boots normally, or the computer restarts indefinitely, and you always see a message stating that Windows 10 updates could not be configured or completed.

In the first case, the steps to solve the problem will be as follows:

In the second case, when the computer or laptop is constantly rebooting and the undoing of changes does not complete, you can proceed as follows:

After that, you can go to Settings - Update & Security and check if the updates will download and install without errors. If Windows 10 updates without reporting that updates could not be configured or completed, go to the folder C: \ Windows and delete the folder SoftwareDistribution.old from there.

Troubleshoot Windows 10 Update issues

Windows 10 has built-in diagnostics for fixing update problems. Just as in the previous case, two situations may arise: the system boots, or Windows 10 constantly reboots, all the time reporting that it was not possible to complete the update configuration.

In the first case, follow these steps:

In the second situation, it is more difficult:

Follow steps 1-3 from the section on clearing the update cache (get to the command line in the recovery environment launched from a bootable USB flash drive or disk).
bcdedit / set (default) safeboot minimal
Reboot your computer from the hard drive. Safe mode should open.
In Safe Mode, at the command prompt, enter the following commands in order (each will run the troubleshooter, go through one first, then go the second).
msdt / id BitsDiagnostic
msdt / id WindowsUpdateDiagnostic
Disable safe mode with the command: bcdedit / deletevalue (default) safeboot
Reboot your computer.

It might work. But, if the second scenario (cyclic restart) has not been able to fix the problem by now, then you may have to use Windows 10 reset (this can be done while saving data by booting from a bootable USB flash drive or disk).

Windows 10 updates failed to complete due to duplicate user profiles

One more, little where described cause of the problem "Failed to complete updates. Cancellation of changes. Do not turn off your computer "in Windows 10 - problems with user profiles. How to fix it (important: what is below is on your own responsibility, you can potentially spoil something):

When the procedure is complete, restart your computer and try installing Windows 10 updates again.

Additional ways to fix the error

If all the proposed solutions to the problem of canceling changes due to the fact that it was not possible to configure or complete the Windows 10 updates were not successful, there are not many options left:

Check the integrity of Windows 10 system files.
Try to clean boot Windows 10, delete content SoftwareDistribution \ Download, re-download the updates and start installing them.
Remove third-party antivirus, restart your computer (required for the uninstallation to complete), install updates.
Try the long way to restore the original state of Windows Update components, described on the official Microsoft website

And finally, in the event that all else fails, it may be best to perform an automatic reinstallation of Windows 10 (reset) while saving the data.

Of course, updating the Windows operating system - in most cases - is a useful and even necessary business.

However, sometimes downloading / freezing or complete system failure.

For example, a situation often arises when, after a long wait for the installation process to complete, a notification suddenly appears that says: “Failed to configure Windows updates. The changes are canceled. Do not turn off your computer. "

And this is where the most interesting thing begins: after all, the process of canceling changes can take an infinitely long time in the literal sense of the word. You can wait 5, 10 and 24 hours, but the process will remain at one stage of the "rotating pointer".

Why the computer says "Failed to configure windows updates": causes and solutions to the problem

So, the reasons for this, to put it mildly, unpleasant situation are many: for example, forced / incorrect shutdown of the computer during the update process, involuntary restart, unstable operation of the Internet connection, user (or viruses) intervention in system files, etc.

That is, the system somehow had problems downloading the Windows 7 update files and installing them.

Based on this, we will consider possible options for eliminating the malfunction.

What to do if the computer (laptop) freezes and a system message with text about problems with Windows update settings appears on the screen?

Method number 1

It is also the most effective among the known options.

So, to fix the problem, you need to:

In the explorer, go along the path - "C: \ Windows \ SoftwareDistribution \ Download";
This folder contains all downloaded system update files, which you just need to select and delete;
Next, restart your computer.

Further steps will depend on the selected update installation scenario:

Most users at this stage prefer to simply turn off all updates and set "Do not check for updates."

Among professional administrators, this issue has long been controversial and controversial. In turn, we advise you to set the option "Search for updates, but the decision to download and install is made by me", which will prevent inconvenient updates, but be aware of what the system offers.

Accordingly, they are marked as "Important" and "Optional".

If you open the "Important" section, you will be presented with a list of available updates with their detailed description, including: name, file size, publication date, and a description of what they are intended for and what problems they solve.

Mark all the options you need with a tick and click "OK".

Return to the previous section and click the Install Updates button.

Method number 2

The second option also involves working with the "Download" folder, only it is not about deleting files, but renaming the folder itself - in order to make it look like "invisible" and prevent the installation of updates.

To implement it, do the following:

"Ren C: \ Windows \ SoftwareDistribution \ Download Download.old" to rename the "Download" folder and restart your computer.

Alternatively (if you have a bootable image of the operating system on some media), you can go to the "System Restore" section, select "Command Prompt" as a recovery tool and execute the command mentioned above.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is worth noting that there are many additional options for solving the problem of the inability to configure Windows updates, but the appropriateness of their use depends on the causes of this error.

For example, sometimes users are helped by cleaning the registry with the "CCleaner" program or rolling back the system to an earlier state.

Unfortunately, it is impossible to 100% guarantee that the methods described above will help: in this case, a banal reinstallation of the operating system can correct the situation.

For the sake of fairness, it should be noted that recently the frequency of this error has significantly decreased. Perhaps this is due to the fact that Microsoft pays a significant part of its attention to Windows 10, and the good old Windows 7 is gradually forgotten, and is no longer so zealously supporting it with new updates, which undoubtedly pleases many fans of this operating system.

You will also be interested in how to get rid of it as soon as possible.