Can't update Windows 10 Anniversary

Hey Simrick,
Could this whole thing be possibly something getting caused from my ISP? My wife mentioned she has been having issues with her internet the last few days. I have a feeling it could be the whole Cloudflare thing. It that a possibility or unlikely?

simrick said:

hmmm......let's try this now:

Type Troubleshooting in the search bar, and select Troubleshooting (Control Panel)
Under System and Security select Fix problems with Windows Update
Click on the Advanced link in the bottom left and make sure it has the box checked for Apply repairs automatically

Let me know how that goes.

OK. I did try this the other night, but I was in rough shape and didn't take the time to do the work so I just did it again. Here's the screenshots from 10 minutes ago, but this is exactly what happened the other night.

I got a database error




Then I ran Windows update (using wireless, it finds updates faster)





Then I tried again (again, using wireless)



Then, just for a fun;




That new error gave me a bit of hope, but then it was quickly dashed on the rocks. If you like, I can post the advanced fix report snapshots because I still have it open, but I was hoping there was maybe a .log file somewhere for it.

simrick said:

LAPS, the cloudfare could be something your ISP are using (I can't say), but the Windows updates, and specifically Defender update failures are not a result of your ISP, so there's still something "not right" with your system.

Without knowing what was initially found to have infected your system in the first place, it's hard to say, but I will tell you this: a couple months ago someone brought me a computer and some USB flash drives to "fix", as they couldn't locate their files on them anymore. Turned out these USB drives were infected with a bunch of trojans, some viruses & malware and a worm. One infection in particular created a hidden partition on the flash drives, then hid all the user files in it, and proceeded to do it's dirty work. The worm hit 2 of my systems, as I neglected to shut them down first, and the infected system was on my regular network, not my guest network (my bad - was not expecting this!). The worm spread via LAN to my 2 computers and affected my internet connections, cutting me off intermittently, preventing certain AV and malware-fighting sites from loading, and basically wreaking havoc. Had to restore them both using Macrium images, and all was well. The thing is, your Defender updates aren't working and that tells me something is still needing to be fixed.

Did you try the WU troubleshooting in post #50 yet?

What are you thoughts on a clean install?

Hi Simrick,
Check my post above regarding post #50.

As for the rest, I think I jumped the gun regarding my wifes computer. I checked it today and there are 0 issues. My son was using it, and the system is alot slower than this so he just thought there was problems. Funny.

Next, regarding a clean install, I'm open to it but I did do that right after the inital virus.. Full FDISK, long format and everything. The only think I didn't reset was my Z: drive with all my storage files on there. All the scans I did it seemed that drive was always clean I think but maybe it fired over an infection before I was able to delete the files that caused it, so sure if it comes down to it I will do it but I am really hopeful we can sort it out.

simrick said:

If Windows Defender won't update properly, I think any other updates won't come through. So let's try a 3rd-party AV and see what happens.
Avast Offline Installer

Select Avast Free Antivirus
When installing, select custom install, and only select the 3 web shields and the software updater.
This will turn Defender off. Then let's see if any updates come through WU.

In the meantime, you'll need to configure Avast; here are my suggestions:
(I'm working from memory now, so forgive me if I'm not specific enough on how to find things)

In the Settings (gear)>General tab, expand popups and change them all to 1 second.
Go to registration, enter your email address, select free version (gray), and register for 1 free year.

In the Scan This System, select Quick Scan, then at the bottom, select settings, select scheduling, set it for daily (except Sundays) and set a time (military time).
In the Packers, select to scan all packers.
Then go back and select Full Scan, and do the settings for weekly/Sundays only, same time, and all packers.

This way, it's all set up, and not too annoying with all the popups.

If Windows Updates work after Defender is disabled this way, then I'm going to say it's residual infection damage.

There is a program we could try which is for repairing Windows OSs..... it's at tweaking.com.

OK.. Done, done, done. Everything setup as specified. Full Scan resulted in 0 infections.

So after, I ran Windows update and it said I was up to date. It did install those updates previously but it was still throwing those windows Defender update errors, but with Windows Defender off, it's not showing those updates anymore I guess. But at least it didn't throw an error message. What do you think here?

Okay thanks. Please try running the troubleshooter again, and see if any/the same problems are found. Logically, if it found and fixed errors, those should not appear again. If they appear again, they are not being fixed.

Yup, same errors keep reappearing again and again.

Next step: Open Defender and look at the definition date. Keep that window open and open an admin Powershell, and enter:

Code:

Update-MpSignature

See if it completes successfully and the definitions date in Defender changes, and report back.

It did update the virus definitions in Defender though. Definitely changed.

Next: still in the Powershell window, enter:

Code:

Repair-WindowsImage -Online -RestoreHealth

This will repair the component store.
Reboot the system.

Check above what the repair command reported. Did full shutdown and disabled FAST BOOT. I thought I had disabled that before but I obviously had not. FAST BOOT is defintely now off.

Assuming the above restorehealth ran successfully: Go into Avast Settings>General, scroll down to the bottom, and select backup settings. Save this file to your desktop for now. Uninstall Avast (you kept the installer, right?), reboot, and make sure Defender is automatically re-enabled. Fast Startup should still be OFF. Check Windows Update and see if you get an error. Check also in Defender itself for updates and see what happens.

OK.. Avast removed, Defender re-enabled automatically. Tried Windows update. See Screenshot below. Wierd how it's showing 2 different versions.



So what do you think Simrick. Full do-over? will it make a difference? Do I need to crash my storage drive also? I definitely don't want to do that. Your wish is my command buddy. I must say my internet has been laggy at best recently. I disabled all the plugins except a few but it's still laggy with some games. I get better results with games using the ethernet connection, but with the wireless the updates show up faster. I can't get that one for the life of me. LOL. But I can tell you I just want things to run smooth. Tell me what to do and I'll make it happen. Thanks again for all your help!