Unable to download through Windows Update on WinXP SP2

Since upgrading our Windows XP installations to SP2, none of the upgraded
computers on our company network are able to download updates through
Windows Update.

The web site itself works fine, and allows us to see the updates that need
installation. But when we click on the Install Updates button, none of them
are able to be downloaded. The "Installing Updates" window opens, but each
item in the Installation Status panel reads "Downloading (name of the
update)... Failed!".

I've checked in my WindowsUpdate.log file and it reports things such as
this:


2005-02-09 11:42:57-0000 908 d2c Download job for update
2C915E53-F7B1-4246-A8FC-E67D599934A0, revision 103 hit a transient error
80072ee7.
2005-02-09 11:42:57-0000 908 d2c 1 attempt to resume the job
2005-02-09 11:42:57-0000 908 e78 Error 80072afc occurred while downloading
update; notifying dependent calls.
2005-02-09 11:42:57-0000 908 ef4 Error 80072afc occurred while downloading
update; notifying dependent calls.
2005-02-09 11:42:57-0000 908 4fc WU client calls back to download call
{61D0684C-B6CE-40B8-AC5A-DD275F8D64D8} with code Call progress and error 0
2005-02-09 11:43:13-0000 908 ef4 Download job for update
2C915E53-F7B1-4246-A8FC-E67D599934A0, revision 103 hit a transient error
80072ee7.
2005-02-09 11:43:13-0000 908 ef4 2 attempt to resume the job
2005-02-09 11:43:28-0000 908 d2c Error 80072afc occurred while downloading
update; notifying dependent calls.
2005-02-09 11:43:28-0000 908 ef4 Download job for update
2C915E53-F7B1-4246-A8FC-E67D599934A0, revision 103 hit a transient error
80072ee7.
2005-02-09 11:43:28-0000 908 ef4 3 attempt to resume the job
2005-02-09 11:43:28-0000 908 dd0 Error 80072afc occurred while downloading
update; notifying dependent calls.
2005-02-09 11:43:43-0000 908 dd0 Error 80072afc occurred while downloading
update; notifying dependent calls.
2005-02-09 11:44:21-0000 908 ef4 Download job for update
2C915E53-F7B1-4246-A8FC-E67D599934A0, revision 103 hit a transient error
80072ee7.
2005-02-09 11:44:21-0000 908 ef4 Will not attempt to resume the job as it
has reached the maximum number of attempts.
2005-02-09 11:44:21-0000 908 ef4 Error 8024402c occurred while downloading
update; notifying dependent calls.
2005-02-09 11:44:21-0000 908 ef4 WU client persisted 4 download calls
2005-02-09 11:44:21-0000 908 e78 Error 80072afc occurred while downloading
update; notifying dependent calls.
2005-02-09 11:44:21-0000 908 e34 WU client persisted 4 download calls
2005-02-09 11:44:21-0000 908 e34 WU client persisted 4 download calls
2005-02-09 11:44:22-0000 908 d2c Error 80072afc occurred while downloading
update; notifying dependent calls.
2005-02-09 11:44:22-0000 908 e78 Error 8024402c occurred while downloading
update; notifying dependent calls.


I've tried all sorts of things to resolve this and have so far been unable
to make any progress. I'm certain that it isn't a DNS or proxy/firewall
issue as the XP SP1 computers on our network all update without any
problems.

We're connected to the internet using an ISA proxy server which has no
restrictions or blocking active at all.

Thanks for any help anyone can offer,

--

(O)enone

Oenone wrote:

> Since upgrading our Windows XP installations to SP2, none of the upgraded
> computers on our company network are able to download updates through
> Windows Update.
>
> The web site itself works fine, and allows us to see the updates that need
> installation. But when we click on the Install Updates button, none of them
> are able to be downloaded. The "Installing Updates" window opens, but each
> item in the Installation Status panel reads "Downloading (name of the
> update)... Failed!".
>
> I've checked in my WindowsUpdate.log file and it reports things such as
> this:
>
> (snip)
> 2005-02-09 11:44:21-0000 908 ef4 Error 8024402c occurred while downloading
> update; notifying dependent calls.
> (snip)
>
> I've tried all sorts of things to resolve this and have so far been unable
> to make any progress. I'm certain that it isn't a DNS or proxy/firewall
> issue as the XP SP1 computers on our network all update without any
> problems.
>
> We're connected to the internet using an ISA proxy server which has no
> restrictions or blocking active at all.

Error 0x8024402c is

WU_E_PT_WINHTTP_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED
Winhttp SendRequest/ReceiveResponse failed with 0x2ee7 error. Either
the proxy server or target server name can not be resolved.
Corresponding to ERROR_WINHTTP_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED.

Most likely you have a proxy server issue.

As you are using a Microsoft ISA server:

XP Windows Update Error 0x8024402C / 0x80072f78 when behind a
Microsoft ISA server
http://www.electrosonics.net/technot...0x8024402C.htm

and

You experience problems when you access the Windows Update Version 5
Web site through a server that is running ISA Server
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=885819


Also:

When searching for available updates on the Windows Update site, you
receive the 0x8024402C, 0x80240030 or 0x8024502d error.
http://v5.windowsupdate.microsoft.co...cleid=26&ln=en

You might need to use proxycfg.exe (see link above) to either set or
remove a proxy server configuration on the client, or if possible, you
may want/need to create an anonymous access rule for Windows Update
site on the proxy server:

Open a command prompt (Start/Run and then "cmd.exe" without the
quotes").

Run this command to see what proxy configuration WU uses:

proxycfg

If you don't have a proxy, you will need status

Direct access (no proxy server).


If it reports anything else, to set direct access:

proxycfg -d


To get more help on proxycfg:

proxycfg -?





--
torgeir, Microsoft MVP Scripting and WMI, Porsgrunn Norway
Administration scripting examples and an ONLINE version of
the 1328 page Scripting Guide:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/scr...r/default.mspx

Hi Torgeir,

Many thanks for your detailed reply.

I passed your message to our network administrator who implemented the
recommended changes to the ISA Server, but it hasn't made any difference.

A misconfigured ISA Server also wouldn't explain why the SP1 computer can
still use Windows Update. We've also now found a single SP2 computer that is
able to use WU too without any problems. The rest of the SP2 PCs are still
unable to be updated.

Do you (or does anyone else) have any other suggestions as to what might be
going wrong?

--

(O)enone

Oenone wrote:
> Hi Torgeir,
>
> Many thanks for your detailed reply.
>
> I passed your message to our network administrator who implemented
the
> recommended changes to the ISA Server, but it hasn't made any
difference.
>
> A misconfigured ISA Server also wouldn't explain why the SP1 computer
can
> still use Windows Update. We've also now found a single SP2 computer
that is
> able to use WU too without any problems. The rest of the SP2 PCs are
still
> unable to be updated.
>
> Do you (or does anyone else) have any other suggestions as to what
might be
> going wrong?
>
> --
>
> (O)enone

Here's what works for our company:
1. Click on Start, and then click Run.
2. Type cmd in the Open box to get a DOS prompt.
3. Type "net stop wuauserv" without the quotes at the command prompt,
and press Enter.
4. Delete (or put in recycle bin) the contents of
C:\WINDOWS\SoftwareDistribution (but not the SoftwareDistribution
folder) 5. Type net start wuauserv at the command prompt, and press
Enter.
6. Now try Windows Update again.

This is some kind of Microsoft foul-up that they really need to fix and
quite blaming proxy connections.

> Here's what works for our company:
[...]

That worked like a charm -- many thanks for that, Windows is Updating as we
speak.

Thanks for your help,

--

(O)enone

I had the same issue and your fix worked like a charm. Thanks r2715.

"r2715" wrote:

>
> Oenone wrote:
> > Hi Torgeir,
> >
> > Many thanks for your detailed reply.
> >
> > I passed your message to our network administrator who implemented
> the
> > recommended changes to the ISA Server, but it hasn't made any
> difference.
> >
> > A misconfigured ISA Server also wouldn't explain why the SP1 computer
> can
> > still use Windows Update. We've also now found a single SP2 computer
> that is
> > able to use WU too without any problems. The rest of the SP2 PCs are
> still
> > unable to be updated.
> >
> > Do you (or does anyone else) have any other suggestions as to what
> might be
> > going wrong?
> >
> > --
> >
> > (O)enone
>
> Here's what works for our company:
> 1. Click on Start, and then click Run.
> 2. Type cmd in the Open box to get a DOS prompt.
> 3. Type "net stop wuauserv" without the quotes at the command prompt,
> and press Enter.
> 4. Delete (or put in recycle bin) the contents of
> C:\WINDOWS\SoftwareDistribution (but not the SoftwareDistribution
> folder) 5. Type net start wuauserv at the command prompt, and press
> Enter.
> 6. Now try Windows Update again.
>
> This is some kind of Microsoft foul-up that they really need to fix and
> quite blaming proxy connections.
>
>

worked for me too - thanks, r2715

Microsoft: is it a good idea for us users to be deleting large chunks of the
Windows folder?

Please: (1) sort out Windows Update, and (2) sort out the Troubleshooting
pages - they're useless.

"r2715" wrote:

>
> Oenone wrote:
> > Hi Torgeir,
> >
> > Many thanks for your detailed reply.
> >
> > I passed your message to our network administrator who implemented
> the
> > recommended changes to the ISA Server, but it hasn't made any
> difference.
> >
> > A misconfigured ISA Server also wouldn't explain why the SP1 computer
> can
> > still use Windows Update. We've also now found a single SP2 computer
> that is
> > able to use WU too without any problems. The rest of the SP2 PCs are
> still
> > unable to be updated.
> >
> > Do you (or does anyone else) have any other suggestions as to what
> might be
> > going wrong?
> >
> > --
> >
> > (O)enone
>
> Here's what works for our company:
> 1. Click on Start, and then click Run.
> 2. Type cmd in the Open box to get a DOS prompt.
> 3. Type "net stop wuauserv" without the quotes at the command prompt,
> and press Enter.
> 4. Delete (or put in recycle bin) the contents of
> C:\WINDOWS\SoftwareDistribution (but not the SoftwareDistribution
> folder) 5. Type net start wuauserv at the command prompt, and press
> Enter.
> 6. Now try Windows Update again.
>
> This is some kind of Microsoft foul-up that they really need to fix and
> quite blaming proxy connections.
>
>

"tonybb",

We do appreciate your feedback, and we do take them seriously. Please allow
me to illustrate just a few of the issues that make these solutions somewhat
more difficult:

1. Windows, like any operating system, functions because of services,
interfaces, and functioning code. This is ignoring external issues such as
poor hardware, bad hardware drivers, and environmental configuration errors.
2. Some of this code must remain functional, and not be changed, to ensure
that all of the functionality continues to work in identifying, detecting,
downloading, and installing updates to Windows.
3. Security, not as a component of the OS but instead the security model of
every binary within Windows, has forced many of these binaries to be
replaced.
4. No operating system, even Windows, was built to have every binary in it
replaced by updates. The mechanism is there for updates, but it is not
always smooth.
5. The mechanism actually works fairly well. For every update of Windows we
test and then publish, we have millions of downloads every single
day--making us the largest download site on the Internet.
6. The transport mechanisms for Windows Update, for many different reasons,
can be stopped, hung, fail, or all of them.
7. The downloads themselves can be affected by the software and hardware
used to transport it to the users computer.
8. The errors do not always tell us the exact reason why an installation
failed--largely because the developers who design the update, and the
developers that work on the transport of that update from Microsoft to the
end user's computer reasonably expect that the user will have a *perfect*
copy of the update on their machine, and need only one of the approved
methods to install.

As to the troubleshooting pages, we have limited guidance from developers,
due to the violation of the last point I made--so this is a work in
progress. We have incredible help from our volunteers on these
newsgroups--who try new things, and try old things--forwarding their
knowledge to the newsgroup and those of us here that help to write
troubleshooting articles.

If a fix works on a given error many times, it is published as a
troubleshooter solution message. This is why you see this. Given the path
that an error comes from, the fix may or may not be related to your
situation. The best we can hope for is that those of you who find solutions
to someone's problem make a point of telling us what error they hit, and how
you fixed them. Post the solution as: "Solution to 0x80072EE2" in the
subject line, and then tell us a few more things like:
1. Were they a home user or Corporate User (behind a firewall)
2. Were they a local administrator on their machine, or a workgroup user, or
a Domain user within the network?
3. What was the error at first? Did they fix something and produce a
different error later?
4. What was the fix that worked?

With these answers, we can build better troubleshooting answers, that
include more situations and help customers find what they are hitting.

Sincerely and Respectfully,


Pat Walters [MSFT]

"tonybb" <> wrote in message
news:22E2B11F-5B62-49CC-8DC1-...
> worked for me too - thanks, r2715
>
> Microsoft: is it a good idea for us users to be deleting large chunks of
the
> Windows folder?
>
> Please: (1) sort out Windows Update, and (2) sort out the Troubleshooting
> pages - they're useless.
>
> "r2715" wrote:
>
> >
> > Oenone wrote:
> > > Hi Torgeir,
> > >
> > > Many thanks for your detailed reply.
> > >
> > > I passed your message to our network administrator who implemented
> > the
> > > recommended changes to the ISA Server, but it hasn't made any
> > difference.
> > >
> > > A misconfigured ISA Server also wouldn't explain why the SP1 computer
> > can
> > > still use Windows Update. We've also now found a single SP2 computer
> > that is
> > > able to use WU too without any problems. The rest of the SP2 PCs are
> > still
> > > unable to be updated.
> > >
> > > Do you (or does anyone else) have any other suggestions as to what
> > might be
> > > going wrong?
> > >
> > > --
> > >
> > > (O)enone
> >
> > Here's what works for our company:
> > 1. Click on Start, and then click Run.
> > 2. Type cmd in the Open box to get a DOS prompt.
> > 3. Type "net stop wuauserv" without the quotes at the command prompt,
> > and press Enter.
> > 4. Delete (or put in recycle bin) the contents of
> > C:\WINDOWS\SoftwareDistribution (but not the SoftwareDistribution
> > folder) 5. Type net start wuauserv at the command prompt, and press
> > Enter.
> > 6. Now try Windows Update again.
> >
> > This is some kind of Microsoft foul-up that they really need to fix and
> > quite blaming proxy connections.
> >
> >

Worked for me as well. Good job I didn't waste time looking at the
Microsoft troubleshooting pages first. Of course it didn't help that
they can't be viewed with Firefox!

> > >
> > > (O)enone
> >
> > Here's what works for our company:
> > 1. Click on Start, and then click Run.
> > 2. Type cmd in the Open box to get a DOS prompt.
> > 3. Type "net stop wuauserv" without the quotes at the command prompt,
> > and press Enter.
> > 4. Delete (or put in recycle bin) the contents of
> > C:\WINDOWS\SoftwareDistribution (but not the SoftwareDistribution
> > folder) 5. Type net start wuauserv at the command prompt, and press
> > Enter.
> > 6. Now try Windows Update again.
> >
> > This is some kind of Microsoft foul-up that they really need to fix and
> > quite blaming proxy connections.
> >
> >

thanks a lot...i was beating my head for many weeks...finally i am fine

"Barney Dalton" wrote:

> Worked for me as well. Good job I didn't waste time looking at the
> Microsoft troubleshooting pages first. Of course it didn't help that
> they can't be viewed with Firefox!
>
> > > >
> > > > (O)enone
> > >
> > > Here's what works for our company:
> > > 1. Click on Start, and then click Run.
> > > 2. Type cmd in the Open box to get a DOS prompt.
> > > 3. Type "net stop wuauserv" without the quotes at the command prompt,
> > > and press Enter.
> > > 4. Delete (or put in recycle bin) the contents of
> > > C:\WINDOWS\SoftwareDistribution (but not the SoftwareDistribution
> > > folder) 5. Type net start wuauserv at the command prompt, and press
> > > Enter.
> > > 6. Now try Windows Update again.
> > >
> > > This is some kind of Microsoft foul-up that they really need to fix and
> > > quite blaming proxy connections.
> > >
> > >
>