JSI Tip 6926. How can I troubleshoot problems connecting to Windows Update?

SUMMARY

This step-by-step article describes how to troubleshoot problems you may have when you try to connect to Windows Update. One or more of the following behaviors may occur when you try to connect to the Microsoft Windows Update Web site:

• Only a blank Web page appears.
• Your computer stops responding (hangs) when you try to download a file from the Windows Update site.
• You receive a scripting error message.
• You receive one or more of the following error messages:
  Error Installing Dependency
  -or-
  An unknown error occurred
  -or-
  You chose not to download the software controls or there was a problem with downloading the controls, in which case much of the Windows Update site will be unavailable to you. If you would like to download the controls now, please click Try Again below
  -or-
  Your Internet Explorer security settings are set to High. In order to use the Windows Update site, you need to set your security settings at medium. To change your security settings: From the View menu on the toolbar, choose Internet Options. Click the Security tab, and then select Internet zone in the drop-down box. Click Medium.
  -or-
  Internet Explorer cannot open the Internet site address. A connection to the server could not be established.

To resolve this behavior, use the procedures discussed in this article until you can connect to the Windows Update Web site. After you complete a procedure, try to connect to Windows Update. If you still cannot connect to Windows Update, continue to the next procedure. As you complete these procedures, try to determine the cause of the behavior, and then use the procedures you have to use to resolve the behavior.

Note Because there are several versions of Microsoft Windows, the following steps may be different on your computer. If they are, see your product documentation to complete these steps.

Check Your Computer Settings

Verify the Language Settings

1. Start Internet Explorer.
2. Click Tools, and then click Internet Options.
3. Click the General tab, and then click Languages.
4. In the Language list, make sure that the operating system language version is included. If the operating system language version is not on the list, click Add, click the language in the Language list, click OK, click OK, and then click OK again.

Reset Internet Zone Security

1. Start Internet Explorer.
2. Click Tools, and then click Internet Options.
3. Click the Security tab, and then in the Select a Web content zone to specify its security settings box, click Internet.
4. Click Default Level, and then click Apply to set this zone to Medium security.
5. Click OK.

Verify that the Date and Time Are Set Correctly

1. Click Start, click Control Panel, click Date, Time, Language, and Regional Options, and then click Date and Time.
2. Click the Date and Time tab, and then set the correct date and time. To do so, follow these steps:
   1. In the Date box, in the month list, click the current month.
   2. In the year list, click the current year.
   3. In the calendar, click the current date.
   4. In the Time box, click to select the hour and then use the up or down arrow to adjust the hour. Repeat his procedure for the minute and second settings.
   5. Click a.m. or p.m. and use the up or down arrow to change to a.m., if it is currently before noon, or p.m., if it is currently after noon.
   6. Click the Time Zone tab, and then in the Time Zone list, click the time zone for your current location.
3. Click Apply, and then click OK.

Set the Operating System to Display Hidden Files

1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
2. Click Appearance and Themes, and then click Folder Options.
3. Click the View tab, and in the Advanced settings box, find Hidden files and folders, and then click Show Hidden files and folders.
4. Click Apply, and then click OK.

Check Your Internet Connection and LAN Settings

Verify that You Have an Internet Connection

Try to log on to your Internet service provider (ISP) before you try to access the Windows Update site. With some ISPs you must log on before you open a browser session. When you log on to an ISP, TCP/IP is loaded and provides connectivity to the Internet. To connecting to the Windows Update site, you must have an existing TCP/IP session.

Click to Clear the "Automatically Detect Settings" and the "Use Automatic Configuration Script" Check Boxes in LAN Settings

1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
2. Click Network and Internet Connections, and then click Internet Options.
3. Click the Connections tab, and then click LAN Settings....
4. Click to clear the Automatically detect settings and Use automatic configuration script check boxes, click OK, and then click OK again.

Turn Off Your Personal Firewall

If you have a firewall installed on your computer, close the program and stop the service. To stop the service, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
2. Click Performance and Maintenance, click Administrative Tools, and then double-click Services.
3. In the list of services, right-click the service for your firewall software, and then click Stop.

Verify That Port 443-https Is Open

Windows Update uses the Secure HTTP port to connect to your computer. To test whether port 443 is open on your computer, follow these steps:

1. Start Internet Explorer.
2. In the Address bar, type https://www.microsoft.com:443, and then press ENTER.

If you cannot connect to Microsoft.com, or you receive an error message, the port may be blocked.

Turn Off Third Party Services

Note This section applies to Windows XP only.

1. Click Start, click Run, type msconfig, and then click OK.
2. In System Configuration Utility, click the Services tab, and then click to select the Hide all Microsoft Services check box.
3. Click Disable All, and then click OK.
4. Restart your computer, and then run Windows Update. If you can now connect to Windows Update, then the problem is related to third-party software.
5. To determine what third-party software is causing the problem, in the System Configuration tool, click to select the check box for one non-Microsoft service at a time. To turn that service back on again, restart your computer, and then run Windows Update. When Windows Update does not connect, the service that you enabled last is the cause of the problem.

Repair the Windows Update Files

Rename the Catalog Files

Note This section does not apply to Windows 98 and Windows Millennium Edition.

1. Click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then click OK.
2. Type the following commands, and press ENTER after each command:

   CD\
   CD WINDOWS\System32\Catroot2
   REN edb.log edb.old

Remove and Reinstall Windows Update Dependent Files and Folders

1. Click Start, click Run, type cleanmgr, and then click OK.
2. In Disk Cleanup, in the Files to delete list, click to select Temporary Internet Files, click to clear all other items in the list, and then click OK.
3. Click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then click OK.
4. Type the following commands, and press ENTER after each command:

   CD\
   MD backup
   CD Program Files\WindowsUpdate\V4
   copy iuhist.xml C:\backup
   del *.*
   CD\
   CD C:\Windows\System32\dllcache
   del iuengine.dll
   del iuctl.dll
   del iuenginenew.dll
   CD\
   del WUTemp

   Note If you are prompted to insert the Windows installation CD-ROM, click Cancel. You will download newer versions of these files from the Windows Update Web site.
5. Type MD wupdate, and then press ENTER.
6. Download the Iuctl.cab file.
7. In the File Download dialog box, click Save.
8. In the Save In list, click Local Disk (C:), click wupdate, and then click Save.
9. In the Download Complete dialog box, click Close.
10. At a command prompt, type cd wupdate, and then press ENTER.
11. Type expand -f:* iuctl.cab C:\wupdate, and then press ENTER.
12. Click Start, right-click My Computer, and then click Explore.
13. Double-click Local Disk (C:), and then double-click wupdate.
14. Right-click iuctl.inf, and then click Install

Use System File Checker to Repair Damaged Windows Files

Note The information in this section applies to Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition, Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition, Microsoft Windows 98, and Microsoft Windows 95.

Use the System File Checker tool to extract a new copy of the Vbscript.dll file from your original Windows 98 CD-ROM or disks to the \Windows\System folder.

Note Make a back up copy of the Vbscript.dll file when you are prompted to do so.

For additional information about how to extract files using the System File Checker tool, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

129605 HOW TO: Extract Original Compressed Windows Files

Remove and Reinstall the Active Setup and Windows Update Files

Note The information in this section applies to Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition, Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition, Microsoft Windows 98, and Microsoft Windows 95.
To remove and then reinstall the Active Setup and Windows Update files, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
2. Double-click Internet Options.
3. On the General tab, click Settings, and then click View Objects.
4. Locate the file WUV3IS.DLL file. If it exists, right-click the file. and then click Delete.
5. Locate the following files (if they exist). Right-click one of the files, and then click Update:
   • Wusysinfo
   • Wuredirinforb
   • InstallEngineCTL Object
6. When you are prompted to install Active Setup, click Yes.
7. Close the Downloaded Program Files window. Click OK, click OK again, and then close Control Panel.
8. Click Start, point to Find, and then click Files or Folders.
9. In the Named box, type Asctrls.ocx, and then click Find Now.
10. Right-click the found file, and then click Delete.
11. Repeat steps 9 and 10 for each of the following files:
    • Inseng.dll
    • Wudetect.dll
    • Wupdatto.dll
    • Wuredirb.dll

Remove Damaged or Poorly Written Files Downloaded from the Internet

Note The information in this section applies to Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition, Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition, Microsoft Windows 98, and Microsoft Windows 95.

Remove any damaged or poorly written files downloaded from the Internet. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, click Shut Down, click Restart in MS-DOS mode, and then click OK.
2. Because cookies store information for a particular Web site, it is a good practice to copy the contents of the Cookies folder to a new folder instead of deleting the Cookies folder. If moving the Cookies folder's contents to another temporary folder does not resolve the issue, you may be able to restore the cookies files systematically after you have resolved the issues. This way, you do not have to re-register or provide information the next time you visit the Web site. To do so, type the following commands at the command prompt, pressing ENTER after each command:

   smartdrv.exe md New_Foldercopy c:\windows\cookies\*.* c:\windows\New_Folder

   where New_Folder is the folder where you want to copy the contents of the Cookies folder.
   
   Note Smartdrv.exe is not needed to delete these files. It is used only to speed the file deletion.
   
   Type the following commands, and press ENTER after each command. Press Y if you are prompted to confirm folder deletion.

   cd\windows
   deltree cookies
   deltree history
   deltree tempor~1
   exit

3. Click Start, point to Find, and then click Files Or Folders.
4. In the Named box, type downloaded program files, and then click Find Now.
5. Double-click Downloaded Program Files, right-click a file in this folder, and then click Remove.
   Note Do not delete the Win32 Classes file in the Downloaded Program Files (Downlo~1) folder. Instead, delete every file but the Win32 Classes file.
6. Repeat step 5 until every file, except the Win32 Classes file, have been removed from the folder.
   Warning Do not delete the Downloaded Program Files folder or use the Deltree command in Command Prompt on the Downloaded Program Files folder.
7. Restart your computer.
8. Use the System Configuration tool to determine if a file or program that is loaded in memory is preventing you from loading the Windows Update site. For additional information about clean-boot troubleshooting using the System Configuration Utility, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

192926 How to Perform Clean-Boot Troubleshooting for Windows 98

Scripting Errors

Verify That Your Internet Explorer Settings Are Configured Correctly for the Environment

1. In Internet Explorer click Tools, and then click Internet Options.
2. Click the Security tab, and then click Custom Level.
3. On the Security list, under Run ActiveX controls and plug-ins, click Enable.
4. Under File Download, click Enable.
5. Under Java Permissions, click Medium safety.
6. Under Launching applications and files in an IFRAME, click Enable.
7. Under Active Scripting, click Enable.

Turn Off Ad Removal Programs, Web Accelerators, and Antivirus Programs

Turn off any ad removal programs, Web accelerators, and antivirus programs before you try to access the Windows Update Web site. These can cause script errors.

Remove Automatic Configure Settings

1. Open Internet Explorer, click Tools, and then click Internet Options.
2. Click the Connections tab, and then click LAN Settings.
3. In the Local Area Network (LAN) Settings dialog box, under Automatic Configure, delete any text that appears in the Address box, and then click to clear the Use automatic configuration script check box.

Register the DLLs

Note The following instructions assume you are running Windows XP. For other versions of Windows, make the following changes to the command path:

• For Windows 98 or Windows Millennium Edition, change windows\system32 to windows\system.
• For Windows 2000 or Windows NT4, change windows\system32 to winnt\system32.
• For Windows XP, if you upgraded from Windows NT 4 or Windows 2000, change windows\system32 to winnt\system32.

If your operating system is installed on a drive other than C, change the drive letter in the following steps to your system drive.

1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. In the Open box, type regsvr32 c:\windows\system32\vbscript.dll, and then click OK.
3. In the RegSvr32 dialog box, click OK.
4. Click Start, and then click Run.
5. In the Open box, type regsvr32 c:\windows\system32\mshtml.dll, and then click OK.
6. In the RegSvr32 dialog box, click OK.
7. Click Start, and then click Run.
8. In the Open box, type regsvr32 c:\windows\system32\msjava.dll, and then click OK.
9. In the RegSvr32 dialog box, click OK.
10. Click Start, and then click Run.
11. In the Open box, type regsvr32 c:\windows\system32\jscript.dll, and then click OK.
12. In the RegSvr32 dialog box, click OK.
13. Click Start, and then click Run.
14. In the Open box, type regsvr32 c:\windows\system32\msxml.dll, and then click OK.
15. In the RegSvr32 dialog box, click OK.
16. Click Start, and then click Run.
17. In the Open box, type regsvr32 c:\windows\system32\actxprxy.dll, and then click OK.
18. In the RegSvr32 dialog box, click OK.
19. Click Start, and then click Run.
20. In the Open box, type regsvr32 c:\windows\system32\shdocvw.dll, and then click OK.
21. In the RegSvr32 dialog box, click OK.

Additional Analysis

For additional information about troubleshooting problems reaching Windows Update or downloading or installing software, visit the Microsoft Web site.
If the problem still exists after you complete these troubleshooting steps, you may have to obtain the following files for additional analysis:

• C:\Windows\Wusetup.log
• C:\windows\Windows Update.log
• C:\Program Files\WindowsUpdate\V4\Iuhist.xml

REFERENCES

For additional information about Windows Update error messages, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

316524 "Administrators Only" Error Message When You Try to Use the Windows Update Site

326686 You Cannot Use Any Windows Update Features