How to Reset Windows Update Components

If you are having trouble updating Windows through the auto update feature you can reset and reregister Windows Update Components. This usually solves Windows update related problems.
Microsoft has recently published a new automated ‘Fix it’ tool that resets Windows update components automatically. To do this, go to this page and click the ‘Fix it’ button or link to download the ‘Fix it’ installer. Run the downloaded installer file and then follow the steps in the Fix it wizard.
The Fix it Solution has two modes Default and Aggressive. You should run the Fix it solution in Default mode and determine if it resolves your problem with Windows Update before running it in Aggressive mode.
Instead of using the automated tool, you can also perform this task manually. This way you have absolute control on the resetting process, even tough the job is tedious. I have taken the liberty to reproduce the steps here for your convenience.
To reset the Windows Update components, follow these steps:
1. Open a Windows Command Prompt. To open a command prompt, click Start and then click Run. Type CMD in the Open box and then press ENTER
2. Stop the BITS service and the Windows Update service. To do this, type the following commands at a command prompt. Press ENTER after you type each command.

• net stop bits
• net stop wuauserv

3. Delete the qmgr*.dat files. To do this, type the following command at a command prompt, and then press ENTER:

• Del "%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Application Data\Microsoft\Network\Downloader\qmgr*.dat"

4. If this is your first attempt at resolving your Windows Update issues by using the steps in this article, go to step 5 without carrying out the steps in step 4. The steps in step 4 should only be performed at this point in the troubleshooting if you cannot resolve your Windows Update issues after following all steps but step 4. The steps in step 4 are also performed by the "Aggressive" mode of the Fix it Solution above:
Rename the following folders to *.BAK:

• %systemroot%\SoftwareDistribution\DataStore
• %systemroot%\SoftwareDistribution\Download
• %systemroot%\system32\catroot2

To do this, type the following commands at a command prompt. Press ENTER after you type each command.

• Ren %systemroot%\SoftwareDistribution\DataStore *.bak
• Ren %systemroot%\SoftwareDistribution\Download *.bak
• Ren %systemroot%\system32\catroot2 *.bak

Reset the BITS service and the Windows Update service to the default security descriptor. To do this, type the following commands at a command prompt. Press ENTER after you type each command.

• sc.exe sdset bits D:(A;;CCLCSWRPWPDTLOCRRC;;;SY)(A;;CCDCLCSWRPWPDTLOCRSDRCWDWO;;;BA)(A;;CCLCSWLOCRRC;;;AU)(A;;CCLCSWRPWPDTLOCRRC;;;PU)
• sc.exe sdset wuauserv D:(A;;CCLCSWRPWPDTLOCRRC;;;SY)(A;;CCDCLCSWRPWPDTLOCRSDRCWDWO;;;BA)(A;;CCLCSWLOCRRC;;;AU)(A;;CCLCSWRPWPDTLOCRRC;;;PU)

5. Type the following command at a command prompt, and then press ENTER:
cd /d %windir%\system32
6. Reregister the BITS files and the Windows Update files. To do this, type the following commands at a command prompt. Press ENTER after you type each command.

• regsvr32.exe atl.dll
• regsvr32.exe urlmon.dll
• regsvr32.exe mshtml.dll
• regsvr32.exe shdocvw.dll
• regsvr32.exe browseui.dll
• regsvr32.exe jscript.dll
• regsvr32.exe vbscript.dll
• regsvr32.exe scrrun.dll
• regsvr32.exe msxml.dll
• regsvr32.exe msxml3.dll
• regsvr32.exe msxml6.dll
• regsvr32.exe actxprxy.dll
• regsvr32.exe softpub.dll
• regsvr32.exe wintrust.dll
• regsvr32.exe dssenh.dll
• regsvr32.exe rsaenh.dll
• regsvr32.exe gpkcsp.dll
• regsvr32.exe sccbase.dll
• regsvr32.exe slbcsp.dll
• regsvr32.exe cryptdlg.dll
• regsvr32.exe oleaut32.dll
• regsvr32.exe ole32.dll
• regsvr32.exe shell32.dll
• regsvr32.exe initpki.dll
• regsvr32.exe wuapi.dll
• regsvr32.exe wuaueng.dll
• regsvr32.exe wuaueng1.dll
• regsvr32.exe wucltui.dll
• regsvr32.exe wups.dll
• regsvr32.exe wups2.dll
• regsvr32.exe wuweb.dll
• regsvr32.exe qmgr.dll
• regsvr32.exe qmgrprxy.dll
• regsvr32.exe wucltux.dll
• regsvr32.exe muweb.dll
• regsvr32.exe wuwebv.dll

7. Reset Winsock. To do this, type the following command at a command prompt, and then press ENTER:

• netsh reset winsock

8. If you are running Windows XP or Windows Server 2003, you have to set the proxy settings. To do this, type the following command at a command prompt, and then press ENTER:

• proxycfg.exe –d

9. Restart the BITS service and the Windows Update service. To do this, type the following commands at a command prompt. Press ENTER after you type each command.

• net start bits
• net start wuauserv

10. If you are running Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008, clear the BITS queue. To do this, type the following command at a command prompt, and then press ENTER:

• bitsadmin.exe /reset /allusers

11. Install the latest Windows Update Agent. To learn how to obtain the latest version of the Windows Update Agent to help manage updates on a computer see this article.
12. Restart the computer.