Solution to the issue

The term «solution» might be a little bit exaggerated, since the following HowTo only tries to make sure that the Update Agent doesn’t need to check all updates, so the check for new updates is done faster.

Install the following updates BEFORE letting Windows search for updates, to avoid this very search taking «forever».

It’s sufficient to install one of the Servicing Stack Updates. The current version is highlighted in bold.
Important: One of the Servicing Stack Updates is required before July 2016 Rollup can be installed!

KB		Win7 x64	Win7 x86	Win8.1 x64	Win8.1 x86
KB4474419	Support for SHA-2 code signatures	Download	Download	—	—
KB4490628	Servicing Stack Update March 2019	Download	Download	—	—
KB3177467	Servicing Stack Update October 2018	Download	Download	—	—
KB3173424	Servicing Stack Update July 2016	—	—	Download	Download
KB3172605	July 2016 Rollup	Download Direct link September 2016	Download Direct link September 2016	—	—
KB3172614	July 2016 Rollup	—	—	Download	Download
KB3020369	Servicing Stack Update April 2015	Download	Download	—	—
KB3021910	Servicing Stack Update April 2015	—	—	Download	Download

Maybe you wonder why July 2016 Rollup. The answer is simple: This particular update contains a more recent (as far as I know the latest) version of the Update Agent. With this update the time needed to search for new updates is reasonable, almost regardless of the updates installed on the system; the search times vary, of course, but not as ridiculously much as without July 2016 Rollup.

If you’re a user of Intel Bluetooth Hardware and have trouble with BT due to KB3172605, you can take a look at the page October page; it contains some links that might be helpful in resolving the issues.

Steps to take after Windows installation

• Disable Automatic Updates:
  Start > Control Panel > System and Security > Windows Update > Change settings > «Never check for updates» Tab «Services» > Right-click on «wuauserv» > Stop service —>
• Reboot the system (in case the «Windows Update» services is currently checking for updates).
• Download the updates mentioned above and install them via WUSA on a CMD shell (as Administrator):

Some automation

To ease the pain of installing multiple systems you can use e.g. this script which is updated regularly. Put the script and all updates in the same directory — a USB flash drive or network share may be a good place. The script determines the Windows version (Vista, Win7 or Win8.1), its architecture (32 or 64 bit) and so on. It makes use of the command given above. Just double-click the script — after you’ve disabled automatic updates (see above) — and it installs all required updates automatically, including the latest Windows Update Agent (if present). Reboot the system after the script is finished, and you’re done. Re-enable automatic updates as needed.

If you intend to install Windows Updates on a whole network of systems, it’s probably better to use some dedicated solution for this, e.g. WSUS Offline Update, which already installs the prerequisites in current releases.

If you are curious why the search for updates takes such a long time, check out the background information.

Thanks to T. Wittrock, author of WSUS Offline Update, Denniss, Canadian Tech, Woody Leonhard, Cliff Hogan, lmacri and the community.

Windows 10 update takes forever

Replies (4) 

It is possible that Windows is just finishing the last touches for the update. Is the update still on going? If yes, kindly wait for it to finish. If the update fails, Windows will automatically restart. Do not turn off or force shut down your PC. Doing so may cause system corruptions.

Update us on how things go.

Was this reply helpful?

Sorry this didn’t help.

Great! Thanks for your feedback.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback, it helps us improve the site.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback.

Was this reply helpful?

Sorry this didn’t help.

Great! Thanks for your feedback.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback, it helps us improve the site.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback.

Before updating your PC, we recommend resetting Windows Update Components. Resetting the Windows Update Components before updating your PC will ensure a successful update. To do so, kindly follow these steps:

1. Right-click Start and open Command Prompt (Admin).
2. Run these codes:
   Net Stop bits
   Net Stop wuauserv
   Net Stop appidsvc
   Net Stop cryptsvc
   Ren %systemroot%\SoftwareDistribution SoftwareDistribution.bak
   Ren %systemroot%\system32\catroot2 catroot2.bak
   NetStart bits
   Net Start wuauserv
   Net Start appidsvc
   Net Start cryptsvc
3. After running these commands, start updating your PC.

Let us know the result.

2 people found this reply helpful

Was this reply helpful?

Sorry this didn’t help.

Great! Thanks for your feedback.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback, it helps us improve the site.

How to Fix Windows Updates Taking Forever to Install

Microsoft releases a lot of Windows updates to fix problems or to add new features to the Windows. Although these Windows updates are very useful in keeping the system updated it might become a headache as well. Some of these Windows updates, especially on Windows 10, might take a really long time to complete. The time it takes for an update depends on a lot of factors including the age of your machine and the speed of your internet connection. Even though it might take a couple of hours for some users, but for a lot of users, it takes more than 24 hours despite having a good internet connection and a high-end machine. Even after 24 hours, it might seem like the update is stuck around 90% or 80%. You might continue to see a loading screen for 3-4 hours without any progress even at this stage. Since the computer might start updating automatically, it will be a huge annoyance because you will have to wait so many hours just for an update.

The reason behind the long wait of the Windows update isn’t clear. As mentioned earlier, some of the users do get the update fairly quickly while others have to go through 24 hours or even longer update periods. In most of these cases, the update seems to be stuck at a certain percentage but it actually isn’t. This is the time required for the majority of these updates and there is not a lot you can do to reduce this time. Fortunately, there are some cases where the update seems stuck and restarting the machine resolves that issue. In a minority of the cases, the update might actually be stuck or frozen because of antivirus or some other program conflicting with the update.

But, whatever may be the reason, there are a couple of things that you can do to check whether the update is actually stuck or the update is simply taking a lot of time. In some cases, the update might fail to install.

Tip

Make sure you have enough space available for the update to install. If there isn’t enough space for the Windows update to install, it might get stuck at a certain percentage

Method 1: Restart the Computer

Before you follow the instructions in this method, keep in mind that this can go either way. For some people, restarting solved the Windows update stuck issue while the Windows reverted back to its original state for other users. So, if you have waited 20+ hours for the update to get to 90% and it seems stuck, reboot the system at your own risk. You might lose all the progress. You might have to reinitiate the update and go through the 20+ hour wait all over again.

But, if you are willing to take the risk or if you are sure that the update is stuck i.e. you are seeing the loading icon for 4-5 hours, then reboot. Once the system is rebooted, the installation will finish without any issues.

Method 2: Hard Reboot

If you believe the update really is stuck and you want to try something else then hard reboot is your option. Once you have performed a hard reboot, retrying the Windows Update might work for you. You might be skeptical about this method because Windows explicitly tells you not to restart the PC and wait for the Windows to update. But, if the Windows really is stuck or hung at the stage then you really have no other option than to restart the PC. However, it still is your choice and you can choose not to reboot. You can wait an hour or 2 more to confirm.

Note: Performing the steps given below will make you lose all the update progress. You will have to start the Windows update again and you will have to wait lots of hours again. So, try this if you are willing to wait or if you are sure your Windows update is stuck

Here are the steps for performing the hard reboot

1. Press and hold the power button until your PC turns off. You can do this from the Windows update screen (where the update is stuck)
2. Wait for 45 seconds
3. Disconnect the power supply If you have a laptop, take out the battery as well
4. Press and hold the power button for at least 15 seconds.
5. Wait 5 minutes
6. Put the battery back in the laptop and connect the power supply in case of a desktop computer
7. Turn on your computer

Once you log in, try to update the Windows and see if it works.

Note: Once you have done the reboot, you might see the Advanced Boot Options screen instead of the regular log in screen. There are also cases where you might see the Startup Settings screen. If you see one of these screens, simply select the Safe Mode with Networking and try to update the Windows again.

Method 3: Windows Update in Clean Boot

Note: Performing the steps given below will make you lose all the update progress. You will have to start the Windows update again and you will have to wait lots of hours again. So, try this if you are willing to wait or if you are sure your Windows update is stuck

If the problem is caused by a conflict with another application or program then starting your computer in a Clean Boot state will solve the issue. Even if it doesn’t solve the issue, it most certainly will rule out the possibility of a third party application conflicting with the update.

1. Press the power button and hold it until your PC turns off
2. Press the power button again to start your PC
3. Once you are logged in the Windows successfully, Hold Windows key and press R
4. Type msconfig and press Enter

1. Click the Services tab
2. Check the option Hide All Microsoft Services
3. Click the button Disable All

1. Click the Startup tab
2. Click Open Task Manager

1. Make sure the Startup tab is selected
2. Select the first service in the list and click Disable

1. Repeat step 11 for all the items in the list
2. Once done, close the Task Manager
3. Click Apply then select Ok
4. Reboot

Retry Windows Update once the system is rebooted.

Method 4: Reset Windows Update Components

Note: Performing the steps given below will make you lose all the update progress. You will have to start the Windows update again and you will have to wait lots of hours again. So, try this if you are willing to wait or if you are sure your Windows update is stuck

If nothing else worked, try to reset the Windows Update Components manually and try to install the Windows Update again.

Here are the steps for resetting the Windows Update Components

1. Press the power button and hold it until your PC turns off
2. Press the power button again to start your PC
3. Once you are logged in the Windows successfully, press Windows key once
4. Type cmd in the Start Search
5. Right-click the command prompt from the search results and select run as administrator

1. Type the following commands and press Enter

1. Type the following command and press “Enter”.
2. Type the following command and press “Enter”.
3. Type

Close the command prompt and reboot. Retry Windows update once the system is successfully rebooted.

Note: Navigate to this website, download and run the executable for your specific Windows version and architecture.