Remove Corrupt Windows Updates With Windows Update Regenerator

Updates for the Windows operating system can be installed in a number of ways. From using the system's built-in automatic update feature to downloading and installing updates manually. Automatic Windows updates seem to be the preferred method for the majority of users. We have covered the ins and outs of the Windows Update feature in an overview article previously. If you read it, you should have a solid understanding of how it functions, and of some of the errors that you may encounter when using it.

It can for instance happen that updates do not get installed properly on the system. This can be caused by a variety of reasons, from a crash during the download or update, to a dropped Internet connection or a virus that is preventing updates from being installed.

While it may be possible to reload the update, it can happen that you end up with a broken update in the update list that won't install, can't be removed, and can't be downloaded again.

Windows Update Regenerator is a lightweight portable program for all recent versions of the Windows operating system (that is 32-bit and 64-bit editions of Vista, Windows 7 and even Windows 8) that removes broken and corrupt updates from Windows Update. The program basically regenerates the update listing so that missing updates are no longer blocked by Windows Update because of a corrupt listing.

Just run the tool on a system with corrupt updates to resolve the issue. The program displays a short description of what it will do if you press the 1 on the keyboard to start the regeneration:

Repair broken Updates and delete them. After this the system will reboot. You can now search for Updates, new Updates will download and install again. Broken Updates will removed from the Update list, too.

The system will reboot automatically after the operation. You need to start Windows Update manually after the reboot, to check for and install missing updates.

The developer has posted the commands the program is executing.

net stop Wuauserv
attrib -r %systemroot%\SoftwareDistribution /S /D
rd /s /Q %systemroot%\SoftwareDistribution
net start Wuauserv
shutdown -r

The forum thread links to the program download as well. (via Beatmaster's Winlite Blog)

You can alternatively use Microsoft's Windows Update Fix-It to resolve common service issues and errors.

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