Windows 10 update stuck on endless "Retry"

Solution 1:

I had something similar. Eventually it told me that it needed 10GB of free space on C: (not Pro version)

Solution 2:

If the download always fails, download the ISO from Microsoft, mount the ISO into a virtual DVD drive (double click on ISO). Now run setup.exe and select upgrade.

To troubleshoot what went wrong during the upgrade, you have to look at the setuperr.log from C:\$windows.~bt\sources\panther.

Gov Maharaj from Microsoft posted some known error codes/causes in his Defrag Show on channel9.msdn.com. There is no general answer, we need to check the log files for each user.

Solution 3:

Usually in cases like this there might be several items in play:

1. The update was pulled.
2. The update is simply throttled and therefore temporarily unavailable.
3. There is a problem with the Windows Update configuration on your machine.

It looks like at some point your update did install fine, so option 1 and 2 are the most likely culprits.

If something like this happens, it's super helpful for us to look at Panther logs, that can be located in:

C:\windows\panther 

If that folder is empty, look at the logs here:

C:\$windows.~bt\sources\panther

The contents should be small enough to simply throw them in the ZIP and forward for analysis.

Now, there are also cases when there really is an issue with the OS configuration, and specifically with the Windows Update (WU) subsystem. In that case, it's worth trying the following:

1. Open Command Prompt (CMD) as admin.
2. Trigger the following commands sequentially:

Batch Code:

net stop bits
net stop wuauserv
net stop appidsvc
net stop cryptsvc
del "%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Application Data\Microsoft\Network\Downloader\qmgr*.dat"

bits is the Background Intelligent Transfer Service.

wuauserv is the Windows Update service.

appidsvc is the Application Identity service, used by AppLocker.

cryptsvc is the Cryptographic Services, responsible for confirming signatures for Windows Files.

3. Time for some RegSvr magic to re-register core DLLs:

Batch Code:

cd /d %windir%\system32
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

4. Reset WinSock:

Batch Code:

netsh winsock reset

5. Reset the WinHTTP proxy:

Batch Code:

netsh winhttp reset proxy

6. Restore the previously disabled services:

Batch Code:

net start bits
net start wuauserv
net start appidsvc
net start cryptsvc

7. Reboot machine.
8. Check for updates once again.

All of the above can be wrapped in a single batch script to save time, but it's worth breaking them down 1-by-1.

Solution 4:

I had the same issue on Windows 10 Build 10240. Here's what worked for me:

1. Go to https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10/
2. Click on "Update Now"
3. This will download the upgrade tool, currently named 'Windows10Upgrade9252.exe'.
4. Run it as Adminitrator.

Windows 10 Update Tool

This upgraded this specific laptop to Windows 10 Build 10516 (currently the latest build) and from then on Windows Update worked as expected.