Windows 7 - Windows Update Hangs On "Checking For Updates" [duplicate]
Solution 1:
Fix
Microsoft released a Windows Update Client Update which is part of the July 2016 Update Rollup to fix the long hang at Windows Update scan.
This update contains some improvements to Windows Update Client in Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1). This includes the following:
- An optimization that addresses long scan time for updates that's reported on some computers.
-
Download:
32 Bit
64 Bit
Stop Windows Update service. This speeds up the setup of MSU updates. This can be done from the command line, or from the service manager window.
Try the downloaded update and see if it speeds up the installation of Updates.
To be able to install the update you first need to install the April 2015 servicing stack update for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 update (again, stop WU service before trying to install the MSU).
Download (April 2015 servicing stack update):
32 Bit
64 Bit
Workaround 1
If this is still not helping to search for new updates, use WSUSOffline to get all the updates.
Solution 2:
I've seen it take 8+ hours to finally figure them all out and install the first round.
It'll eat all your RAM, and then starts swapping to disk like mad, which can make it take even longer. So if you have like 2GB (or less) of RAM and a slow HDD, the issue will be compounded.
Install this update first, and try again.
Windows Update Client for Windows 7: June 2015
This update addresses an issue in which system performance can be decreased during scans. This issue has the greatest effect on computers that have a small amount of physical memory.
Win7 has known issues now that the update catalogue is so huge (the above fix is supposed to help address that).
Otherwise, let it sit trying overnight and see if it's advanced come morning. Note: Be sure to set your power settings to make sure the system doesn't go into sleep mode.