Free Ways to Fix Windows 10 Won't Update

User case: Windows 10 won’t update

“When I was using the computer today, Windows reminded me that I could update. I tried the update but it was unsuccessful. After I restarted the computer, the update failed. I also cleaned the disk with anti-virus software and found that my computer did not contain viruses. I don’t know what to do, is there any freeway?”

Why do we need to update Windows 10?

At the beginning of the production, the system was not exhaustive. There were many undiscovered vulnerabilities that could not be found in the test, but the users found problems in the actual experience. In response to these problems, Microsoft's R&D team will make timely remedial measures. These remedies are commonly known as "patches." Therefore, the windows system update is to improve the system and ensure that the system is more comprehensive, safer, more convenient and more practical.

The common reasons why Windows 10 won’t update successfully?

☞ There is not enough space in the system drive

Because the Windows 10 upgrade is to install a "patch", the old version will be updated. Therefore, the upgrade must take up a certain amount of memory. If your system drive has insufficient capacity, Windows 10 updates may won’t install.

☞ Poor network connection

If Windows 10 automatically update not working, it may be automatic update has not detected an update yet, so update manually instead.

☞ Windows did not detect the updates

Automatic update has not detected an update yet, so update manually instead.

☞ Windows 10 update programs fails

The effective ways to fix Windows 10 won't update

Below I will show you the five most common and effective ways to solve the problem that Windows 10 cannot be upgraded, including Windows built-in tools and third-party tools. Please read them patiently.

│Make sure the system drive has enough space

When you cannot successfully upgrade Windiws10, it is probably because the free space of the system drive is not enough. The solution to this problem is to extend the system drive.

I recommend you to use a completely free third-party tool——AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard, it supports Windows 10/8.1/8/7 and Windows XP/Vista. You can use it to resize partitions or adding non-adjacent unallocated space into one partition easily and effectively without losing data（If your disk has unallocated space, you can refer to my steps below）.

Step 1. Install and launch AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard. Right-click the system partition and click Advanced > Merge Partitions.

Step 2. Select system partition and the unallocated space here and click OK.

Step 3. After the last step, the target partition C is enlarged from 51.87 GB to 608.32 GB. Click Apply and Proceed to execute the operation.

As you can see, you can easily extend your system partition in only three steps, and you don't need to do other extra work. Now, you can update Windows 10 again to see if the problem still exists. In addition to extending partitions, AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard can also shrink partitions, format partitions, and delete partitions. If you want to allocate free space from one partition to another, please upgrade to AOMEI Partition Assistant Pro.

│Check your internet connection

Reconnect the network cable: The network cable may not be in firm contact. Please unplug the network cable and reconnect it. This operation can be repeated.

Turn off other devices on the network: If you connect multiple devices on the same Internet, it may slow down the network speed, or cause Windows to update slowly or disconnect. All you need to do is to close the connection between other devices and the network to maintain the network speed when Windows is updated.

│Check for update manually

If you have heard that there are some updates to Windows 10 recently, but you do not see the system updates, it may be because Windows did not detect these updates.

You can open the control panel in "Start", then click "Update and Security", in "Windows Update", select the "Check for Updates" button to install and update Windows 10 again.

│Run the Windows Update troubleshooter

This allows Windows to fix the problem itself. To do this, type "troubleshoot" in the search bar at the bottom left corner of the desktop and then select "Windows Update" from the list. Follow the prompts on the screen to run the troubleshooter.

│Fix the issue via Command Prompt

If Windows 10 is not updating, you can try to restart Windows Update services. you may be able to solve the problem through the command prompt. The specific steps are as follows:

Step 1. Search for  “command prompt”  in the start bar, right-click to "run as administrator".

Step 2. Enter the following commands in the command prompt, in turn, press Enter after each command you enter, and wait for a command to be fully executed before typing the next command:

▸ net stop wuauserv
▸ net stop cryptSvc
▸ net stop bits
▸ net stop msiserver
▸ ren C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution SoftwareDistribution.old
▸ ren C:\Windows\System32\catroot2 catroot2.old
▸ net start wuauserv
▸ net start cryptSvc
▸ net start bits
▸ net start msiserver

Once all of the commands listed above have been fully executed, close the Command Prompt and restart your computer.

Conclusion

After reading this article, are you still annoyed that Windows 10 won't update? You can check one by one according to the method I gave to find your problem.​