How to Unpause Windows Updates and What to Do if You Can’t

Pankil is a Civil Engineer turned freelance writer. Since his arrival at Guiding Tech in 2021, he delves into the world of how-tos, and troubleshooting guides for Android, iOS, and Windows. Besides his new-found love for mechanical keyboards, he’s a disciplined footfall fan and loves international travel with his wife.

How to Resume Windows Updates

The process of resuming Windows updates is quite similar to pausing them. Here’s how you can go about it.

Step 1:Press theWindows key + Ito open the Settings app.

Step 2:Switch to theWindows Updatetab and click theResume updatesbutton on your right.

Windows will then start checking for pending updates, allowing you to download and install them.

Although unpausing Windows updates is fairly straightforward, there might be instances where the Resume Updates option is missing or doesn’t work as expected. In that case, you can work your way through the following tips to resume Windows updates.

A common reason whyWindows won’t resume system updatesis if some of the services related to Windows updates are not running or malfunctioning. In that case, you will need to restart those services manually using these steps:

Step 1:Press theWindows key + Rto launch the Run dialog box, type inservices.msc, and pressEnter.

Step 2:In the Services window, right-click theWindows Updateentry and selectRestart. If the service is not running, selectStart.

Similarly, restart Cryptographic Services, Background Intelligent Transfer Service, and Windows Installer services. After that, try resuming Windows updates again.

Fix 2: Modify Registry Files to Resume Windows Updates

If restarting the update-related services proves ineffective, you can modify a few registry files to force-resume Windows updates on your PC.

Step 1:Click the search icon on the taskbar, type inregistry editor, and selectRun as administrator.

Step 2:In the Registry Editor window, type the following path in the address bar at the top and pressEnter.

Step 3:Double-click thePausedFeatureStatusentry, type1in the value data field, and clickOK. Similarly, set the value forPausedQualityStatusto1.

Step 4:Paste the following path in the address bar at the top and pressEnter.

Step 5:In the right pane, find and select the following keys. Right-click on your selection and chooseDelete.

Restart your PC, and Windows updates should now work seamlessly.

Fix 3: Reset Windows Update Components

Resetting the Windows Update components is an effective way to fix various issues related to system updates, including the one you’re facing. Here’s how you can go about resetting Windows update components on your PC.

Step 1:Click the search icon on the taskbar, type inpowershell, and selectRun as Administrator.

Step 2:In the console, run the following commands one by one, and pressEnterafter each command:

Restart your PC after running the above commands. Following that, you should be able to resume updates on your PC.

Fix 4: Run SFC and DISM Scans

Windows may have trouble resuming updates if some of the system files on your PC are corrupted or missing. If that’s the case,running the SFC (System File Checker)and DISM (Deployment Image Servicing and Management) scans will help.

Step 1:Right-click on theStart iconand selectTerminal (Admin)from the list.

Step 2:In the console, type the following command and pressEnter:

Step 3:Run the following commands individually and pressEnterafter each to run the DISM scan:

Restart your PC after this and try to resume updates.

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Last updated on 15 August, 2024

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