My updates are stuck!

A reader named Pam wrote me with a problem.

“My computer,  an HP Windows 7 model, is driving me nuts lately. It downloads 63 updates (which takes forever) I usually let it do it’s thing at night and then it says it’s installing updates (which takes forever) and when it gets to 13% it says “Failure to configure Windows updates Reverting changes. Do not turn off your computer.” This also takes forever. I guess I’ll have to go back to a previous time before this started but I have no idea which program is to blame.”

I’m going to go with the obvious answer here, but it might help. I will tell you, though, that I suggested this to another reader earlier in the week and it didn’t solve her problem.

Windows offers an update troubleshooter. Click here to go to the installation page.

Then select the troubleshooter for your version of Windows. It works in 7, 8, and 10.

When prompted to save or run Troubleshooter, choose Run if you want to start the process immediately and Save, if you’d like to launch it later.  When the Troubleshooter opens, select Windows Update and then Next.

The Troubleshooter will begin to detect problems.

And then try to fix them.

Troubleshooter should be able to fix most of the errors it finds.

You can then attempt to redownload and reinstall updates.

I can’t guarantee it will always work, but it often can help.

Happy to report in this case, it did help! Pam says: