Windows Update Service Missing? Here’s 5 Ways to Fix it

Microsoft provides fixes for a lot of bugs as well as upgrades their software through Windows Update. Thus, your PC is bound to find trouble if it is not working.

The Windows Update Service or wuauserv handles the Windows update feature for the detection and provision of required updates to the computer. So, the Windows updates will not work and show Error Encountered while checking for updates if this service goes missing.

And on top of that, you will not even find Windows updates listed in the services list. But don’t panic. We have brought forth the working solutions to restore the Windows update service on your PC.

How to Fix the Missing Windows Update Service

The Windows updates service can disappear due to system file corruption, virus infection, or registry error which can be fixed easily.

So, let’s move through the fixes right away.

Run Windows Update Troubleshooter

The built-in troubleshooter in Windows can easily restore the missing Windows update service on your PC. Let’s see how you can use it.

1. Press Windows + ‘I’ to open Settings.
2. Find Troubleshoot and click on it.
3. Select Other troubleshooters.
4. Find Windows Update and click Run to start Windows Update Troubleshooter.
   
5. It will automatically detect the issue and fix it.
   
6. Restart your PC.
7. Now, press Windows + ‘R’ in the next boot and type services.msc to open Services.
8. Find Windows Update. However, most of the time, the restored file may be named wuauserv instead.
   
9. Double-click on the one you find.
10. Choose Automatic in Startup type and click Start.
    
11. Click OK to start Windows update services again.

The Windows update services are restored successfully now.

Run DISM and SFC Scan

Sometimes, the system files can get corrupted by virus infection or some other means. This can cause the system services to malfunction, including the Windows update services. To fix this, you can run the DISM scan. It will repair the damaged system files and fix your problem of missing Windows update service.

However, the DISM scan works by downloading healthy files through Windows updates server. Since your Windows update itself is not working, you should use another source of Windows to get the healthy files. Thus, you should first download the Windows ISO file and use it as the source.

1. Press Windows + ‘I’ to open Settings and go to the About section.
2. Note the architecture, build, and version of your windows.
   
3. Download the ISO file of Windows having the same architecture, version, and same or above build.
4. Mount the ISO file to prepare an installation drive.
5. Press Windows + ‘R’ and type cmd.
6. Press Ctrl + Shift + Enter to open Command Prompt with administrative privilege.
7. Enter the command dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth /source:D:\sources\install.wim /limitaccess.
   
   
   For our computer, the installation drive of mounted ISO is “D:”. So, it may vary as per PC. You will have to replace “D” with the drive letter where the ISO file is mounted.
8. Restart your PC.

The Windows update service should be back now.

Repair Registry Entry

If the registry entry of Windows Update gets corrupted or deleted by some means, you will find the Windows Update Service missing. So, you should restore and repair the entry to fix the issue.

Using Backup From Another System

If you have another working system or can get access to one, you can restore the healthy file to your PC from there. Let’s see the way to do it.

1. Turn on the functioning PC and press Windows + ‘R’ to open the Run dialog box.
2. Type regedit.msc to open Registry Editor.
3. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services.
4. Find the wuauserv key and right-click on it.
5. Click Export and save it with the same name.
   
6. Copy the registry file to a flash drive or external storage.
7. Run your PC and copy the file into it.
8. Open Registry Editor and see if your PC has the wuauserv registry key by navigating to the above-mentioned location.
9. If the file is present, right-click on it and select Delete.
   
10. Then, double-click on the copied file and click Yes to add the file to the registry.
    

Restart your system and run the Windows update to install updates and see if it solves the problem.

Creating New Registry Entry

If you do not have access to a working PC, you can create a new registry and add it on your own.

Let’s see how to do it.

1. Open Registry Editor and look for the Windows update registry in the same way as mentioned earlier. If it is there, delete it.
2. Press Windows + ‘R’ to open the Run dialog box.
3. Type notepad and click Ok to open Notepad.
4. Now, copy the following code into it.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\wuauserv]
"DependOnService"=hex(7):72,00,70,00,63,00,73,00,73,00,00,00,00,00
"Description"="@%systemroot%\\system32\\wuaueng.dll,-106"
"DisplayName"="@%systemroot%\\system32\\wuaueng.dll,-105"
"ErrorControl"=dword:00000001
"FailureActions"=hex:80,51,01,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,03,00,00,00,14,00,00,\
  00,01,00,00,00,60,ea,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00
"ImagePath"=hex(2):25,00,73,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,72,00,6f,00,6f,00,\
  74,00,25,00,5c,00,73,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,32,00,5c,00,73,\
  00,76,00,63,00,68,00,6f,00,73,00,74,00,2e,00,65,00,78,00,65,00,20,00,2d,00,\
  6b,00,20,00,6e,00,65,00,74,00,73,00,76,00,63,00,73,00,20,00,2d,00,70,00,00,\
  00
"ObjectName"="LocalSystem"
"RequiredPrivileges"=hex(7):53,00,65,00,41,00,75,00,64,00,69,00,74,00,50,00,72,\
  00,69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,00,53,00,65,00,43,00,72,00,\
  65,00,61,00,74,00,65,00,47,00,6c,00,6f,00,62,00,61,00,6c,00,50,00,72,00,69,\
  00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,00,53,00,65,00,43,00,72,00,65,00,\
  61,00,74,00,65,00,50,00,61,00,67,00,65,00,46,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,50,00,72,\
  00,69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,00,53,00,65,00,54,00,63,00,\
  62,00,50,00,72,00,69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,00,53,00,65,\
  00,41,00,73,00,73,00,69,00,67,00,6e,00,50,00,72,00,69,00,6d,00,61,00,72,00,\
  79,00,54,00,6f,00,6b,00,65,00,6e,00,50,00,72,00,69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,\
  00,67,00,65,00,00,00,53,00,65,00,49,00,6d,00,70,00,65,00,72,00,73,00,6f,00,\
  6e,00,61,00,74,00,65,00,50,00,72,00,69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,\
  00,00,00,53,00,65,00,49,00,6e,00,63,00,72,00,65,00,61,00,73,00,65,00,51,00,\
  75,00,6f,00,74,00,61,00,50,00,72,00,69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,\
  00,00,00,53,00,65,00,53,00,68,00,75,00,74,00,64,00,6f,00,77,00,6e,00,50,00,\
  72,00,69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,00,53,00,65,00,44,00,65,\
  00,62,00,75,00,67,00,50,00,72,00,69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,\
  00,00,53,00,65,00,42,00,61,00,63,00,6b,00,75,00,70,00,50,00,72,00,69,00,76,\
  00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,00,53,00,65,00,52,00,65,00,73,00,74,00,\
  6f,00,72,00,65,00,50,00,72,00,69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,\
  00,53,00,65,00,53,00,65,00,63,00,75,00,72,00,69,00,74,00,79,00,50,00,72,00,\
  69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,00,53,00,65,00,54,00,61,00,6b,\
  00,65,00,4f,00,77,00,6e,00,65,00,72,00,73,00,68,00,69,00,70,00,50,00,72,00,\
  69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,00,53,00,65,00,4c,00,6f,00,61,\
  00,64,00,44,00,72,00,69,00,76,00,65,00,72,00,50,00,72,00,69,00,76,00,69,00,\
  6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,00,53,00,65,00,4d,00,61,00,6e,00,61,00,67,00,65,\
  00,56,00,6f,00,6c,00,75,00,6d,00,65,00,50,00,72,00,69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,\
  65,00,67,00,65,00,00,00,53,00,65,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,45,\
  00,6e,00,76,00,69,00,72,00,6f,00,6e,00,6d,00,65,00,6e,00,74,00,50,00,72,00,\
  69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,00,53,00,65,00,43,00,72,00,65,\
  00,61,00,74,00,65,00,53,00,79,00,6d,00,62,00,6f,00,6c,00,69,00,63,00,4c,00,\
  69,00,6e,00,6b,00,50,00,72,00,69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,\
  00,53,00,65,00,49,00,6e,00,63,00,72,00,65,00,61,00,73,00,65,00,42,00,61,00,\
  73,00,65,00,50,00,72,00,69,00,6f,00,72,00,69,00,74,00,79,00,50,00,72,00,69,\
  00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,00,00,00
"ServiceSidType"=dword:00000001
"Start"=dword:00000003
"SvcMemHardLimitInMB"=dword:000000f6
"SvcMemMidLimitInMB"=dword:000000a7
"SvcMemSoftLimitInMB"=dword:00000058
"Type"=dword:00000020

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\wuauserv\Parameters]
"ServiceDll"=hex(2):25,00,73,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,72,00,6f,00,6f,\
  00,74,00,25,00,5c,00,73,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,32,00,5c,00,\
  77,00,75,00,61,00,75,00,65,00,6e,00,67,00,2e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,00,00,00
"ServiceDllUnloadOnStop"=dword:00000001
"ServiceMain"="WUServiceMain"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\wuauserv\Security]
"Security"=hex:01,00,14,80,78,00,00,00,84,00,00,00,14,00,00,00,30,00,00,00,02,\
  00,1c,00,01,00,00,00,02,80,14,00,ff,00,0f,00,01,01,00,00,00,00,00,01,00,00,\
  00,00,02,00,48,00,03,00,00,00,00,00,14,00,9d,00,02,00,01,01,00,00,00,00,00,\
  05,0b,00,00,00,00,00,18,00,ff,01,0f,00,01,02,00,00,00,00,00,05,20,00,00,00,\
  20,02,00,00,00,00,14,00,ff,01,0f,00,01,01,00,00,00,00,00,05,12,00,00,00,01,\
  01,00,00,00,00,00,05,12,00,00,00,01,01,00,00,00,00,00,05,12,00,00,00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\wuauserv\TriggerInfo]

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\wuauserv\TriggerInfo\0]
"Type"=dword:00000005
"Action"=dword:00000001
"Guid"=hex:e6,ca,9f,65,db,5b,a9,4d,b1,ff,ca,2a,17,8d,46,e0

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\wuauserv\TriggerInfo\1]
"Type"=dword:00000005
"Action"=dword:00000001
"Guid"=hex:c8,46,fb,54,89,f0,4c,46,b1,fd,59,d1,b6,2c,3b,50

5. Press Ctrl + S and enter the name wuauserv.reg to create and save the registry file.
6. Now, double-click on the created file and select Yes to add it to the registry.

Restart your computer to find the problem solved.

Perform Malware Scan

After performing these steps, we recommend you run a virus scan on your computer. The problem may have arisen from malware infection, harming the Windows Update service. So, you should find and remove the threat to prevent the corruption of the repaired file.

1. Press Windows + ‘R’ and type ms-settings:windowsdefender to open Windows Security.
2. Click Virus & Threat Protection and go to Scan options.
   
3. Choose Full scan and click Scan now.
   

Your system will find and delete the threat.

Perform In-place Upgrade

Sometimes other system services and files assisting the Windows update services may be malfunctioning, leading to the issue. In such cases, you should perform an in-place upgrade to repair your OS and restore its health. In-place upgrade installs healthy OS files while keeping your data intact.

1. Mount the Windows ISO file to prepare an installation drive by following the steps mentioned earlier.
2. Run Setup.exe to start the installation process.
3. Select Change how setup downloads updates and click Not right now.
   
4. Click Next or follow the instructions to move forward.
5. Insert an external storage drive with 10 GB or more storage space to continue.
6. When it shows Ready to Install, click Change what to keep and choose Keep personal files and apps.
   
7. Click Install to initiate the upgrade.

After the upgrade completes, you should find the problem solved.