Many times when Windows users try to run Windows Update or try to access Microsoft update website or try to update Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE), they receive weird error messages like "0x80070424". Windows XP users may also find that Automatic Updates feature is disabled in Security Center and they can't enable it.
Actually it happens when a few system services required to run Windows Update are not running or a few system files are not registered properly. Microsoft has acknowledged the issue in a KB article and provided a fix for it.
Microsoft has also shared a few known methods to fix this annoying issue which are mentioned in a simple and easy to understand language as following:
METHOD 1: Enable the required services
1. Type services.msc in RUN or startmenu search box and press Enter. It'll open Services Manager.
2. Now make sure following services are set to Automatic and running:
- Automatic Updates OR Windows Update
- Background Intelligent Transfer Service
- Workstation
If any or all above mentioned services are not running or not set to Automatic, double-click on the service, set its Startup type to Automatic from the drop-down list, Apply the changes and click on "Start" button to immediately start it.
3. Restart Windows and it should fix the issue.
METHOD 2: Register the required system files
1. Run following commands in RUN or startmenu search box one by one:
regsvr32 Qmgr.dll /s
regsvr32 Qmgrprxy.dll /s
2. Restart Windows and it should fix the issue.
METHOD 3: Run Windows Update troubleshooter
1. Provide following command in RUN or startmenu search box and press Enter:
explorer shell:::{26EE0668-A00A-44D7-9371-BEB064C98683}\0\::{C58C4893-3BE0-4B45-ABB5-A63E4B8C8651}
2. It'll open Troubleshooting page in Control Panel. Now click on "Fix problems with Windows Update" link.
3. It'll launch Windows Update troubleshooter. Follow the instructions and it'll fix the issue.
PS: If you are using Windows XP or Vista, you can download and run Windows Update troubleshooter using this topic.
METHOD 4: Using automatic fixit
Microsoft has also released automatic fixit to fix the issue quickly and easily. You can download it using following link:
After downloading, run the msi file and it'll fix the issue automatically.
The above mentioned fixes will definitely help you in fixing error messages and strange problems while accessing Windows Update or updating Microsoft Security Essentials.
This article was posted by VG in following section: Troubleshooting, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP.
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Kyle
wow nice post thx vg!!!
SCBright
I didn't receive this error for ages, but for the people that are facing this your post is an excelent remedy.
Congrats.
sandeep sharma
is there any way or software to create a DVD video(for dvd player) in one hour( i use many sw but take more than 4 hours).
Intel pentium 4 2.7GHz with 2 Threads
XFX nVidia Gforce 8400gs HD
DDR2. 2GB memory
Please heip me
nipunb
ah finally, I'm using Microsoft Essentials on my XP but whenever I try to update the virus definitions some error pops up saying cannot connect to internet bla,bla,bla..... hope these methods will fix this issue....
Kyle
um vg, why are there some that says "Automatic (Delay Start)"? what does that mean?
yethz
@Kyle:
That service options will start the service after a few minutes when your windows has restarted..
actually, its a common sense thing. :)
nipunb
hey VG, whenever I try to update Microsoft Essentials, this error code pops up "0x8024400a".
Can you tell me how to fix this.........
VG
^^ If you are using a firewall, try to disable it and then update MSE. You can also try following hotfix:
support.microsoft.com/hotfix/KBHotfix.aspx?kbnum=923507&kbln=en-us
@Kyle
As yethz said, its used to start a service with some delay to make the whole system startup faster. It lets other startup items launch faster.
Kamrul
Very useful tips. Thanks VG. Best luck.