How to Fix Windows Update Errors
— A Technician's Walkthrough

If I had a dime for every time someone brought me a computer because a Windows update broke something, I'd have a few rolls of them by now. Updates are supposed to keep your PC safe and running smoothly — but sometimes they get stuck, fail to install, or worse, install halfway and then roll back in an endless loop. 2026 has been an especially rough year for this. Microsoft's May and June patches alone have caused install failures, boot problems, slow internet, and even bricked some HP laptops. The good news? Most update problems can be fixed at home without paying anyone. Here's exactly how I troubleshoot them, in the same order I use in my shop.

1 Before You Touch Anything — Read the Error Code

Windows gives you a hexadecimal error code when an update fails — something like 0x800f0922 or 0x80073712. This code tells you exactly what went wrong before you try a single fix. Write it down or take a photo of the screen.

To find it after the fact: go to Settings → Windows Update → Update history. Failed updates will show the error code next to them. Here are the most common ones you'll see in 2026:

If your error code isn't listed above, don't worry — work through the fixes below in order anyway. Most update problems fall into a handful of categories, and these steps cover all of them.

2 Run the Built-In Windows Update Troubleshooter

Always start here. Microsoft built a diagnostic tool right into Windows that automatically checks for and fixes the most common update problems — stuck services, corrupted cache files, and misconfigured settings. It's not magic, but it genuinely fixes a solid chunk of issues on its own.

3 Clear the Update Cache (SoftwareDistribution Folder)

Every update Windows downloads lands in a folder called SoftwareDistribution. If something goes wrong mid-download — a power cut, a network hiccup, a crash — those half-downloaded files sit there corrupted, and Windows keeps trying to install them instead of downloading fresh copies. Clearing this folder forces Windows to start the download from scratch.

This is probably the single most effective fix I use in the shop. It's safe, and Windows rebuilds the folder automatically.

4 Repair System Files with DISM and SFC

If the update cache was fine but the install still fails, the problem might be deeper — corrupted system files that the update is trying to modify. Two built-in tools, DISM and SFC, scan for and repair this kind of damage. Run DISM first (it fixes the repair source), then SFC (it fixes the actual system files).

5 The 0x800f0922 Fix — EFI Partition Space

This one has been all over the place in 2026. Microsoft's May and June security updates have been failing at around 35–36% with error 0x800f0922, then rolling back with the message "Something didn't go as planned. Undoing changes." The cause? A small hidden partition on your hard drive called the EFI System Partition doesn't have enough free space (it needs at least 10 MB free).

Microsoft has officially acknowledged this and published a registry workaround.

6 The 0x80073712 Fix — PCs Upgraded from Windows 10

If your computer started life on Windows 10 and was later upgraded to Windows 11, you might hit error 0x80073712 or 0x800f0993 when trying to install monthly updates. The PC works perfectly fine otherwise — the update just refuses to install. Microsoft confirmed this is caused by leftover package data from the upgrade that conflicts with new updates.

7 Driver Conflicts — Error 0xC1900101

If you're trying to install a feature update (a big version upgrade like going from 24H2 to 25H2) rather than a regular monthly patch, and it keeps failing with an error that starts with 0xC1900101, you almost certainly have a driver conflict. Graphics drivers and network adapters are the usual suspects.

8 Skip Windows Update Entirely — Install Manually

If nothing above has worked, you can bypass the automatic Windows Update system completely and install the update by hand from Microsoft's Update Catalog. This is how I install the really stubborn updates in the shop — it works great, just not as easy as clicking on Windows Update.

9 How to Uninstall a Bad Update

Sometimes the update installs just fine — but then something breaks. Slow internet, crashes, a printer that stops working, or a computer that won't boot properly. If a new update clearly caused the problem, you can remove it and go back to how things were before.

10 Sometimes the Best Fix Is Waiting

Here's something most tech articles won't tell you: not every update needs to be installed the day it comes out. In over 30 years of doing this work, I've seen enough botched Patch Tuesdays to know that waiting a few days — or even a week — can save you a lot of headaches. Let other people find the bugs first.

A fellow tech I know who handles IT for a large office learned this the hard way. A new guy on the team saw a fresh printer driver update, installed it on one of their networked printers, and instantly — nobody in the entire office could print to it. What followed was a mad scramble to roll the update back while dozens of people sat around unable to print. Everything was fine once they undid it, but it was a stressful couple of hours of troubleshooting that didn't need to happen. One week of waiting would have caught that bug before it ever touched a production machine.

Microsoft regularly releases out-of-band fixes within a week or two when a patch causes widespread problems. The May 2026 install failure? Fixed by the end of the month. The June boot issues on HP laptops? Acknowledged and workarounds published within two weeks.