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Background

I have an (old) Compaq Presario CQ60 laptop on which I have installed Windows 7 SP1 (via a Windows DVD) - a new installation, wiping all other data. I tried installing games but, though they installed, they did not run correct - I heard sound but saw only a background image.

I noticed (using dxdiag) that DirectX was not running (though DirectX 11 is installed).

Problem My guess is that, if I can install all the latest Windows 7 patches, these games might work. But Windows Update does not work. I see various error messages, eg:

  • C80003FA
  • 80080005
  • 8024000E
  • and other errors...
  • Sometimes it starts downloading (the 178 required updates) and it gets so far before crashing or stopping (without, apparently, any installations).

What I have tried

  1. Starting again with a completely fresh installation.
  2. Then using the Windows Update Diagnostic tool. I have run this multiple times. Sometimes it says that everything is fixed, sometimes there are still problems:

Windows Update Diagnostic Tool reporting error

Furthermore, those problems vary each time. Eg now it says that the "Problems installing recent updates" is "Not fixed" (there aren't any recent updates!).

When I click "View detailed information" in the above dialog, all problems are reported as being fixed (including those reported as not fixed in the dialog)! When I tried to open the collected data (cabinet file), I get a "Cabinet File Viewer" popup that says, "Cannot open the cabinet file."

  1. Running sfc /scannow (see answer below).
  2. Selecting ""Check for updates but let me choose whether to download and install them" (see answer below) (since I asked "Eg is there anyway I can install them, say, 10 at a time?"). This enabled me to install a few updates but, since then, no more are installed (same problems as mentioned above).
  3. Tweaking's All In One Windows Repair Tool (from a comment below).

How can I get Windows Updates working? Based on the answer below (and a comment, see 3-5 above for details) I did get some updates installed (including, crucially for me, the graphics drivers) but the rest do not install. I still get the problems mentioned above, with the same Windows error messages.

(Even during typing this question I got a BSOD!)

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  • Windows 7 is very stable system. If you get BSODs on fresh install, you should concider analysing them, probably you have hardware problems. But Windows Update problem is separate. On fresh install everything works fine. It's better to reinstall the system I think. And note that fresh install is when you install only Windows from original microsoft source (MSDN dvd e.g.) with fresh wired ethernet drivers (if Windows did not recognized it). That's fresh.
    – filimonic
    Commented Jan 31, 2015 at 12:52
  • @filimonic: it was a fresh install via a Windows DVD (updated question).
    – Reinstate Monica - Goodbye SE
    Commented Jan 31, 2015 at 13:34

3 Answers 3

Reset to default
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Below is a list of very vague and common answer, if you think you have done them all already then don't bother reading them.

By searching through the internet using the term "Compaq Presario CQ60" that you gave, I found out that the PC has NVIDIA Geforce 8200M card which is not very powerful (at all). I suggest you try and find the latest drivers for it.

About your Windows 7, I suggest you try "sfc /scannow" in cmd.exe running with admin privileges to check for errors in the OS when doing a fresh install. Discs aren't always perfect.

After the above try going into Safe Mode and updating from there? It might not help much when it's a fresh install but might not hurt to try it out either. Refer to your manual for how to get into Safe Mode.

About the updater: Disconnect your internet connection. Go to Windows Update > On the left hand side click "Change Settings" > Under "Important Updates" click the dropdown menu and choose "Check for updates but let me choose whether to download and install them". Then you can check for updates and choose which one you want to download and install. 10 at a time.

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  • Thanks! Some I have tried, some I haven't. I will go through them in the next few days and post a detailed reply.
    – Reinstate Monica - Goodbye SE
    Commented Jan 31, 2015 at 15:57
  • 1
    I've had a good success rate on awkward issues like this, just using the all in one repair tool from tweaking.com [be sure to read their page on 'clean boot' linked from the app itself] - tweaking.com/content/overview/default.html
    – Tetsujin
    Commented Jan 31, 2015 at 18:42
  • I ran the scan which appeared to fix issues but has not resolved the original problem. I cannot run updates in safe mode. I made your suggestion to change the install updates - so far it is working!
    – Reinstate Monica - Goodbye SE
    Commented Feb 1, 2015 at 15:26
  • @Tetsuijn: great tip thanks! You want to add that as a separate answer?
    – Reinstate Monica - Goodbye SE
    Commented Feb 1, 2015 at 15:30
  • Accepted, especially because of the final paragraph which was really useful.
    – Reinstate Monica - Goodbye SE
    Commented Feb 2, 2015 at 10:29
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For the record, this problem was not caused by software but hardware. I took the laptop to a repair shop that ran all sorts of diagnostic software and they said that there were multiple problems including with the motherboard.

So, if you get this issue, it maybe that your hardware is a write off, like mine.

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Microsoft recently (October 2015) released a new patch to fix this, it worked for me on 2 different clean-install SP1 machines:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3102810

I tried all the other steps online (installing latest Windows Update Agent, installing the System Update Readiness Tool, Windows Update Troubleshooter, etc. etc.), this was the only thing that finally fixed it.

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