Windows Update Issue

Have you checked these services through the Windows Services utility?

Click Start and type services into the search box. In the results, click on the item associated with a cog icon.

Now go through the list of services, they are in alphabetical order, and make sure the "Windows Update" service is started (running) and set to Automatic. Make sure the "Background Intelligent Transfer Service" is started (running) and set to Automatic.

Also make sure both the "Remote Procedure Call (RPC)" and "Com+ Event System" services are set to Automatic.

If any of those services are set to Disabled or Manual, you'll need to change the setting. If you don't know how to change the setting, get back to us and we'll post further instructions.

Okay, here's what you need to do.

Go back into Services and double click the Windows Update entry. In the window that opens, under "Startup type", select Automatic (Delayed Start), then click on the Start button just below.

Now double click the Background Intelligent Transfer entry and in the window that opens, click on the Start button.

If both services start successfully, you should be able to apply updates.

Sorry for not getting back sooner, we've had a cyclone go through so the computer has been switched off.

Let's try resetting winsock - please go through the following steps:

1.Click the Windows Start button.

2. Type cmd in the Start Search text box, right click the "cmd" item in the results and select "Run as administrator". Click Continue to allow elevation.

3. Type netsh winsock reset in the Command Prompt, and then press the Enter key.

4. Type netsh int ipv4 reset in the Command Prompt, and then press the Enter key.

5. If you use ipv6, type netsh int ipv6 reset in the Command Prompt, and then press the Enter key.

Note: you may need to run Network Diagnostics afterwards - right click the internet connection icon in the system tray and select "Troubleshoot problems".

Let us know how you get on.

Glad to hear it worked out for you and all is now good.

Netsh is short for "network shell", a Windows command line utility. As you can guess, it has everything to do with connecting to the internet.

The first command reset your network adapter and the next two reset your TCP/IP stack, all back to installation defaults.

These issues can and obviously do happen. A definitive cause is not always readily identifiable, although tweaking and optimization software can often lead to these types of issues. Something or someone has altered your original settings and we simply reset them back to default.