[21h2] Windows Update Error 0x800f0988

[Oaktech]

I have 2 machines that are experiencing this issue, one is an official windows 11 machines, the other has had it shoe-horned onto it.

 

These machines live in a training room, and due to the drive to save money they were turned off between the start of the Easter holidays and sometime in August. They successfully installed the 2022-04 CU update, missed 05, 06, and 07 updates, and then failed to update to the 2022-08 onwards CU updates with error 0x800f0988.

 

I'm pretty sure it's because they have missed out on a servicing stack update as part of the CU, or the 2022-04 update did not install a SSU component correctly. I've tried to do all the usual resets of update components to no avail, the troubleshooter does not detect a problem. SSU are not available separately.

 

I've only avoided nuking these from orbit because they have a load of training software on them that is... Difficult... to reload for a variety of reasons.

 

Anyone got any ideas?

[mjhardisty]

have you tried resetting the Windows Update components and software stores?

 

net stop wuauserv

net stop cryptSvc

net stop bits

net stop msiserver

Ren C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution SoftwareDistribution.old

Ren C:\Windows\System32\catroot2 Catroot2.old

net start wuauserv

net start cryptSvc

net start bits

net start msiserver

 

Then giving it another go?

 

There is also the Windows Update troubleshooter available.