Here’s how to fix the dreaded 0x80070424 error that keeps appearing in Windows Update. You may be unable to download and install Windows updates due to the Windows Update error 0x80070424. It can also prevent you from installing apps from the Microsoft Store and affect Microsoft apps like the Xbox app.
This error is usually caused by a lack of Windows update services. As a result, here are a few troubleshooting steps to assist you in quickly resolving this error.
What Causes the 0x80070424 Error?
The 0x80070424 Windows update error has been around since Windows XP. The error code 0x80070424 indicates that the requested service is not available. The service in question in this case is the one that is required to install Windows updates.
To fix the problem, we must restore the registry’s missing services. This is how you do it.
Run Windows Update Troubleshooter
The built-in Windows Update troubleshooter scans and fixes issues that prevent your PC from installing critical updates.
To use the Windows Update troubleshooter, follow these steps:
- Press the Win + I to open Settings.
- Go to Update and Security.
- Open the Troubleshoot tab from the left pane.
- In the right pane, check if any troubleshooting options are available. If not, click on the Additional troubleshooter link.
- Under the Get up and running section, click on Windows Update.
- Click the Run the troubleshooter button. It will scan the system for issues affecting Windows Update services and recommend steps accordingly. Apply the suggested fixes and check for any improvements.
Restart Update Services
If a Windows Update service is missing or not running in the background, you won’t be able to install updates. The Services snap-in from Microsoft allows you to manually determine the service’s status and restart it. This is how you do it.
- Press the Windows key + R to open Run.
- Type services.msc and click OK to open Services.
- In the Services window, scroll down and look for the Windows Update service.
- Right-click on the service and select Restart if it is not running. Click
- Next, double-click on the Service and set Startup type to Automatic.
- Click Apply to save the changes.
- Next, look for the Background Intelligent Transfer Service and Cryptographic Service and repeat the steps to restart the services.
Restore Windows Update Services (wuaserv)
If the Windows Update service is missing from the Services Snap-in, run a registry file as administrator to restore the missing registry entries. To restore the required Windows Update services, copy and paste the following code into a notepad file, save it with the reg extension, and then run it. This is how you do it.
- Type notepad in the Windows search and click on the relevant result to open the app.
- Copy and paste the following code into the notepad file:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\wuauserv] "DependOnService"=hex(7):72,00,70,00,63,00,73,00,73,00,00,00,00,00 "Description"="@%systemroot%\ ystem32\\wuaueng.dll,-106" "DisplayName"="Windows Update" "ErrorControl"=dword:00000001 "FailureActions"=hex:80,51,01,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,03,00,00,00,14,00,00,\ 00,01,00,00,00,60,ea,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00 "ImagePath"=hex(2):25,00,73,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,72,00,6f,00,6f,00,\ 74,00,25,00,5c,00,73,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,32,00,5c,00,73,\ 00,76,00,63,00,68,00,6f,00,73,00,74,00,2e,00,65,00,78,00,65,00,20,00,2d,00,\ 6b,00,20,00,6e,00,65,00,74,00,73,00,76,00,63,00,73,00,20,00,2d,00,70,00,00,\ 00 "ObjectName"="LocalSystem" "RequiredPrivileges"=hex(7):53,00,65,00,41,00,75,00,64,00,69,00,74,00,50,00,72,\ 00,69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,00,53,00,65,00,43,00,72,00,\ 65,00,61,00,74,00,65,00,47,00,6c,00,6f,00,62,00,61,00,6c,00,50,00,72,00,69,\ 00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,00,53,00,65,00,43,00,72,00,65,00,\ 61,00,74,00,65,00,50,00,61,00,67,00,65,00,46,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,50,00,72,\ 00,69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,00,53,00,65,00,54,00,63,00,\ 62,00,50,00,72,00,69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,00,53,00,65,\ 00,41,00,73,00,73,00,69,00,67,00,6e,00,50,00,72,00,69,00,6d,00,61,00,72,00,\ 79,00,54,00,6f,00,6b,00,65,00,6e,00,50,00,72,00,69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,\ 00,67,00,65,00,00,00,53,00,65,00,49,00,6d,00,70,00,65,00,72,00,73,00,6f,00,\ 6e,00,61,00,74,00,65,00,50,00,72,00,69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,\ 00,00,00,53,00,65,00,49,00,6e,00,63,00,72,00,65,00,61,00,73,00,65,00,51,00,\ 75,00,6f,00,74,00,61,00,50,00,72,00,69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,\ 00,00,00,53,00,65,00,53,00,68,00,75,00,74,00,64,00,6f,00,77,00,6e,00,50,00,\ 72,00,69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,00,53,00,65,00,44,00,65,\ 00,62,00,75,00,67,00,50,00,72,00,69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,\ 00,00,53,00,65,00,42,00,61,00,63,00,6b,00,75,00,70,00,50,00,72,00,69,00,76,\ 00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,00,53,00,65,00,52,00,65,00,73,00,74,00,\ 6f,00,72,00,65,00,50,00,72,00,69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,\ 00,53,00,65,00,53,00,65,00,63,00,75,00,72,00,69,00,74,00,79,00,50,00,72,00,\ 69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,00,53,00,65,00,54,00,61,00,6b,\ 00,65,00,4f,00,77,00,6e,00,65,00,72,00,73,00,68,00,69,00,70,00,50,00,72,00,\ 69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,00,53,00,65,00,4c,00,6f,00,61,\ 00,64,00,44,00,72,00,69,00,76,00,65,00,72,00,50,00,72,00,69,00,76,00,69,00,\ 6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,00,53,00,65,00,4d,00,61,00,6e,00,61,00,67,00,65,\ 00,56,00,6f,00,6c,00,75,00,6d,00,65,00,50,00,72,00,69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,\ 65,00,67,00,65,00,00,00,53,00,65,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,45,\ 00,6e,00,76,00,69,00,72,00,6f,00,6e,00,6d,00,65,00,6e,00,74,00,50,00,72,00,\ 69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,00,53,00,65,00,43,00,72,00,65,\ 00,61,00,74,00,65,00,53,00,79,00,6d,00,62,00,6f,00,6c,00,69,00,63,00,4c,00,\ 69,00,6e,00,6b,00,50,00,72,00,69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,\ 00,53,00,65,00,49,00,6e,00,63,00,72,00,65,00,61,00,73,00,65,00,42,00,61,00,\ 73,00,65,00,50,00,72,00,69,00,6f,00,72,00,69,00,74,00,79,00,50,00,72,00,69,\ 00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,00,00,00 "ServiceSidType"=dword:00000001 "Start"=dword:00000003 "SvcMemHardLimitInMB"=dword:000000f6 "SvcMemMidLimitInMB"=dword:000000a7 "SvcMemSoftLimitInMB"=dword:00000058 "Type"=dword:00000020 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\wuauserv\Parameters] "ServiceDll"=hex(2):25,00,73,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,72,00,6f,00,6f,\ 00,74,00,25,00,5c,00,73,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,32,00,5c,00,\ 77,00,75,00,61,00,75,00,65,00,6e,00,67,00,2e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,00,00,00 "ServiceDllUnloadOnStop"=dword:00000001 "ServiceMain"="WUServiceMain" [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\wuauserv\Security] "Security"=hex:01,00,14,80,78,00,00,00,84,00,00,00,14,00,00,00,30,00,00,00,02,\ 00,1c,00,01,00,00,00,02,80,14,00,ff,00,0f,00,01,01,00,00,00,00,00,01,00,00,\ 00,00,02,00,48,00,03,00,00,00,00,00,14,00,9d,00,02,00,01,01,00,00,00,00,00,\ 05,0b,00,00,00,00,00,18,00,ff,01,0f,00,01,02,00,00,00,00,00,05,20,00,00,00,\ 20,02,00,00,00,00,14,00,ff,01,0f,00,01,01,00,00,00,00,00,05,12,00,00,00,01,\ 01,00,00,00,00,00,05,12,00,00,00,01,01,00,00,00,00,00,05,12,00,00,00 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\wuauserv\TriggerInfo] [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\wuauserv\TriggerInfo\0] "Type"=dword:00000005 "Action"=dword:00000001 "Guid"=hex:e6,ca,9f,65,db,5b,a9,4d,b1,ff,ca,2a,17,8d,46,e0 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\wuauserv\TriggerInfo\1] "Type"=dword:00000005 "Action"=dword:00000001 "Guid"=hex:c8,46,fb,54,89,f0,4c,46,b1,fd,59,d1,b6,2c,3b,50 - Next, click on File and select Save as.
- Rename the file as Windows_update.reg.
- Click the drop-down for Save as type and select All Files. Then, click Save to save the file.
- Doble-click on the Windows_update.reg file and click Yes to provide the required permission to run the registry file. Once the success message appears, click OK to and restart your PC.
The registry file will restore the Windows Update service registry keys for your system. To confirm, navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\wuauserv in the Registry Editor.
After the restart, press the Windows key + R, type services.msc, and click OK. Next, locate and right-click on the Windows Update service and select Restart/Start.
Next, go to Settings > Update & Security and check if the error 0x80070424 is resolved and you can install pending updates.
Scan Your Computer for Malware
The 0x80070424 Microsoft Store error can be caused by malware that corrupts or deletes important system files such as Windows Update services. Check for malware infection if you were able to restore Windows Update files with the registry hack and the services vanished soon after triggering the same error.
Run a full scan to see if your computer has any virus traces. Download and install Malwarebytes if you don’t already have one installed. It’s a great antivirus that comes with a full-featured trial.
Reset Windows Update Services Using a Batch File
If your computer appears to be malware-free, try resetting critical Windows update services. While you can manually reset these services, using a batch script will speed up what would otherwise be a lengthy process. This is how you do it.
- Press the Windows key + R to open Run.
- Type notepad and click OK to open the app.
- Copy and paste the following command into the notepad.
net stop bits net stop wuauserv net stop appidsvc net stop cryptsvc Del "%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Application Data\Microsoft\Network\Downloader\*.*" rmdir %systemroot%\SoftwareDistribution /S /Q rmdir %systemroot% ystem32\catroot2 /S /Q sc.exe sdset bits D:(A;;CCLCSWRPWPDTLOCRRC;;;SY)(A;;CCDCLCSWRPWPDTLOCRSDRCWDWO;;;BA)(A;;CCLCSWLOCRRC;;;AU)(A;;CCLCSWRPWPDTLOCRRC;;;PU) sc.exe sdset wuauserv D:(A;;CCLCSWRPWPDTLOCRRC;;;SY)(A;;CCDCLCSWRPWPDTLOCRSDRCWDWO;;;BA)(A;;CCLCSWLOCRRC;;;AU)(A;;CCLCSWRPWPDTLOCRRC;;;PU) cd /d %windir% ystem32 regsvr32.exe /s atl.dll regsvr32.exe /s urlmon.dll regsvr32.exe /s mshtml.dll regsvr32.exe /s shdocvw.dll regsvr32.exe /s browseui.dll regsvr32.exe /s jscript.dll regsvr32.exe /s vbscript.dll regsvr32.exe /s scrrun.dll regsvr32.exe /s msxml.dll regsvr32.exe /s msxml3.dll regsvr32.exe /s msxml6.dll regsvr32.exe /s actxprxy.dll regsvr32.exe /s softpub.dll regsvr32.exe /s wintrust.dll regsvr32.exe /s dssenh.dll regsvr32.exe /s rsaenh.dll regsvr32.exe /s gpkcsp.dll regsvr32.exe /s sccbase.dll regsvr32.exe /s slbcsp.dll regsvr32.exe /s cryptdlg.dll regsvr32.exe /s oleaut32.dll regsvr32.exe /s ole32.dll regsvr32.exe /s shell32.dll regsvr32.exe /s initpki.dll regsvr32.exe /s wuapi.dll regsvr32.exe /s wuaueng.dll regsvr32.exe /s wuaueng1.dll regsvr32.exe /s wucltui.dll regsvr32.exe /s wups.dll regsvr32.exe /s wups2.dll regsvr32.exe /s wuweb.dll regsvr32.exe /s qmgr.dll regsvr32.exe /s qmgrprxy.dll regsvr32.exe /s wucltux.dll regsvr32.exe /s muweb.dll regsvr32.exe /s wuwebv.dll netsh winsock reset netsh winsock reset proxy net start bits net start wuauserv net start appidsvc net start cryptsvc - Click on File and select Save as.
- Rename the file as Windows.bat.
- Click the Save as type drop-down and select All Files. Then, click Save to save the file.
- Right-click on the Windows.bat file and select Run as administrator. Click Yes if prompted by User Account Control.
Wait for your PC to finish running the script before restarting it. Open Update & Security after the restart to see if the error has been resolved.
Perform a Windows Factory Reset
Resetting the factory settings The OS will be installed, and any missing Windows update service files will be restored. You can reset your computer using the built-in Reset option without affecting your personal files. However, this will uninstall any third-party software that has been installed on your computer.
Fixing the Windows Update Error 0x80070424
When a critical Windows update service is missing from your PC, the Windows update error 0x80070424 is usually triggered. To fix the problem, manually restart the services. If the problem persists, use the registry file hack to reinstall the necessary services and resolve the error.
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