How to reset each Windows Update Component to default manually

Most of the times, we face issues with Windows updates. There are several error codes related to Windows updates and most of the times, they get fixed by running Windows Update troubleshooter. But sometimes, if the Windows update components get corrupted, we need to reset the Windows update component to default by performing some manual actions which include running commands to reset windows update components. In this article, I will mention the steps to reset the Windows Update component to default:

1. Windows Updates work properly if three windows services work properly. These three services are Background Intelligent Transfer Service, Windows Update and Cryptographic Services. There are a few more services that are responsible for proper functioning of Windows updates but we won't have to worry about them. So the first task would be, disabling these services. To disable these services, open cmd with admin rights and run the following commands:
net stop bits
net stop wuauserv
net stop appidsvc
net stop cryptsvc

2. Next step is, to delete the qmgr*.dat files. In order to do so, run the following command in elevated command prompt window:
Del "%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Application Data\Microsoft\Network\Downloader\qmgr*.dat"
(This step can be skipped if you are trying to resolve the windows updates issues for the first time. This step is suggested to be used only if everything has failed and you have no option left to troubleshoot windows updates issue)

3. SoftwareDisribution and Catroot2 folders store the downloaded update files and some old unwanted cache also remains in these folders. So we will rename these folders and will create new copies of these folders now. To do so, run the following commands in elevated command prompt window:
Ren %systemroot%\SoftwareDistribution SoftwareDistribution.bak
Ren %systemroot%\system32\catroot2 catroot2.bak

4. Now we need to reset the BITS service and the Windows Update service to the default security descriptor. To do so, run the following commands in elevated command prompt:
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)

5. Now run the following commands one by one in the elevated cmd window to re-register the Windows Updates related dll files:
cd /d %windir%\system32
regsvr32.exe atl.dll
regsvr32.exe urlmon.dll
regsvr32.exe mshtml.dll
regsvr32.exe shdocvw.dll
regsvr32.exe browseui.dll
regsvr32.exe jscript.dll
regsvr32.exe vbscript.dll
regsvr32.exe scrrun.dll
regsvr32.exe msxml.dll
regsvr32.exe msxml3.dll
regsvr32.exe msxml6.dll
regsvr32.exe actxprxy.dll
regsvr32.exe softpub.dll
regsvr32.exe wintrust.dll
regsvr32.exe dssenh.dll
regsvr32.exe rsaenh.dll
regsvr32.exe gpkcsp.dll
regsvr32.exe sccbase.dll
regsvr32.exe slbcsp.dll
regsvr32.exe cryptdlg.dll
regsvr32.exe oleaut32.dll
regsvr32.exe ole32.dll
regsvr32.exe shell32.dll
regsvr32.exe initpki.dll
regsvr32.exe wuapi.dll
regsvr32.exe wuaueng.dll
regsvr32.exe wuaueng1.dll
regsvr32.exe wucltui.dll
regsvr32.exe wups.dll
regsvr32.exe wups2.dll
regsvr32.exe wuweb.dll
regsvr32.exe qmgr.dll
regsvr32.exe qmgrprxy.dll
regsvr32.exe wucltux.dll
regsvr32.exe muweb.dll
regsvr32.exe wuwebv.dll

6. Now we need to delete the incorrect registry values. To do so, open registry editor by running regedit in the Run box and locate the path HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\COMPONENTS
Now in the right pane, delete the following keys and restart your computer:
PendingXmlIdentifier
NextQueueEntryIndex
AdvancedInstallersNeedResolving
Note: If these are not available in your Windows registry, skip this step.

7. Now reset the Winsock by running the following command:
netsh winsock reset

8. Now we need to start the Background Intelligent Transfer Service, Windows Update and Cryptographic Services. To do so, run the following commands in elevated command prompt window:
net start bits
net start wuauserv
net start appidsvc
net start cryptsvc

9. Now make sure you have installed the latest Windows Update Agent in your machine if you are using Windows 7/8/8.1
Read this article to manually update your Windows Update Agent: https://support.microsoft.com/en-in/help/949104/how-to-update-the-windows-update-agent-to-the-latest-version

10. Finally, reatart your computer and try installing Windows updates. There should not be any errors now.

Keep visiting PC Tricks Guru for more troubleshooting guides.