Tech Tip Daily

With the number of machines that I implement on a regular basis, I’ve run Windows Update quite a few times.  Periodically, some downright bizarre errors occur (hmm, imagine that).  Recently, I hopped onto a brand new machine to start downloading updates; Only, when I clicked “Install Updates”, I reached an error page telling me the updates had failed.  When I went into the updates history, I was given the error code “0×8020000e” as the reason for failure.  The certified Microsoft explanation for this error is “BG_E_VOLUME_CHANGED”.  How incredibly helpful.  So far, I’ve only run into this problem on XP.  Leave a comment if you’ve found otherwise.

The real answer (apparently) lies within corrupt data inside of the “SoftwareDistribution” folder.  “Renaming” (Deleting) this folder seems to fix the problem.  As with all things tech, there are a few ways to go about accomplishing this.

To solve this via command line:

1. Click “Start” and choose “Run”
2. Type “cmd” and hit enter
3. In the command prompt window, type “net stop wuauserv” and hit enter.  This will stop the Windows Update service.
4. Type “cd %systemroot%” and hit enter.  This will change the command line target to the Windows folder (usually C:\Windows)
5. Type “rename SoftwareDistribution SoftwareDistributionOld” and hit enter.  This will rename the SoftwareDistribution folder, causing the Windows Update service to recreate it (uncorrupted) next time it runs updates.
6. Type “net start wuauserv” and hit enter.  This will start the Windows Update Service
7. Close the command prompt and run Windows Update.

If for some reason this procedure happens to make things worse, you can replace the old SoftwareDistribution folder.  To do this, follow the same steps as above.  When you get to step 5, do the following:

• Type “rm SoftwareDistribution” and hit enter
• Type “rename SoftwareDistributionOld SoftwareDistribution”
• Resume with step 6

You should have any problems doing this (it should fix the problem).  However, in the rare event that it doesn’t work, you can replace the old copy of the folder.

Not comfortable with the Command Prompt?

Here’s the alternative way to do it:

1. Click “Start” and select “Run”
2. Type “services.msc” and hit enter
3. Look for the “Automatic Updates” service in the list.  Right click it and select “Stop”.  Leave this window as is
4. Open “My Computer” and go to “C:\Windows” (If your system volume doesn’t happen to be ‘C’, you can type “%systemroot%” and hit enter)
5. Look for the “SoftwareDistribution” folder.  Right click it and select “Rename”.  Change the name to “SoftwareDistributionOld”
6. Go back to the services window and right click on it.  Choose “Start”.
7. Close all windows and run Windows Update.

That’s all!  Thanks, and happy computing!