A possible error has been detected in the Windows Update database

Handling Windows updates will always be an adventure that a couple of people will go through without having to go through various problems and errors.. Many people simply ignore these updates until Windows forces them to download them or until they are faced with an application that only runs on the latest Windows installation..

Many different errors can appear when dealing with these updates and fixes tend to be hard to find and you never know exactly what is causing the problem until various alternatives are tried.

Database error during Windows update

The error message “A possible error has been detected in the Windows update database” may appear during several different processes related to Windows update. First, it may just appear when updating Windows to a newer version. Other than that, can happen when other functions such as “Reparar Windows Update” the similar. You can find several different codes or no code, but the solution for each of them is the same.

This can seem quite frustrating to people struggling to update after several months of delay only to be faced with an error message saying something went wrong.. There are several solutions to the problem and you may need to try all of them to be satisfied with the final product.

Repair corrupt system files

Download and run Reimage Plus to search for corrupt files from here, if the files are corrupt and missing, repair them and then check if it still sticks, if so, try the solutions listed below.

Solution 1: use the SFC scanner

Microsoft's suggested solution to this problem helped an unusual number of people, unlike your other solutions that seem almost automated. Try this before doing anything else. SFC stands for System File Checker and checks your computer for faulty or corrupt system files and repairs them automatically.

1. Enter “Symbol of the system” in the search box, right-click on the icon and select “Execute as an administrator”.

2. Scribe “sfc / scannow” and press Enter.

3. The process should start and automatically repair the faulty files.

Running the SFC

Solution 2: use DISM tool

DISM stands for Deployment Image Servicing and Management and is a tool that can be used to repair and maintain Windows images. Microsoft also recommends it, as it can automatically fix certain problems.

1. Run command prompt as administrator as described in Solution 1.

2. There are two separate commands that you must use to complete the process:

 DISM.exe / Online / Clean-image / Health DISM.exe / Online / Clean-picture / Restore 

1. You will have to wait a certain time for the process to finish, but DO NOT cancel it yourself in any way.

Solution 3: manual restart of Windows Update components

This process is a bit more advanced and means that the entire update utility will be manually restarted and the update process will start from scratch. Follow the instructions below very carefully.

1. Run the command statement as administrator as described in previous solutions.

2. You can use the following commands to stop the Windows Update Services processes, MSI Installer, BITS y Cryptographic.

 net stop wuauserv net stop cryptSvc net stop bits net stop msiserver 

1. You must rename two folders, SoftwareDistribution y Catroot2. You can try to find them yourself, but it is definitely easier to copy the commands below. You can see the location of these files in the command if you want to rename them manually.

 ren C:WindowsN-SoftwareDistribution SoftwareDistribution.old ren C:NWindowsN-System32Ncatroot2 Catroot2.old 

1. It is time to start the processes that we finished in El Paso 2 using the following commands:

 net start wuauserv net start cryptSvc net start bits net start msiserver 

1. It's time to restart your PC and continue with Windows Update one more time.

Solution 4: use the Windows Update troubleshooter.

Windows comes with a pre-installed troubleshooter designed to deal with similar problems and it can definitely help once you run out of other options..

1. Open Control Panel >> Problem solving >> Security system >> Fix problems with Windows Update.

2. Follow the instructions on the screen.

Location of the troubleshooter in the Control Panel

Solution 5: delete some folders

1. Look for C: N-Software Distribution N-Download and delete everything you find inside.

2. Open C: NWindowsN-SoftwareDistribution and delete the Download.old file you see.

3. The update should start without a hitch.

Solution 6: restart windows

After other solutions fail, your last bet may be to just reinstall Windows without using any files because you can do it with Windows 10. First, you will need a USB or DVD to download the Windows installation as well 10. You can download it here.

1. Load the DVD or USB drive you use as Windows installation media and start your computer.

2. Select Troubleshoot on the Choose an option screen and click Advanced Options.

3. Select Restart this PC and Save my files.

Solution 7: use an automated script to restart Windows Update services.

If the Solution steps 3 they seemed too complicated, you can always use this script and get even better results because there are some functions that are not included in the Solution 3.

1. Download the script for Windows 10 build 10240 and later from here and for Windows users 7, 8.0 u 8.1 from here

2. Place it in the Downloads folder, right-click and select Extract.

3. Right click on the WuReset.bat file after extraction and run it as administrator.

4. Restart the PC after the process finishes and the message appears “Task completed successfully”.