FIX: Windows 8 Stuck on Failure Configuring Windows Updates
Windows 8 certainly wasn’t the most stable of all the iterations of the Windows Operating System that have been created to date. Among the most severe issues that Windows 8 may bring to your computer are those pertaining to Windows Updates. All versions of the Windows Operating System constantly receive Over-the-Air updates, which are meant to improve computers. However, on a disturbingly large number of Windows 8 computers worldwide, the process of downloading and installing updates often fails. This results in the user receiving an error message stating, ‘Failure configuring Windows updates. Reverting changes. Do not turn off your computer’ upon reboot.
In such cases, what typically happens is that the Operating System reboots the computer in order to undo the changes if the installation of the downloaded Windows updates fails. This is done to preserve the computer. However, most people who have experienced this problem find that their computer gets stuck on the ‘Failure configuring Windows updates. Reverting changes. Do not turn off your computer’ screen. If they force their computer to shut down and then boot it up again, they are greeted by the same screen.
Fortunately, this issue does not lack a solution. The problem of ‘failure configuring Windows updates’ can indeed be fixed, allowing the failed Windows updates to be downloaded and installed successfully. However, before you can apply a solution to this problem, you must first get your computer out of the ‘Failure configuring Windows updates. Reverting changes. Do not turn off your computer’ screen loop. To do this, you could either wait it out or perform a factory reset on your computer.
Wait it out
Even if you think your computer is stuck on the “failure configuring Windows updates” screen, it actually isn’t. Eventually, Windows will manage to undo the changes that the failed updates made, allowing you to access your computer like you normally would. Now this may take anywhere between one and, if your computer is terribly slow, ten hours, so you better get your waiting hat on if you plan on waiting it out.
Perform a Factory Reset
If your computer has been struggling to undo the changes made by updates for an unbearably long period, you may not want to wait until you regain access naturally. In such situations, you can perform a factory reset on your computer.
It should be noted that a factory reset for your computer can only be done if it originally came with Windows 8. If it didn’t, the factory reset will revert the computer back to the version of Windows it came with. This is also assuming you haven’t deleted the Recovery partition of your computer’s hard drive. The Recovery partition, a part of your computer’s hard drive, contains all the data needed to restore it to its original factory settings and condition. The process for a factory reset using the Recovery partition varies from one computer manufacturer to the other. For instance, to factory reset an Asus computer using the Recovery partition, you will need to follow specific steps.
Turn the computer off.
Power the computer on.
Press F9 during the early stages of the computer’s boot up process.
Press Enter to select the Windows Setup (EMS Enabled).
Follow the onscreen instructions and click on Next in the two windows that follow.
Select the Recover Windows to first partition only option and click on Next. Choosing this option will ensure that only drive C is formatted and the data on all the other drives is left untouched.
Follow the onscreen instructions to go through with the factory reset process.
Once you have gotten your computer to start working again, you can use any one of the following three methods to fix the “failure configuring Windows updates” issue. All three of the methods listed below have worked for countless Windows 8 users who have had first-hand experience with the “failure configuring Windows updates” problem, which means that at least one of these three methods is bound to fix the issue for you.
Method 1: Use a utility created specifically to fix Windows Update issues
Go here and click on Run now to download the Windows Update Diagnostic
Install the utility onto your computer.
Run the utility by opening it.
Follow the onscreen instructions to get the Windows Update Diagnostic utility to scan your computer for problems.
If the utility detects any problems, it will fix them,
If the Windows Update Diagnostic utility actually does find and fix any issues, it means that this solution was the right fit for you. Once the utility has fixed your computer’s issues, you can download and install Windows updates to your heart’s content, and all of them should go through seamlessly.
Method 2: Break the updates up into small batches and then install them.
Go to Control Panel > Windows Update > Troubleshoot. Let the Windows Update troubleshooter scan your computer for issues and fix any issues that it finds.
First, right-click on the ‘Start Menu’ button to open the WinX Menu. In this menu, click on ‘Command Prompt (Admin)’. Once in the elevated Command Prompt, type ‘sfc /scannow’ and press ‘Enter’ to execute the command. Allow the System File Checker to scan your computer for issues. If any problems are detected, let it fix them.
Go to Control Panel > Windows Updates > Check for updates. Wait for your computer to display all available updates.
Out of all the available updates, only select 5-6 updates of the same kind – the Windows 8 updates, for example – and download and install them.
Once the updates you selected have been installed, restart your computer
Check for available updates again, and this time, download and install another batch of 5-6 similar updates – Windows 8 Security updates or media codec updates, for example. Restart your computer once again.
Keep on repeating this same process again and again until you have downloaded and installed all available updates for your computer, making sure to restart your computer between batches and to download and install the DotNet updates last.
Method 3: Turn off Secure Boot and then install all of the updates
Often, the “failure configuring Windows updates” issue arises when updates related to UEFI certificate revocation, executed by the UEFI chip in a computer, fail. If these updates are part of a larger batch, this results in the entire batch failing. This is particularly prevalent in computers that come pre-installed with Windows 8, as they all possess UEFI chips. Fortunately, if your computer’s UEFI chip is causing the “failure configuring Windows updates” issue, resolving it is usually a straightforward and simple process.
Turn your computer off.
Power on your computer, and during the early stages of its boot-up process, press the key that’s necessary to access your computer’s BIOS. This key varies, depending upon your computer’s manufacturer and model; it could be F1, F2, Delete, or something else. If you don’t know which key to press, look for a message stating ‘Press (name of key) to Enter Setup’ during your computer’s boot-up process.
Once you are in your computer’s BIOS, look for an option titled ‘Secure Boot’ or ‘UEFI Boot’ in the ‘Security’ or ‘Boot’ tab of the BIOS. You are bound to find the option in one of these two tabs, but if you don’t, look for the option in other tabs of the BIOS.
Once you have found the Secure Boot or UEFI Boot option, disable it by highlighting it, pressing Enter, pressing the Down Arrow key and pressing Enter once again.
Save your changes, exit the BIOS, and reboot your computer.
Please proceed to the Control Panel, then select ‘Windows Update,‘ followed by ‘Troubleshoot.’ Allow the Windows Update troubleshooter to scan your computer for any issues and rectify any issues that are discovered.
Navigate to Control Panel > Windows Update > Check for updates. Download and install all available updates for your computer. Fortunately, this method isn’t as time-consuming as the second method, which requires breaking down the updates into small batches of 5-6. Instead, you can download and install all updates at once.
Secure Boot – or UEFI Boot, in some cases – actually has a purpose and plays a part in protecting your computer, so be sure to enable it once you are done downloading and installing updates.
