How to Fix Windows Update Error 0x8007000d

By ErrorFix · Updated October 16, 2026 · 8 min read

What error 0x8007000d means

Error code 0x8007000d maps to ERROR_INVALID_DATA, and Windows renders it as "The data is invalid." It is one of the most common Windows Update failures, and the message is telling you exactly what went wrong: the update package on your disk does not match what the update engine expects. Something between Microsoft's servers and your PC broke the payload — an interrupted download, a corrupted local cache, a file intercepted by security software, or system components so damaged that they can no longer read the data correctly.

What makes 0x8007000d frustrating is that it repeats. Simply clicking "Retry" rarely helps, because Windows retries the same broken local files instead of starting over. The fix is to break that loop: clear out the damaged cache so the next attempt is a genuine fresh download, and repair any underlying system damage that keeps producing or misreading bad data. Walk through the steps below in order; most PCs update cleanly again by step 3 or 4.

Common causes

• A corrupted update cache: interrupted or partial downloads in the SoftwareDistribution folder leave files Windows rejects as invalid on every retry.
• Damaged catroot2 signature store: this folder holds update signatures, and if it corrupts, Windows can't verify what it downloaded.
• Corrupted system files: damaged Windows components make the update engine misread even perfectly good update data.
• Antivirus or firewall interference: security software can quarantine or modify update files mid-download, leaving fragments that fail validation.
• Full or fragmented temp space: stuck temporary files and failed partial downloads pile up and confuse the update installer.

How to fix error 0x8007000d — step by step

Work through these fixes in order. Most PCs are updating again by step 3.

1. Run the Windows Update troubleshooter. Open Settings, go to System, then Troubleshoot, then Other troubleshooters. Click Run next to Windows Update and follow the prompts. Let it apply any repairs it finds, then restart your PC and try updating again. The troubleshooter handles the simple cache problems automatically and is worth the two minutes even though it rarely fixes the stubborn cases.
2. Reset the Windows Update components. Right-click Start and choose Terminal (Admin). Stop the update services one at a time: net stop wuauserv, net stop cryptSvc, net stop bits, net stop msiserver. Rename the caches with ren C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution SoftwareDistribution.old and ren C:\Windows\System32\catroot2 catroot2.old. Restart the services with net start wuauserv, net start cryptSvc, net start bits, and net start msiserver. Windows rebuilds both folders from scratch, which breaks the retry-the-corrupt-files loop that causes this error.
3. Run the System File Checker. In the same admin terminal, type sfc /scannow and press Enter. Wait for the scan to finish — it checks every protected system file and replaces damaged ones from a cached copy. Restart the PC afterward and retry the update. This catches the cases where the "invalid data" is actually fine on the network but misread by a damaged update engine.
4. Repair the Windows image with DISM. Still in the admin terminal, run DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth and give it time — it can take 15 to 20 minutes. DISM pulls clean replacement files from Windows Update itself to fix components that SFC cannot. When it finishes, run sfc /scannow once more, restart, and try updating again.
5. Clear temporary files with Disk Cleanup. Type "Disk Cleanup" into the Start menu and open it. Select the C: drive, click "Clean up system files," then tick Temporary files, Temporary Internet Files, and Delivery Optimization Files, and click OK. This removes stuck partial downloads and temp payloads that the update installer keeps tripping over.
6. Delete leftover download metadata. Open an admin terminal, stop the services with net stop wuauserv and net stop bits, then delete everything inside C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download (leave the folder itself). Restart the services with net start wuauserv and net start bits. This is a more aggressive version of step 2: it wipes only the payload layer, forcing a truly fresh download of the failing update while keeping the rest of the cache intact.
7. Install the update manually from the Microsoft Update Catalog. Go to Settings, then Windows Update, then Update history, and note the KB number of the failing update. Search for that KB number on the Microsoft Update Catalog website, download the package matching your system (x64 for most PCs), and install it by double-clicking the file. A manual install bypasses the damaged download pipeline entirely and applies the update directly.

Did this fix it? Quick checklist

• Windows Update downloads and installs without 0x8007000d
• Update history shows the previously failing KB as successfully installed
• SFC reports no integrity violations (or repairs them cleanly)
• No more stuck partial downloads in the SoftwareDistribution folder

If the error persists after all seven steps, temporarily disable your third-party antivirus and firewall, then retry the update — some security tools modify update files in transit. Also run chkdsk C: /f from an admin terminal and restart to schedule a disk check, which rules out the rare case of storage-level corruption. As a final measure, an in-place upgrade using the Media Creation Tool rebuilds the entire update stack while keeping your files and apps.