How to Fix Windows Error 0x80070032

By ErrorFix · Updated October 26, 2026 · 8 min read

What error 0x80070032 means

Error code 0x80070032 is Windows reporting ERROR_NOT_SUPPORTED: an operation asked for something that the part of Windows handling it does not support right now. Think of it like asking a printer to print in a paper size it does not have loaded — the request itself is clear, but the thing being asked cannot carry it out, so Windows refuses rather than guessing.

It shows up most often during Windows Update, where the update engine asks a service or driver to do a job and gets this refusal back. It can also appear when a driver, a backup tool, or another system component makes a request that the current Windows configuration cannot honour. That is an important clue: the error is usually about a stopped service, a damaged cache, or an outdated driver, not about your files or your hardware failing. Your documents, photos, and installed programs are not at risk from this error, and the fixes below do not touch them.

It helps to separate 0x80070032 from its close neighbours. Error 0x80070002 means a file was not found, and 0x80070003 means a path was not found. Error 0x80070032 is different again: the file and the path may be perfectly fine, but the requested action itself is not supported by whatever is supposed to perform it. That is why the most reliable fixes are the ones that restore the services and drivers to a state where they can support the request again.

Common causes

• A required Windows service is stopped or disabled: Windows Update, the Background Intelligent Transfer Service, or Cryptographic Services must be running for updates to work; if one is stopped, the update request is refused.
• Corrupted Windows Update cache: damaged files in the SoftwareDistribution or catroot2 folders leave the update engine working from broken metadata, and requests built on that metadata fail.
• An outdated or incompatible driver: a driver that predates your Windows version, or one installed for the wrong device, may not support an operation Windows now asks it to perform.
• Corrupted system files: damaged Windows components can lose the ability to carry out requests they used to handle without trouble.
• Interference from third-party security software: an antivirus or firewall that blocks update traffic or hooks into system services can turn a supported request into a refused one.

How to fix error 0x80070032 — step by step

Work through these fixes in order. Most PCs are updating again by step 3, and the driver step catches most of the rest.

1. Run the Windows Update troubleshooter. Open Settings, go to System, then Troubleshoot, then Other troubleshooters. Click Run next to Windows Update and let it detect and repair problems automatically, then restart the PC and retry the operation.
2. Check that the required Windows services are running. Open the Services app by pressing Windows key + R, typing services.msc, and pressing Enter. Find Windows Update, Background Intelligent Transfer Service, and Cryptographic Services. For each one, set the Startup type to Automatic and start the service if it is stopped. Then restart the PC and retry the update, since a service that was just started often needs a fresh boot before updates behave.
3. Reset the Windows Update components. Right-click Start and choose Terminal (Admin). Stop the update services with these commands, one at a time: net stop wuauserv, net stop cryptSvc, net stop bits, net stop msiserver. Then rename the two cache folders: 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 with fresh files, which clears the broken state that makes the update engine refuse requests.
4. Run DISM and the System File Checker. In an admin terminal, run DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth and wait until it reaches 100 percent — this repairs the Windows component store that updates depend on. Then run sfc /scannow to scan and repair protected system files. Restart the PC afterward and retry the update.
5. Update or reinstall the driver behind the failed request. Open Device Manager, look for any device with a warning icon, right-click it and choose Update driver, then Search automatically for drivers. If the problem device is still flagged, right-click it, choose Uninstall device, restart the PC, and let Windows reinstall the driver. A fresh driver restores support for operations the old one could no longer perform, and a restart is essential so Windows loads the new driver cleanly.
6. 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 hand. A manual install bypasses the damaged automatic-update path entirely.

Did this fix it? Quick checklist

• Windows Update downloads and installs without 0x80070032
• Windows Update, BITS, and Cryptographic Services are running and set to Automatic
• No device in Device Manager shows a warning icon
• The PC restarts cleanly after installing updates

If the error persists after all six steps, temporarily disable any third-party antivirus and try the update once more, then turn the antivirus back on — security software is the most common remaining blocker. If it still fails, an in-place upgrade using the Windows 11 Installation Assistant reinstalls the current version of Windows while keeping your files and apps, and it refreshes the entire update stack.