How to Fix Windows Update Error 0x80070424

By ErrorFix · Updated October 17, 2026 · 8 min read

What error 0x80070424 means

Error code 0x80070424 is Windows' internal name for ERROR_SERVICE_NOT_EXISTS: something asked the operating system to start or use a service, and that service simply is not registered. In the Windows Update world, that missing service is almost always wuauserv — the Windows Update service itself. Update runs on top of this service, so when its registration is gone, every attempt to check for updates ends with the same confusing message, as if Windows is complaining that it cannot find itself.

You will usually see it in Settings under Windows Update as a failure to check for updates, sometimes alongside a services.msc list that is suspiciously missing the "Windows Update" entry altogether. This is different from the more common update errors like 0x80070002, which point to corrupt download data — here the problem is structural: the service that performs the download is gone. The good news is that nothing is permanently lost. Service registrations live in the registry and in a set of system DLLs, and both can be rebuilt with the steps in this guide. None of these fixes touch your personal files.

Common causes

• Deleted service keys from cleanup or debloating tools: aggressive optimizers and "debloat" scripts sometimes rip out update-related registry keys they should not touch.
• Malware or viruses: many infections deliberately disable Windows Update so the PC cannot download the security fixes that would remove them.
• Interrupted Windows upgrade: an upgrade that stalled or crashed midway can leave the update service half-registered — present in some places, missing in others.
• Corrupt system files: damaged update DLLs or dependency files can make a present-but-broken service behave as if it does not exist.
• Stacked update cache corruption: even after the service is restored, a wrecked SoftwareDistribution cache can keep throwing errors until it is reset too.

How to fix error 0x80070424 — step by step

Work through these fixes in order. Start with step 2 even if the troubleshooter finishes — knowing whether the service exists decides everything that follows.

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, restart your PC, and try checking for updates again. If the service registration is broken, this rarely fixes it on its own, but it is quick and rules out the simple cases.
2. Check whether the Windows Update service exists Press Win + R, type services.msc, and press Enter. Scroll the list for "Windows Update." If it is there, double-click it, set Startup type to Automatic, click Start, and apply. If starting it throws an error, or the entry is completely absent from the list, your service registration is damaged or deleted — continue with the next steps.
3. Re-register the Windows Update DLLs Right-click Start and choose Terminal (Admin). Run each of these commands one at a time: regsvr32 /s wuapi.dll, regsvr32 /s wuaueng.dll, regsvr32 /s wups.dll, regsvr32 /s wuwebv.dll, regsvr32 /s atl.dll, regsvr32 /s jscript.dll, regsvr32 /s scrrun.dll, and regsvr32 /s msxml.dll. The /s switch keeps them silent — no popups on success. Restart your PC so Windows reloads the freshly registered components, then check services.msc again.
4. Restore the missing service registry keys If the Windows Update entry is still absent from services.msc, the wuauserv registry key itself is gone and must be rebuilt. The most reliable way: on a healthy PC running the same Windows version (10 or 11, same edition), press Win + R, type regedit, and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\wuauserv. Right-click the wuauserv key, choose Export, and save the .reg file. Copy it to the broken PC on a USB drive, double-click the file, confirm the merge, and restart. When Windows boots, the update service is back in the list.
5. Reset the Windows Update components In an admin terminal, stop the update services one by one: net stop wuauserv, net stop cryptSvc, net stop bits, net stop appidsvc. Then clear the caches: 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 appidsvc. This clears any leftover corrupt update data that would trip up the restored service.
6. Perform an in-place Windows upgrade Download the Media Creation Tool from Microsoft's website, run it, and choose "Upgrade this PC now" — keep your files and apps. This reinstalls Windows over your current install and rebuilds the entire update stack, including any missing service registrations. It takes a while, but it fixes 0x80070424 cases where the registry key cannot be recovered any other way.

Did this fix it? Quick checklist

• Settings > Windows Update checks for updates without 0x80070424
• Windows Update appears in services.msc, set to Automatic, and running
• The regsvr32 commands completed silently with no error popups
• Updates download and install cleanly after a restart

If the error persists after all six steps, open Event Viewer (Win + R, type eventvwr) and check the System log around the time the error appeared — service start failures usually leave a detailed entry there. Also run a full scan with Windows Security, since malware that disables update services tends to come back and break it again if it is still present. Finally, check that you have roughly 20 GB of free disk space; cramped disks cause their own family of update failures.