Hi. I have problems updating my Windows 7. I tried to use the automatic and the manual modes, but Windows never finds anything. It just keeps on looking for updates. I used the automatic update fixing software that Microsoft has made but it does not solve the problem even though it sometimes says that it has fixed all the problems including the update problem and a registry problem. It would be really nice if someone could help me. As a reward I can only give a million thanks.

kakku
Hi. I have problems updating my Windows 7. I tried to use the automatic and the manual modes, but Windows never finds anything. It just keeps on looking for updates. I used the automatic update fixing software that Microsoft has made but it does not solve the problem even though it sometimes says that it has fixed all the problems including the update problem and a registry problem. It would be really nice if someone could help me. As a reward I can only give a million thanks.

 
It's all about KB 3172605.
 
http://www.infoworld.com/article/3136677/microsoft-windows/how-to-speed-up-windows-7-update-scans-forever.html
 
Install this patch and your update problems should be solved.
 
You can always leave automatic updates enabled, unhide any hidden patches, and hope Windows update eventually gets this one applied.  Or you can jump right on it
 
Edit 11/27: Updated the link to one that works ... article dated Nov 4, 2016

I've had the same most vexing issue on my pcs. It sends my family pc into a tither at 50% cpu endlessly.
 
I've tried all the homegrown stuff I know as a former techie, including what you have astutely described as your attempts.
 
What has worked, I set the automatic updates to let Microsoft rule over my machines and household (in other words download and install everything at 3AM without my permission), I turn my head and cough and Walk Away, Joe Walsh style.
 
To my surprise, I get downloads in the afternoon, and the install by the next morning.
 
If I revert my settings, endless downloading and 50% cpu.
 
So I go with the flow and Let It Be.
 
It works for me...
 
 

In a worst case scenario, you can download an iso of an up to date version from Microsoft and do a repair installation on your current version. 
 
https://www.microsoft.com...ware-download/windows7
 
http://www.pcgamer.com/ho...-without-reformatting/

I had this problem back in September after performing a fresh install of W7 on a Laptop a friend grave me that had come with W8.0 
It was his daughters and she had made a huge mess of it.. it would not even boot, turned out the HD ( 900GB) was crammed full of downloads to the point the OS couldn't even open. 
The restore utility could not run because of this. I had to pull the drive and format in another machine. 
I tried to use the W8.0 licence with my 8.1 disk but 8.0 and 8.1 use different serials. So I grabbed my trusty W7 disk and managed a clean install. It's long in the tooth so it needs a tonne of updating. 
It would just sit and go round and round for hours and then say it couldn't update because of server errors? 
 
I went on a computer nerd forum ( NCIX)  and everyone was ranting about how MS was putting a throttle on the W7 updates bandwidth to make life miserable for those turning there nose up at W10. True or not it sort of seemed this way. They all claimed, as above, that the only solution was to set it on automatic and leave it alone for a few days.. This is what worked for me in the end. I think it took 5 days. 
 
I just recently inherited my mother in laws HP desktop. It is an impressive i7 quad core. sandybridge. 10 GB ram.. It came with W7 Home and a  1TB 7200 HD. The whole family has been messing with it for 4 years so I thought best to slap a SSD drive in it and re build. 
I used my same old trusty W7 Ultimate disk again but this time the updated ran smoothly right away and within less than a day it was 100% good to go. 
So possibly this is something at MS servers and there's a limitation on the bandwidth. 
Now that everything is a download you can see this happening... And just think of the crazy bandwidth that W10 update is using alone. 
 
 

A trillion thanks to everybody who helped and advised. I will try these fixes when I get back home. I hope the tips help.

abacab
It's all about KB 3172605.
 
http://www.infoworld.com/...ate-scans-forever.html
 
Install this patch and your update problems should be solved.

Sorry, the link is a dead end.
 
Go here: http://www.infoworld.com/article/3099109/microsoft-windows/microsoft-yanks-buggy-speed-up-patch-kb-3161608-replaces-it-with-kb-3172605-and-3172614.html
 
Or: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3172605

soens

abacab
It's all about KB 3172605.
 
http://www.infoworld.com/...ate-scans-forever.html
 
Install this patch and your update problems should be solved.

Sorry, the link is a dead end.
 
Go here: http://www.infoworld.com/article/3099109/microsoft-windows/microsoft-yanks-buggy-speed-up-patch-kb-3161608-replaces-it-with-kb-3172605-and-3172614.html
 
Or: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3172605

Sorry, apparently some Infoworld editors must have moved the article around.  Here it is:
 
http://www.infoworld.com/article/3136677/microsoft-windows/how-to-speed-up-windows-7-update-scans-forever.html
 
I corrected the link in my earlier post to the newer Infoworld article above. 
 
The article you link to is an older one, published back in July.

Thanks again guys!

Great! I just tried the Infoworld's tip and it erased the update problem. Thanks again:)