Windows 7 Updates seem to get stuck in a loop after a fresh install. With a few simple manual updates you can get things working correctly.
–UPDATE – I’ve been seeing a lot of reports from people about a new step to take. Before installing the updates in this how-to you may want to try disabling Windows Updates.
UPDATE 2 – it seems that this is getting more and more difficult. I would urge anyone reading this to read all the steps (and the conclusion) along with the pages of comments before giving up.
5 Steps total
Step 1: Make sure you have SP1 installed
Most people have media with SP1 already in it, but if yours is older it may not be included. If not, install it before anything else.
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/15090/windows-7-install-service-pack-1-sp1
Step 2: Install IE11
Some of the MS pages don’t work correctly with older versions of IE so getting IE11 installed first is a good idea.
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/18520/download-internet-explorer-11-offline-installer
Step 3: Install KB3050265
This seems to be the key to everything. Windows Updates and many later manual updates will just spin for hours on end until this one is installed.
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3050265
Step 4: Install the Windows 7 rollup
This is the closest to SP2 that we’ll ever see for Windows 7. It includes most updates released after SP1 up until April 2016. It’s much faster than downloading and installing all of them individually via Windows Updates.
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3125574
NOTE: Read the Prerequisites section in the link. You will probably need to install “April 2015 servicing stack update for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 (KB3020369).” KB3020369 may not require a reboot. Reboot anyway!
Step 5: Install July 2016 update rollup
NOTE – adding this step 10/26/16 after reports that it helps move things along.
Install the July 2016 update rollup for Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3172605
After the above steps finish you should be able to install the rest of your needed updates normally, via Windows Updates. The first time you run it, though, it may still take several hours. Just be patient.
Alternatively, you can bypass Windows Updates completely with WSUSOffline – this will download the updates all at once, then install them (reboots and all) automatically. See link below.Published: Aug 29th, 2016 ยท Last Updated: Dec 9th, 2016