Fix Windows’ update process if it gets stuck

If your PC freezes during Windows update process, Martyn Casserly’s tips will get you back on track

As with any new operating system release, you can expect to be downloading a lot of updates and patches in the initial stages of running Windows 10. Microsoft has made automatic updates mandatory for the Home edition, so it’s not easy to decide when you apply the patches. There is a way to get around this particular

Fix Windows Update

It’s important though, to give the update a decent amount of time to finish. Depending on what is being done to the system this could take a few hours. It’s not the normal amount of time, granted, but it does happen. So before you tinker, and if it’s possible to be without your PC for a while, then it’s certainly worth letting it plod along for a while to see whether this clears the problem.

Another issue could be that of your internet connection. If the updates are at the downloading rather than installation stage, then a slow or problematic connection could mean that the update is struggling to make its way through to your PC. Again, time is the answer, or possibly resetting your router. One way to check the speed of the connection is to try using the web on another device and see if it can navigate happily or if it too gets bogged down. A more scientific approach is to navigate to speedtest.net and use the free service that measures the rate of your current connection. feature though, which you’ll find in our How to Stop Windows 10 updates guide on page 108. But if you find your PC sitting at a certain percentage value indefinitely, then Windows Update is probably stuck in a loop. Here’s a quick way to interrupt this cycle and get the update process back on track.