Error when you download updates using Windows Update or Microsoft Update: 8000FFFF

On a Windows Vista-based computer, when you download updates using Windows Update or Microsoft Update, you may receive error code 0x80000FFF. You may also encounter this error when you launch Windows Update from the Control Panel.

This problem may occur if any of the following values exist in the Windows registry:

• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\COMPONENTS\PendingXmlIdentifier
• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\COMPONENTS\NextQueueEntryIndex
• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\COMPONENTS\AdvancedInstallersNeedResolving

To resolve this issue try the following methods in the order that they are listed.

Method 1: Restart your computer, and then again try to install the updates

Close all programs that are running, restart your computer, and then try to install updates.

Note Restarting the computer will make sure that all previous installations have completed and that there are no remaining processes that require a system restart before they can be completed.

If the issue is not resolved, go to Method 2.

Method 2: Back up and then remove the registry keys that may be causing the issue

Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: To use Registry Editor to back up and then delete the registry values that are listed in the "Error message description " section, follow these steps.

Note These steps are known to resolve this problem that is described in the "Error message description" section. These steps may not resolve the problem if you receive error code 8000FFFF in a scenario that differs from the one that is described in the "Error message description" section.

1. Click Start
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2. In the Start Search box, type regedit.
3. In the Programs list, click Regedit.exe.
   
   
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   If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or click Continue.
4. Find and then click the following registry subkey:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\COMPONENTS
5. Right-click COMPONENTS.
6. Click Export.
7. In the File Name box, type COMPONENTS.
8. In the Save in box, click Desktop, and then click Save to save the file to your desktop.
9. In the details pane, right-click PendingXmlIdentifier, and then click Delete. If this value does not exist, go to the next step.
10. In the details pane, right-click NextQueueEntryIndex, and then click Delete. If this value does not exist, go to the next step.
11. In the details pane, right-click AdvancedInstallersNeedResolving, and then click Delete. If this value does not exist, go to the next step.
12. Restart the computer.

To check whether this fixed the problem, go to the "Did this fix the problem?" section.

Try to download updates. If you no longer receive an error code, and the computer downloads updates correctly, the problem is fixed and you are finished with this article. If the problem is not fixed, you can contact support (http://support.microsoft.com/gp/assistsupport) .

Note Steps 6 through 8 in the "Let me fix it myself" section back up the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\COMPONENTS registry key to the file Components.reg on your desktop.

• If the steps in the resolution do not fix your issue you can use this backup to restore the registry key to its previous state. To restore the registry key, simply double-click the Components.reg file on your desktop, click Yes at the verification prompt, and then click OK at the confirmation dialog box.
• If the steps in the resolution fix your issue, you may delete the Components.reg file on your desktop.

These keys are written by the Windows Modules Installer service, TrustedInstaller.exe, when a package that requires restart is being installed.

PendingXmlIdentifier is created the first time that a package that requires restart is installed and is deleted after operations have completed following initiation of the restart.

The other two registry keys (NextQueueEntryIndex and AdvancedInstallersNeedResolving) are sometimes created after restart is initiated to maintain the state.

In some cases, problems such as power loss or registry corruption can put these values in an inconsistent state that can prevent a client of TrustedInstaller (like the Windows Features screen) from functioning properly.

Deleting these values has no known side effects. However, we strongly recommend that you back up these registry values before you delete them.

This resolution is known to fix the following problems:

• You receive error code 1935 when you try to install the 2007 Microsoft Office system.
• In Windows Vista, the Windows Features screen is blank.