Error message: “The necessary service "Automatic Updates" (WUAUSERV) is not started or Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS) is disabled. Error 0x8DDD0018” or Error codes 0x80244019 or 0x80070422 when attempting to install updates.

Source: Microsoft Support

RAPID PUBLISHING ARTICLES PROVIDE INFORMATION DIRECTLY FROM WITHIN THE MICROSOFT SUPPORT ORGANIZATION. THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN IS CREATED IN RESPONSE TO EMERGING OR UNIQUE TOPICS, OR IS INTENDED SUPPLEMENT OTHER KNOWLEDGE BASE INFORMATION.

When you try to scan for or download updates from the Microsoft Windows Update Web site or from the Microsoft Update Web site, you may receive an error message similar to one of the following:

Windows Update has encountered an error and cannot display the requested page. The necessary service "Automatic Updates" (WUAUSERV) is not started or Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS) is disabled.
Error 0x8DDD0018

 

-or-

 

The server cannot find the requested URI (Uniform Resource Identifier)

Error 0x80244019

 

-or-

 

The service cannot be started, either because it is disabled or because it has no enabled devices associated with it.

Error 0x80070422




Additionally, the Automatic Updates Service may be disabled or not running on your system. You may also be unable to Enable and start the Automatic Updates Service.

 

This issue can occur if Automatic Updates is disabled on your system or if the Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS) is not currently running.

Note: Some Virus and Malware software can disable the Automatic Updates Service and cause this issue. See the More Information section at the bottom of this article for known variants that cause the issue.

 

For more detailed information on these error codes see the More Information section later in this article.

(http://support.microsoft.com/common/international.aspx?rdpath=4)

To resolve this issue, use the following methods starting with method 1.
 
Method 1: Download and run the Malicious Software Removal Tool (MSRT) and then check to make sure the required services are running

Download and run the latest MSRT for your system, the tool is available for 32-bit and 64-bit systems. This tool checks Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows 2000, and Windows Server 2003 computers for and helps remove infections by specific, prevalent malicious software—including Blaster, Sasser, and Mydoom. Once the MSRT tool has been run you will need to go to method 3 to ensure that the required services are running on your system before you attempt to install updates again.

 

To download the 32-bit version of Malicious Software Removal Tool, click here. (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=ad724ae0-e72d-4f54-9ab3-75b8eb148356&displaylang=en)

 

To download the 64-bit version of Malicious Software Removal Tool, click here. (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=585D2BDE-367F-495E-94E7-6349F4EFFC74)

 

 

For more information on the Malicious Software Removal Tool click the link below to view the article on the Microsoft web site.

 

KB890830 (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/info.aspx?na=49&p=1&SrcDisplayLang=en&SrcCategoryId=&SrcFamilyId=585d2bde-367f-495e-94e7-6349f4effc74&u=http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid%3d890830) The Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool helps remove specific, prevalent malicious software from computers that are running Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008, Windows XP, or Windows 2000

 

Important Once the MSRT tool has been run you will need to go to method 3 to ensure that the required services are running on your system before you attempt to install updates again.

 

 

Method 2: Reboot your computer into Safe Mode and then scan your system for possible Virus or Malware infections

Boot your computer into Safe Mode and then run your antivirus software on your computer to scan for and remove any possible Virus and Malware infections. Once you scan your system for Virus and Malware infections you will need to go to method 3 to ensure that the required services are running on your system before you attempt to install updates again.

To scan your computer for viruses, you must have an antivirus program installed on your computer. If you do not have an antivirus program installed, you can use the free Windows Live safety scanner to perform a scan of your computer. To run the Windows Live safety scanner click the link below to visit the Microsoft web site.

http://onecare.live.com/site/en-us/default.htm (http://onecare.live.com/site/en-us/default.htm)

Note: For more information on how to run the free Windows Live OneCare Safety Scanner in Safe Mode view the click the link below to visit the Microsoft web site.

968091 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/968091) How to install the free Windows Live OneCare Safety Scanner and then scan your computer in Safe Mode

Note: Scanning your system may take an excessive amount of time and at times may appear to be frozen or inactive. Please allow the scan to complete successfully.



You can also download a 90-day free copy from the following Microsoft web site.

http://onecare.live.com/standard/en-us/default.htm (http://onecare.live.com/standard/en-us/default.htm) .

How you scan your computer and remove viruses is different for each antivirus program. You should look in the antivirus program's Help system for steps on how to remove viruses. You can usually find the steps for your antivirus program on the Internet. To find them, type "scan for viruses" and then the name of your antivirus program in your favorite search engine, and then click Search. 

Important Once the MSRT tool has been run you will need to go to method 3 to ensure that the required services are running on your system before you attempt to install updates again.

 
 
Method 3: Verify that necessary services are configured correctly and running

Verify that services necessary to download and install updates are configured properly and running on your computer and then attempt to download and install updates again.
 
For Microsoft Windows 2000, for Windows XP, or for Windows Server 2003, follow these steps:

To ensure that the necessary services are configured correctly and running, follow these steps:

1.       Click Start, click Run, type services.msc, and then click OK.

2.       Double-click Background Intelligent Transfer Service.

3.       In the Startup type box, click Manual, and then click Apply.

4.      On the Log On tab, verify that the service is enabled in every hardware profile that is listed

5.      On the General tab, click Start.

6.       Double-click Event Log service

7.       Ensure that the Startup type is set to Automatic

8.        If the Startup status lists Stopped, click Start and then click OK.

9.       Double-click Automatic Update service.

10.     Ensure that the Startup type is set to Automatic.

12.      If the Startup status lists Stopped, click Start and then click OK.

13       Close the Services window and attempt to install Windows updates again.
 
 
For Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 follow the steps listed below:

To ensure that the necessary services are available and running, follow these steps:

1.       Click Start, type services.msc in the Start Search text area, and then click services.msc in the programs list. If you are prompted for an administrator password or for a confirmation, type the password, or click Continue.

2.       Double-click Background Intelligent Transfer Service.

3.       In the Startup type box, click Manual, and then click Apply.

4.      On the Log On tab, verify that the service is enabled in every hardware profile that is listed

5.      On the General tab, click Start.

6.       Double-click Windows Event Log service

7.       Ensure that the Startup type is set to Automatic

8.        If the Startup status lists Stopped, click Start and then click OK.

9.       Double-click Windows Update service.

10.     Ensure that the Startup type is set to Automatic.

12.      If the Startup status lists Stopped, click Start and then click OK.

13.       Double-click Software Licensing Service.

14.      Ensure that the Startup type is set to Automatic.

15.      If the Startup status lists Stopped, click Start and then click OK.

16.      Close the Services window and attempt to install Windows updates again.

Note If after following the steps listed in Method 1 and Method 3 you find that you still cannot download and install updates you will need to return and follow the steps in Method 2 to troubleshoot the issue. These steps utilize your currently installed Virus and Malware scanning software or the free Windows Live OneCare Safety Scanner while running your computer in Safe Mode to resolve the issue.

 

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

 

How to obtain computer virus and security-related support

 

For United States and Canada

 

The computer safety team is available for computer virus and for other security-related support 24 hours a day in the United States and in Canada.

 

To obtain computer virus and security-related support, follow these steps:

Before you contact a support engineer, make sure that you run updated antivirus software and updated spyware removal software on the infected computer.

 

For more information about how to obtain a free computer safety scan , visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://onecare.live.com/site/en-us/default.htm?s_cid=sah (http://onecare.live.com/site/en-us/default.htm?s_cid=sah)

 

For more information about antispyware software, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://www.microsoft.com/protect/computer/spyware/as.mspx (http://www.microsoft.com/protect/computer/spyware/as.mspx)

 

Call 1-866-PCSAFETY or call 1-866-727-2338 to contact security support.

 

For locations outside North America

 

To obtain computer virus and security-related support for locations outside North America, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/common/international.aspx?rdpath=4 (http://support.microsoft.com/common/international.aspx?rdpath=4)

 

The symptoms that customers see when affected by this Trojan activity varies depending on the operating system and the Trojan involved. Common Scenarios for these issues are based on Windows Versions and are as follows:

 

Windows XP, Windows Server 2003

 

Error 0x8DDD0018 can be encountered while scanning for or downloading Updates.

 

Error Code: 0x8DDD0018

Error String: ErrorAUDisabled

Description: Site Error:

 

Error description for this error: “The program issued a command but the command length is incorrect”. This is an error returned from the Windows Update Servers indicating that the Windows Update Client is not configured for automatic updates.

 

Scenario 1: Automatic Updates may not turn on.

 

There are several scenarios with which this symptom will manifest:

1.       Users may notice that Automatic Updates are not enabled.

2.       Windows Security Center may warn users that Automatic Updates are not enabled.

3.       Security Software such as Microsoft OneCare may inform users that Automatic Updates are not enabled.

4.       When the Automatic Updates are disabled, three of the services that are required are disabled, (the Background Indigent Transfer Service (BITS) service, the Event Log service and the Automatic Updates service). When the user attempts to enable the three services by setting the service to automatic; the BITS service and the Event Log service can be reset however the Automatic Update service shows an Event error  1058 (ERROR_SERVICE_DISABLED - The service cannot be started, either because it is disabled or because it has no enabled devices associated with it).

 

NOTE: Users will normally enable Automatic Updates however, users may not be aware that Automatic Updates may have been enabled by  AU EULA Enabled applications which perform this to ensure that the system is kept updated with the latest Security patches.

 

Scenario 2: Automatic Updates may keep turning off

 

Users are able to re-enable Automatic Updates but once the system is re-booted, the Automatic Update setting has been disabled again. This occurs when the Trojan that is disabling the Automatic Update setting is still present on the machine and becomes active on reboot.



Windows Vista & Windows Server 2008

 

Scenario 1: Error 0x80244019 was received while attempting to Download Updates

 

Error code: 0x80244019

Error String: SUS_E_PT_HTTP_STATUS_NOT_FOUND

Description: Http status 407 - proxy authentication required

 

When you attempt to download updates you receive the error:  “The server cannot find the requested URI (Uniform Resource Identifier)”. This is normally associated with firewall or proxy settings that are incorrect. In this issue it appears that the Trojan is intentionally interfering with name resolution to the Update Site. One example (though not correlated with the AU Issue) would be the DNSChanger Trojan (Trojan:Win32/Dnschanger).

 

 

Scenario 2: Error Downloading Updates 0x80070422.

 

Error Code: 0x80070422

Error String: ERROR_SERVICE_DISABLED

Description: The service has not been started

 

When attempting to connect to Windows Update, users may receive error 0x80070422 (ERROR_SERVICE_DISABLED - The service has not been started). The error states that the Background Indigent Transfer Service (BITS), the Event Log service and the Automatic Updates Service need to be set to Automatic. The BITS Service and the Event Log Service can be reset however the Automatic Update Service errors with 1058 (ERROR_SERVICE_DISABLED - The service cannot be started either because it is disabled or because it has no enabled devices associated with it).

 

Some users may also experience the issue of the Software Licensing Service will not start, regardless how high the user’s permissions.

 

The Event Log may show the following error:

 

Application Error

The Software Licensing service failed to start. hr=0xD0000022, [2, 4] License Activation Scheduler (SLUINotify.dll) failed with the following error code:0xC0000022

 

 

Automatic Updates may have been disabled by a Virus or Malware

 

Some Virus and Malware software can disable the Automatic Updates Service and cause this issue.

Known Pathogens that will cause this activity:

·         TrojanDownloader:Win32/Zlob Family (http://www.microsoft.com/security/portal/Entry.aspx?name=TrojanDownloader:Win32/Zlob)

·         Trojan:Win32/Vundo.gen!T (http://www.microsoft.com/security/portal/Entry.aspx?Name=Trojan:Win32/Vundo.gen!T)

·         Trojan:Win32/Vundo.gen!R (http://www.microsoft.com/security/portal/Entry.aspx?Name=Trojan:Win32/Vundo.gen!R)

·         Trojan:Win32/Vundo.gen!E (http://www.microsoft.com/security/portal/Entry.aspx?Name=Trojan:Win32/Vundo.gen!E)

 ·         Worm: Win32/Conflicker.B (http://www.microsoft.com/security/portal/Entry.aspx?name=Worm:Win32/Conficker.B)

 

 ·         Worm: Win32/Conflicker.C (http://www.microsoft.com/security/portal/Entry.aspx?Name=Worm:Win32/Conficker.C)



Note: for more information on the Virus or Malware click the item to view the information in the Microsoft web site.

To view information on the top virus and malware threats, click the link below to visit the site on the Microsoft web site.

Top Threat Detections (http://www.microsoft.com/security/portal/)

 
To search for information on other Virus and Malware infections click the link below to visit the site on the Microsoft web site.

Microsoft Malware Protection Center (http://www.microsoft.com/security/portal/encyclopedia.aspx)

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