PC Windows Update Error Codes List: Every Code on One Page
You do not need to read this whole page. If Windows Update stopped and showed a code like 0x80072EE2, you only need to find that one code, learn what it means in plain English, and follow the link to its fix. That should take seconds.
This page is the index for the Windows Update family only. The codes are grouped by the part of the update that failed, so codes that look alike sit together. It is separate from the broader A-Z index, which covers Windows error codes from outside Windows Update as well.
Each entry here gives you a one-line meaning and a link to that code's own page. The step-by-step fixes live on those pages, so they are not repeated here. Find your code, check the meaning matches, and click through.
Part of the Windows Error Codes in Plain English: Look Up Any Code series, the pillar guide for this cluster.
How to Use This List and Find Your Exact Code
You should be able to find your code in under a minute. Use the prefix links at the top of each group below to jump straight to a family, or press Ctrl+F on Windows (Find on Page on a phone) and type your code.
Search for the full code exactly as it appears on your screen, including the 0x at the start. For example, type 0x80072EE2 in full, not just 80072.
Match the whole code, not only the opening digits. Codes that start the same way can mean different things, so a near match can send you to the wrong page.
This list gives you a one-line meaning for each code and a link to that code's own page. The full numbered fix steps are on that linked page, not here, so open it once you have found your exact code.
Codes 0x80004005 and 0x80070: Missing Files, Access and Wrong Settings
These are some of the most searched update codes. In plain English, they usually mean Windows looked for a file or folder, tried to open it, or used a setting, and something in that step did not match what the update expected.
Read down in code order and open the link that matches your full code. Each row gives the meaning only. The numbered fix is on the code's own page.
0x80004005: Unspecified error. Windows did not give a more exact reason, so its page narrows the code down by where and when it appeared.
0x80070002: File not found. Windows could not find a file the update needed.
0x80070003: Path not found. Windows could not find the folder location the update pointed to.
0x80070005: Access denied. Windows was blocked from opening or changing something the update needed.
0x8007000D: Invalid data. Information the update was given did not match the form Windows expected. Look for this code in site search or the A-Z index, as it has no page in this family.
0x80070020: File in use by another process. Another program was using a file the update needed. Look for this code in site search or the A-Z index, as it has no page in this family.
0x80070057: The parameter is incorrect. A value or setting passed to Windows was not valid for the update.
Two codes in this list, 0x80004005 and 0x80070057, also appear outside Windows Update, for example during other tasks on the PC. Their own pages separate the update meaning from those other contexts, so follow the section that matches where you saw the code.
Connection, Service and Update-Agent Codes: 0x80072, 0x800704 and 0x8024
These codes cover the download phase, when an update could not start or never fully arrived on the way from Microsoft to your computer. The three groups below use plain labels for what went wrong, so you can sort your code even if you only caught part of it. All codes are in code order inside each group.
'Could not reach Microsoft' covers the 0x80072 codes. Windows tried to contact the update service, and the contact failed, timed out, or broke off partway through. 0x80072EE2: timed out waiting for a response. 0x80072EE7: the update server's name could not be found. 0x80072EFD: Windows could not connect. 0x80072EFE: the connection ended before the download finished. 0x80072F8F: a security error stopped the secure connection.
'A service was off' covers the 0x800704 codes. These point to a service on your own computer that was off, missing, or too slow to answer when Windows Update needed it. 0x8007041D: a needed service did not respond in time. 0x80070422: the service Windows Update needs is turned off. 0x80070424: the needed service does not exist. Checks and fixes are on each code's own page.
'The update service itself reported a problem' covers the 0x8024 codes. Windows Update started the job, reported that a check, a download, or the operation did not finish. 0x8024001E: Windows Update stopped before the operation finished. 0x80240022: the operation failed for all updates offered. 0x80240034: an update failed to download. 0x8024401C: checking for updates timed out. 0x80244022: the update server was unavailable. Open your code for the fix.
Damaged Files, Missing Sources and Installer Codes: 0x80073, 0x800F and 0x800706
This group is different from the connection and service codes above. Those were download problems, where an update could not start or never fully arrived. These codes are install problems. The download arrived, but Windows could not put it in place, because a file it needed was damaged, missing, or could not be read from its source. It often appears late in the process.
Read the list in code order and select the exact code you saw. The 0x80073 codes point more closely to damaged or missing update files. 0x80070643: fatal error during installation. 0x80073701: a needed resource is missing. 0x80073712: update files are damaged. 0x800F081F: source files cannot be found. A close match is not enough here, because two codes in this group can point to different missing files.
You may also see other codes that start with 0x800F. In plain English, they usually mean a payload or source Windows needs is not available, so the install stops before it finishes. Search the full code you saw, because the last digits change the meaning and send you to a different page for the fix. Do not swap one 0x800F code for another.
Take extra care with 0x80070643. The same code can appear with a regular Windows update, a Microsoft Defender update, or a .NET update. Check the update name shown with the error first. Its own page separates those three cases, so you can follow the case that matches yours. The repairs for every code in this section live on that code's own page, not on this list.
Feature-Update Codes Starting 0xC190: When a Big New Version Fails
The codes starting 0xC190 belong to feature updates, not monthly updates. A feature update is a large upgrade to a new version of Windows 10 or Windows 11, delivered through Windows Update. Keep this family separate in your search, because a monthly update code will not explain a failed version upgrade.
Match the full code below, in code order, and follow its link to the site search or the broader A-Z index: 0xC1900101: a driver problem stopped the upgrade. 0xC1900107: cleanup from a previous installation attempt is still pending. 0xC1900208: an incompatible app is blocking the upgrade.
Check both places before you search. The same failed upgrade can show a 0xC190 code on screen and a different code in Windows Update history. Neither code replaces the other, so search each one in full, exactly as it appears, and compare what each entry says about that attempt.
If your 0xC190 code is not listed here, do not use the closest row. A different final digit can point to a different cause. Search the exact code in the site search or the A-Z index instead, where codes outside this short list are covered. Meanings on this page stay to one line.
Can't Find Your Code, or There Is No Code at All?
Check the code once more before you search again. Windows Update codes use the number 0, not the letter O, and one missing or changed digit can point to a different code. Copy every character exactly as it appears, including the 0x at the start.
If it is still not here, try the Lookup tool and the broader A-Z index. That index covers Windows code families outside Windows Update, so a code from another part of Windows may be listed there instead.
If you have no code, go by the problem you can see. An update stuck at one percentage belongs on the Stuck Update page. A failed entry in Update History with a KB number belongs on the Update History page.
Some codes also sit outside this update list. Blue screen stop codes and ESU enrollment failures have their own sections, and printer codes 0x00000709 and 0x0000011b do too. Follow the link for your type of problem, since those codes are not listed here.
Conclusion
You came to this page for one code, not a lesson in Windows Update. Once you have matched it and read what it means in plain English, the useful next step is its own page, where the checks are laid out for that code alone.
Keep the full code handy as you go. It is the quickest way back to the right page if you need to return later, and it will help you tell quickly whether a new error is the same problem or a different one.