How to troubleshoot error 0x800f0990 on Windows 10?

You have to configure your computer to automatically download and install updates if you want to use the best version of Windows. Updates released through the Windows Update client are deployed to fix problems in the operating system, add new features, and enhance security.

However, the Windows Update client can encounter an issue when trying to download or install updates. Error code 0x800f0990 is one of those error messages that show up when such issues occur.

The error can appear while trying to install a regular update or Windows Insider Preview build. Most users currently facing the problem are Insiders trying to download and install the Windows 10 KB004296 update.

This article will show you how to fix the Windows Insider Update KB5004296 error 0x800f0990 if it keeps showing up on your screen.

What Is the Cumulative Update KB004296?

This cumulative update is Windows 10 Version 21H2 Build 19044.1149. It follows Version 21H2 Build 19044.1147. You can only get the update through the Windows Insider Program’s Release Preview Channel.

Users in the Insider Release Preview Channel receive Windows versions before their official release. These builds are more stable than those published through the Beta and Dev channels.

What Causes the Error 0x8000990?

The error can be caused by different system glitches, from problematic system files to network problems and antivirus interference.

To get rid of the error, you’ll have to resolve its root cause. That means repairing system files, fixing network problems, and resolving application conflicts, among other troubleshooting activities.

How to Fix the Windows Update Error 0x800f0990

We’ll show you all the steps to take to get rid of the error for good. You’ll have to apply the fixes one after another since you are not sure what is behind your system’s problem.

Before you start, confirm that your computer can access the Internet without issues. You can easily do that by opening up your web browser and loading a webpage.

Solution 1: Run the Windows Update Troubleshooter

The Windows Update Troubleshooter is the first tool to run when you’re dealing with update-related problems, whether you’re in the Insider program or not.

The built-in tool’s job is to check for problems affecting the Windows Update client and resolve them. Sometimes, it will return an error that it can’t fix, but you can use it to pinpoint the exact problem and fix it yourself.

Follow these steps:

1. Launch the Settings application using the Win + I keyboard combo.
2. Click on Update & Security on the first page of the Settings app.
3. Go to the left side of the Windows Update interface and click on Troubleshoot.
4. After the Troubleshoot page shows up, click on “Additional Troubleshooters.”
5. Click on Windows Update Troubleshooter and select Run the Troubleshooter.
6. Allow the Troubleshooter to search for problems and fix them.

Solution 2: Temporarily Disable Your Antivirus Program

Your antivirus program could be halting the update process and triggering the error. While this mostly happens with third-party security applications, Windows’ native antivirus program could also interfere.

So, disable the program and run the Windows Update utility to check if the error shows up again.

Follow these steps to disable Windows Security:

1. Tap the Windows flag on your keyboard to open the Start menu.
2. After the Start menu appears, type “Virus & threat” and click on “Virus & Threat Protection” in the search results.
3. After the Virus & Threat Protection window opens, click on Manage Settings under Virus & Threat Protection Settings.
4. Scroll down to Real-Time Protection and turn it off.

Solution 3: Turn Off Your Firewall

Your firewall is another security program that can block Windows Update’s access to Microsoft’s servers. Turn off the application and check if that has resolved the problem.

Here’s how to turn Windows Defender Firewall off:

1. Open the Start menu by pressing the Windows logo key.
2. After the Start menu appears, type “Windows Defender Firewall” and click on Windows Defender Firewall in the search results.
3. Once the program opens, go to the left pane and click on “Turn Windows Defender Firewall on or off.”
4. Select “Turn off Windows Defender Firewall” under Private Network Settings and Public Network Settings.

Solution 4: Restart Windows Update Services

Services related to the Windows Update client, such as the Background Intelligent Transfer Service and the Update Orchestrator service, might act up. These services must function correctly for your computer to install updates successfully.

Restarting the services related to the component could get rid of the error code 0x800f0990 for good.

Follow these steps:

1. Press the Win + S keyboard shortcut to open the search bar.
2. Type “services” into the text field and click on Services in the search results.
3. After the Services app opens, double-click on the Background Intelligent Transfer Service.
4. Once the service’s Properties window appears, click on the Stop button.
5. Go to the Startup Type menu and select Automatic.
6. Click on Start and select OK to save your changes.
7. Now, do the same for these services:

• Update Orchestrator Service
• Windows Installer
• Windows Update Service
• Cryptographic Services

Solution 5: Downgrade to 21H1 and Run the Update

According to some users, the previous 19044.1147 build seems to be the problem. If you installed this build, you can uninstall it and try downloading the latest update.

Here’s how to uninstall the update:

1. Press Win + S to summon the search window.
2. After the window shows up, type “Control panel” into the search box and click on Control Panel in the search results.
3. After the Control Panel window shows up, click on Uninstall a Program under Programs.
4. Go to the left pane and click on “View installed updates.”
5. Click on the KB update and click on Uninstall.
6. Click on Yes in the confirmation prompt and allow Windows to complete the process.
7. Restart your system.
8. After your computer boots, head to the Settings app, click on Update & Security and click on Check for Updates.
9. Now, download Windows 10 20H2.

If the above method doesn’t work, head to Microsoft’s website to get MediaCreationTool21H1. After the tool downloads, run it and use it to install Windows 21H1. Remember to keep your apps and files while running the setup.

Solution 6: Remove Temporary Files

Temporary files are created by system and third-party applications for short-term purposes. Sometimes, they can disrupt system processes and cause errors like 0x800f0990.

Get rid of your temporary files, and the error should go away.

Follow these steps:

1. Start the File Explorer by pressing the Win + E keyboard shortcut.
2. Go to the left side of the File Explorer window and click on This PC.
3. Right-click on your hard drive and select Properties.
4. After the Properties dialog window opens, click on Disk Cleanup.
5. Windows will scan your temporary files and display them in categories.
6. Select the category of temporary files you want to delete and click on OK.
7. Open the Disk Cleanup dialog again and click on “Clean up system files.”
8. The utility will calculate and display temporary system files in categories.
9. Select them and click on OK to get rid of them.

You can also go through the Settings app to remove temporary files. Here’s how:

1. Press the Win + I keyboard combo to summon the Settings app.
2. Click on System on the first page of the Settings app.
3. Go to the left side of the Display page and select Storage.
4. Click on Temporary files under Local Disk.
5. Windows will now scan your temporary files and list them in categories on the Temporary Files page.
6. Select the category of temporary files you want to delete and click on Remove.

Getting rid of temporary files will be easier if you use Auslogics BoostSpeed. The program is designed to automatically remove these files whenever they accumulate, saving you the stress of using built-in apps to delete them manually.

The tool can also get rid of corrupt registry keys and protect your hard drive against spyware.

Solution 7: Run the System File Checker Tool

System files play an essential role in the updates process. And that is why you will experience errors, such as 0x800f0990, whenever a system file goes missing or becomes corrupt. This could be the reason for the problem with your computer.

The good thing is that you can easily replace damaged or missing system files using the System File Checker tool. The program is a built-in command-line utility that checks for integrity violations in protected folders and repairs them by replacing the affected files.

Before running the System File Checker tool, you have to run another command-line program known as Deployment Image Servicing and Management (DISM). DISM provides the replacement files that will be used by the SFC tool.

Here’s how to run both tools:

1. Open the search window using the Win + S combo.
2. After the search bar opens, type “CMD.”
3. When the Command Prompt appears in the search results, right-click it and select Run as Administrator.
4. Select Yes on the User Account Control pop-up.
5. After the Command Prompt shows up, type the following line and hit Enter:

DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth

The command instructs the DISM tool to fetch the replacement files using the Windows Update client. Since you’re trying to fix a broken client, you’ll need a different source of the replacement files.

A bootable USB drive or Windows 10 DVD will work. Insert or connect the drive and enter this command instead:

DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /Source:C:\RepairSource\Windows /LimitAccess

C:\RepairSource\Windows /LimitAccess should be replaced with the path to the repair source you’re using.

The command operation may run for several minutes.

1. After the DISM scan completes, type “sfc /scannow” (don’t add the quotes) and tap the Enter keyboard button.
2. The utility will now check for corrupt or missing system files and replace them with a cached copy from the dllcache folder located in the System32 folder.

Solution 8: Reset Windows Update Components

If you still see the error, then some update components might be corrupt. These components include the contents of the SoftwareDistribution and Catroot2 folders and some DLL files related to the update process. Resetting them will get things back on track.

Before you start, you have to stop some Windows Update services. Follow these steps:

1. Open the search window using the Win + S combo.
2. After the search bar opens, type “CMD.”
3. When the Command Prompt appears in the search results, right-click it and select Run as Administrator.
4. Select Yes on the User Account Control pop-up.
5. After the Command Prompt shows up, type the following lines and hit Enter after typing each:

net stop wuauserv

net stop usosvc

net stop cryptsvc

net stop bits

net stop msiserver

After that, rename the SoftwareDistribution and Catroot2 folders to force the Windows Update client to create new ones and start the update process from scratch.

Type these lines into the Command Prompt and hit Enter after typing each:

ren C:\\Windows\\SoftwareDistribution SoftwareDistribution.old

ren C:\\Windows\\System32\\catroot2 Catroot2.old

Next, type “cd /d %windir%\\system32” (no quotes) and press Enter to switch to the System32 folder.

Now, type these lines one after the other and hit Enter after typing each one to re-register the DLL files:

regsvr32.exe urlmon.dll

regsvr32.exe atl.dll

regsvr32.exe mshtml.dll

regsvr32.exe browseui.dll

regsvr32.exe jscript.dll

regsvr32.exe shdocvw.dll

regsvr32.exe scrrun.dll

regsvr32.exe vbscript.dll

regsvr32.exe msxml.dll

regsvr32.exe msxml6.dll

regsvr32.exe msxml3.dll

regsvr32.exe actxprxy.dll

regsvr32.exe wintrust.dll

regsvr32.exe softpub.dll

regsvr32.exe dssenh.dll

regsvr32.exe gpkcsp.dll

regsvr32.exe rsaenh.dll

regsvr32.exe sccbase.dll

regsvr32.exe cryptdlg.dll

regsvr32.exe slbcsp.dll

regsvr32.exe oleaut32.dll

regsvr32.exe shell32.dll

regsvr32.exe ole32.dll

regsvr32.exe initpki.dll

regsvr32.exe wuaueng.dll

regsvr32.exe wuapi.dll

regsvr32.exe wuaueng1.dll

regsvr32.exe wups.dll

regsvr32.exe wucltui.dll

regsvr32.exe wups2.dll

regsvr32.exe qmgr.dll

regsvr32.exe wuweb.dll

regsvr32.exe qmgrprxy.dll

regsvr32.exe muweb.dll

regsvr32.exe wucltux.dll

regsvr32.exe wuwebv.dll

Once you’re done, type these lines and hit Enter after typing each to restart the Windows Update services:

net start wuauserv

net start cryptsvc

net start bits

net start usosvc

net start msiserver

Solution 9: Reset the Winsock Component

The Winsock (Windows Socket) component is a DLL file that holds network configurations. Web applications depend on these configurations to connect to the Internet. If the component is corrupt, utilities like the Windows Update client will fail to connect to the Internet, triggering errors like 0x800f0990.

Resetting the component will fix the corruption. Follow these steps:

1. Open the search window using the Win + S combo.
2. After the search bar opens, type “CMD.”
3. When the Command Prompt appears in the search results, right-click it and select Run as Administrator.
4. Select Yes on the User Account Control pop-up.
5. After the Command Prompt shows up, type the following line and hit Enter:

netsh winsock reset

Solution 10: Perform a Clean Boot

Sometimes, specific background applications could prevent the Windows Update client from downloading and installing updates. This could be why the error code 0x800f0990 keeps showing up.

You can fix the error by shutting down every single background application.

To stop background apps, head to the Task Manager (press CTRL + Shift + Esc) and shut down every open app. Restart your PC and try updating your system again.

If killing background apps doesn’t work, go a step further and perform a clean boot. Performing a clean boot involves restarting your computer without allowing unnecessary startup applications and services to run. This way, you can quickly determine if one of the startup applications is responsible for the update error.

Follow these steps to stop startup programs:

1. Use the Win + I combo to open the Settings app.
2. Click on Apps after Settings opens.
3. Go to the left pane of the following interface and click on Startup.
4. Go to Startup Apps and toggle off every app’s switch.

Follow these steps to disable startup services:

1. Press Win + R to launch Run.
2. After the Run dialog window opens, type “msconfig” and hit Enter.
3. Go to the Services tab of the System Configuration window.
4. Check the box for “Hide all Microsoft services” and click on Disable All.
5. Click on the OK button.
6. Restart your computer.

Once your computer restarts, try running the update. If the process starts without issues, one of the startup programs or services has been the cause.

You can find the problematic program by turning one service on and checking for the problem after restarting your computer. You’ll have to repeat the process until one startup service or program triggers the error.

Conclusion

You can go through the Microsoft catalog website to manually download the KB update and install it. However, this method won’t work for Preview builds. If nothing works, reset your PC and try installing the update.

Go to the comments section under this article to let us know how you fixed the error code 0x800f0990.