Windows Updates Fails Server 2008 0x80070490

windows-server-2008windows-update

I have a server with Windows Server 2008 Standard x64 Edition installed. This has been installed and running for several months and I have been able to successfully install previous Windows Updates. I have two pending updates that fail to install.

(KB967723) Security update for Windows Server 2008 x64 Edition
(KB976098) Update for Windows Server 2008 x64 Edition

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Fails with Error code: 80070490

Followed this off Microsoft support site, which basically says to repair Windows with the install DVD. When I get to the step to select upgrade I get the following error.

Upgrade has been disabled.
The upgrade cannot be started. To upgrade, cancel the installation and
then choose to upgrade to a version of
windows that is more recent then the
version you are currently running.

So basically feel like I've hit a dead end with out doing a complete reinstall. Any ideas ?

Best Answer

I happened to be researching this same error code this morning, and came across this MSDN blog post that might help: How to overcome error 0x80070490 when installing updates in Windows Vista/Server 2008

I was not able to get it working again by following his step-by-step, but the following did:

Open %windir%\logs\cbs\cbs.log. You'll likely need to run Notepad as Administrator in order to view it.
Go to the bottom of the log and do a find for "Error", making sure you choose up for the direction
This should bring you to one or more errors like the following:

2008-09-27 15:53:29, Error
CBS Failed to resolve Package: Package_for_KB905866~31bf3856ad364e35~x86~~6.0.22.0. hr: 0x80070490
Do a web search for the KB number of the update that failed (KB905866 in this case), which should bring you to a Microsoft page where you can download the stand-alone installer for this issue's patch
Download and install the appropriate version (32-bit, 64-bit, etc.)
The next time you run Windows Update, it will recognize that the update was installed.

Related Solutions

Email Notification Before Windows Updates on Server

The hanging during reboots is a very well known problem. I suggest changing the way the server does it's updates, especially not allowing it to reboot as part of the updating process. The method I've been using for a number of years with total reliability is:

Updates are downloaded by the server (in my case they are obtained from a WSUS server) as they become available but not installed.
Saturday night a script runs to install those updates but the server is not rebooted at this stage.
Early Sunday morning the server is rebooted using a batch file via the task scheduler. That batch file uses shutdown.exe to perform the reboot. It is first run to log off anyone on the server, then run again to do the actual reboot. Trying to do both at once is very unreliable.

Since implementing that system I've never had a server hang during a reboot. Prior to that at least one of the servers, sometimes more, would hang at few times a year.

In addition to the above I also have a batch file run as a machine startup script which emails me when the server reboots. I check me email first thing Sunday morning. If ever I don't have an email from each of the servers I know I have a problem, because either it didn't start the reboot or it didn't finish it. It doubles as a handy alert should a server ever reboot itself for any reason.

Update:

The install script I use (UpdateHF_v2.5.vbs) was created by Rob Dunn and is available from here. I have customised my copy slightly to suit my own needs.

The reboot batch file is:

@echo off
%windir%\system32\shutdown /l /t 1
%windir%\system32\shutdown /r /t 10 /c "Planned reboot" /f /d P:2:17

The batch file which sends the reboot notification email is (private information removed):

@echo off
c:\windows\blat.exe - -to "list of email addresses, separated with comas" -f "sender email" -s "Reboot Alert (Put the server name here)" -ti 30 -try 120 -noh -body "Whatever message you want" -server mail.server

I use blat but obviously you can use any command line email program you like.

Error 0x80070005 when installing updates from Microsoft Update

You can download the updates and install them manually.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/968816
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/961371

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms09-047.mspx
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/ms09-029.mspx

Best Answer

Related Solutions

Email Notification Before Windows Updates on Server

Error 0x80070005 when installing updates from Microsoft Update

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