How to Run the Windows Update Troubleshooter in Windows 10

Use the Windows Update troubleshooter when an offered update fails to download or install. Record the failing update first, run the diagnostic, then retry that same update. A successful troubleshooter run and a successfully installed update are two different results.

1. Record what is failing

Open Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update. Write down the update's full name or KB number, exact error code, and whether it fails during download, installation or the restart afterward. Check View update history for its recorded result.

Press Win + R, enter winver, and note the version/build. Save open work and connect a laptop to power before an operation that might request a restart. On a work or school PC, give the recorded details to its administrator if update settings are managed.

2. Run Microsoft's Get Help diagnostic

Microsoft's current Windows 10 instructions recommend Get Help first. Open Get Help from Start and search for Windows Update troubleshooter, or open Microsoft's reference below and choose its Get Help launch control on the affected PC. Follow the diagnostic prompts and read any proposed change before accepting it.

Keep the final findings, including anything unresolved. If Get Help fails to launch or cannot connect, record that separately: it is not a finding that Windows Update is healthy. Try the Settings route below if it is available. Avoid downloading a replacement troubleshooter from an unrelated website.

3. Use the Windows 10 Settings route if needed

1. Open Settings > Update & Security > Troubleshoot.
2. Select Additional troubleshooters, then Windows Update > Run the troubleshooter. Older Windows 10 layouts show Windows Update directly on the Troubleshoot page.
3. Follow the prompts, then retain the result and any proposed next action.

Do not assume Windows 11's System > Troubleshoot path applies to Windows 10. Microsoft's MSDT retirement notice explicitly distinguishes Windows 10 from the newer Windows 11 migration; it does not say that all Windows 10 inbox troubleshooters have been removed.

4. Interpret the result and test the actual update

Restart when the diagnostic finishes, as Microsoft recommends, then return to Windows Update and check again. Allow the offered update to finish and complete any requested restart. Compare the same KB number and error code with your notes from step 1.

A useful result note has four fields: before (KB and error), action (what the tool changed), after restart (history/status), and next decision. This makes a repeatable comparison instead of an expanding list of unconnected repairs.

5. If the same update still fails

Check the basic conditions that match the failure: a working internet connection for downloads, available storage for installation, correct date/time, and any administrator-required action. Microsoft's broader update guide provides separate troubleshooting branches. An error code is a lead to investigate; it is not proof that every PC with that code needs the same repair.

For Windows 10 22H2, compare the KB and symptom with Microsoft's release-health page. As one documented example, its September 2026 USB-audio notice distinguishes a device problem after installation from a failed update installation and records a partial resolution. That distinction matters: “the update installed but sound broke” should not automatically lead to resetting the download cache.

For unresolved failures, provide the support technician with the edition/build, KB number, exact error, failure stage, diagnostic findings and post-restart result. If the problem is instead eligibility after end of standard support, use the Windows 10 ESU and upgrade-planning guide.

Documentation review: 9 October 2026. Checked against current Microsoft guidance, with a credited ASUS screenshot of the older Windows 10 layout. The release-health example is Microsoft's report, not a TCN repair case. This review does not claim a hands-on Windows 10 update repair.

Official references

Microsoft — Windows Update TroubleshooterGet Help and Windows 10 Settings instructions Microsoft — Troubleshoot problems updating WindowsPrerequisites and follow-up repair branches Microsoft — MSDT retirement and affected versionsWhy Windows 10 and newer Windows 11 instructions differ Microsoft Learn — Windows 10 22H2 release healthKnown issues, update-specific resolutions and servicing context ASUS — Windows Update troubleshootingSource of the illustrated Windows 10 controls