Windows Updates installation fails - has never happened before

Question

I am running W2K3, have Windows auto update enabled and things have been running smoothly for a long time, but the last time I have OK'ed to install downloaded updates all of them have failed.

Any ideas what to do?

Answer 1

1. First, close any opened Internet Explorer windows.
2. Locate and empty the folder C:\WINDOWS\SoftwareDistribution\Download
3. Reboot and relaunch windows update

Answer 2

When that happened to me, it was due to running out of disk space. I suggest checking your free disk space. If this is the problem, you might want to read the answers to "what is the best file utility cleanup tool for windows xp?".