Windows Vista AutoUpdate error 8000FFFF
I ran into this issue when I got a new HP laptop. After going through the setup of the brand new PC, I found that I couldn't run updates. After some escalations, I recieved this fix
reg delete HKLM\Components /v AdvancedInstallersNeedResolving
Please note, that the engineers worked through quite a few logs on my machine to get this, so it may not apply to your case. After applying, autoupdate's been working like a charm!
Update: Jan 29/09
Robear Dyer was kind enough to point me to a new KB article that covers this and other fixes. Here’s the link: https://support.microsoft.com/kb/946414
July 9/09:
I’ve seen several comments on this command above not working. If so that means this is not the issue you’re facing. Please try the support link form the Jan 29 update. If that doesn’t work, please do get in touch with MS Support.
Comments
Anonymous
January 01, 2003
Hi Phil, you're most welcome. I couldn't find a resolution online too, which is why I posted it. I'm glad to see that it has been of use!Anonymous
January 01, 2003
Hi Guys, For those who found the fix unsatisfactory, I added the URL provided by Robear Dyer - that has 2 other fixes not covered by my post.Anonymous
January 01, 2003
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January 01, 2003
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January 01, 2003
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January 01, 2003
when i did this cmd said the system was unable to find the specified registry key or value help anyone?Anonymous
January 01, 2003
Hi Kailash, 8000ffff. Windows cannot locate the registry value set for that thing. How will I be able to update m computer? there any other way? Thanks, NoelAnonymous
January 01, 2003
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January 01, 2003
Wow!! after months of searching finally it works 22 important updates no wonder it was getting errors can i say it i love you seriously thank you KailashAnonymous
September 27, 2007
Thanks , this fix worked for me after spending 14 days on many other suggestions. I am very grateful for your post.Anonymous
September 28, 2007
Thanks, Update works again. I heard rumors about reinstalling Vista and whatnot, so I'm verey pleased to see a simple, working solution. Thanks again for posting! :)Anonymous
October 01, 2007
My tech ability is low. When I run "regedit" I see HKEY not HKLM and I'm not finding the files you listed. Can you help me? Thanks, RodgerAnonymous
October 02, 2007
Kailash, Thank you so much. I was able to find the file, delete it and now, 18 updates later, my system is current once again. I really appreciate your help. RodgerAnonymous
October 04, 2007
Your fix corrected my problem. Thanks KailashAnonymous
October 14, 2007
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October 18, 2007
I've opened up the registry editor and I looked under HKEY Local Machine and cannot find LM. I don't understand how to enter the fix. Can you help me?Anonymous
October 18, 2007
Where under Local Machine do you type in the fix and how do you do that? Could you give a step by step. I'm nervous about being in the registry. Thank you,Anonymous
October 29, 2007
Worked for me too. Thanks for the post. JimAnonymous
November 03, 2007
Perfect! Solved my problem instantly. Thnx KailashAnonymous
November 05, 2007
kailash, when i want to delete the command it says that "The system was unable to find the specific registry key or value" how do i solve it??Anonymous
November 16, 2007
thx: This worked for me after spending several hours searching.Anonymous
November 20, 2007
Thank you thank you thank you. Couldn't find this anywhere else - was facing a re-install. You're a star!Anonymous
November 22, 2007
Hi, i have just tried this and get error 80070002 insteadAnonymous
November 24, 2007
Thank you so much for this. I've searched the internet for months and contacted Microsoft support with no help. But this is wonderful and it's the one suggestion to solving this problem that I felt confident doing. Feel much better now.Anonymous
November 24, 2007
What a great Thanksgiving gift! I decided that this weekend - one way or another - I was going to fix this problem. After months, I found your solution. Thanks so much!Anonymous
November 25, 2007
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November 28, 2007
Thank you! I just fixed the error using your suggestion. I <3 teh intarwebs!Anonymous
November 30, 2007
thanks. solve in one second.. LOLAnonymous
December 01, 2007
hi now i get this error WindowsUpdate_80073712Anonymous
December 04, 2007
Great, resolved my Windows Vista update problem and also resolved my problem of installing Adobe reader 8 and Photoshop Elements 6. ThanksAnonymous
December 05, 2007
Worked like a charm! Thanks ... :)Anonymous
December 09, 2007
Thank you so much for this solution. I hope it does not have a side effect (!).Anonymous
December 15, 2007
Thsnks very much, I am a tech for a major computer company and just got this issue, and this post kept me from having to re-install Windows for a customer. Thanks againAnonymous
December 19, 2007
Thanks the command worked well for me and i am prompted for new updates now.Anonymous
December 30, 2007
Thank you, resolved the problem imediately.Anonymous
January 12, 2008
Hey guys, before do this command i must have uninstall this update KB929777 ? Cause i do all this work on cmd correctly but still "The system was unable to find the specific registry key or value"Anonymous
January 20, 2008
Letting you know that I've posted a reference to this blog entry in Windows Update newsgroup and the posted fix has helped to resolve 8000FFFF errors for many other Vista users. cf. http://groups.google.com/group/microsoft.public.windowsupdate/browse_frm/thread/e690844c67a01b6d/e62adc58475bff5e -- ~Robear Dyer MS MVP-Windows (IE, OE, Security, Shell/User) https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/profile/robear.dyerAnonymous
January 21, 2008
This fix is not working. The screen states that the file could not be found. Any suggestions?Anonymous
January 22, 2008
Kailash, You're heaven-sent! Thanks a lot. It went smoothly. I've been trouble shooting this for almost a week now. Thanks again!Anonymous
January 23, 2008
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January 24, 2008
Hi there, I tried this fix but windows says it couldn't find AdvancedInstallersNeedResolving... I got Vista Home Premium. Any help, please? ThanksAnonymous
January 24, 2008
i run this command but again same problem.when i run this command its showing there is no such key in registry.every time i restarting my machine windows update showing new update ready to install but when i try to install same error coming.I re-installed my operative system(windows vista ultimate) but no use same error....i have 4gb memory.please give me suitable solution.....Anonymous
January 26, 2008
Wow that seemed to work great! I was starting to get a little frustrated by this problemAnonymous
January 28, 2008
ok...so I did all of that, cmd, etc, pasted the "solution", hit enter, but then it asked me: delete the registry value AdvancedInstallersNeedResolving (Yes/No)? What do I do now?? If I write yes and hit enter, it says: error: the system was unable to find the specified key registry or value Please, help!!!Anonymous
January 30, 2008
Thanks SO MUCH for this, I have been searching for months also, and my laptop is brand new. However, I get "syntax error" for "reg delete" and cannot make it work. Any suggestions? (I'm just a civilian!!)Anonymous
February 02, 2008
I followed your fix correctly but my system responded with "The system was unable to find the specific registry key or value". Please help me to solve this also. I have 17 updates not installed.Anonymous
February 03, 2008
omg! ty so much. it took a couple of tries to get it right, but, working like a charm. i thought i was going to have to reformat my drive. you are truly my new best friendAnonymous
February 07, 2008
Hey Kalish, Thank you, Thank you, After I used your solution I then had error code 80073712 but I found a fix for that. Again, Many thanksAnonymous
February 16, 2008
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February 21, 2008
Wow this rocks! It worked on my Vista Home Premium machine and has solved all update related problems. To those of you waiting for MS help, just try this first. It takes just 1 minute! trust meAnonymous
February 26, 2008
Don't know if you heard about the debacle of the early SP1 update for Vista. I got hit hard. You are my saving grace with this fix. Rock on.Anonymous
February 27, 2008
It would not update!! Tryed the renaming of Software Distribution folder, also eleting PendingXmldentifier" "NextQueueEntryIndex" "AdvancedInstallersNeedResolving" under the registry key: HKLMComponents. Nothing works! Help, please.Anonymous
March 05, 2008
BIG: THANK YOU! Running: reg delete HKLMComponents /v AdvancedInstallersNeedResolving changed this dreadful error into something different, but then I applied advice from http://www.howtofixcomputers.com/forums/windows-vista/working-cure-vista-update-headaches-133816.html and everything now seems to work fine. Cheers, WojtekAnonymous
March 11, 2008
thank you it worked for me thanks againAnonymous
March 13, 2008
The reg thingie worked good! Thanks.Anonymous
March 13, 2008
I'm an IT professional and run into this problem frequently. I used this article yesterday to fix one Vista Business Dell XPS laptop yesterday. I used it to fix two more today. Thank you very much! I used Windows Explorer's address bar to enter: reg delete HKLMComponents /v AdvancedInstallersNeedResolving and after choosing Y (yes) on the command prompt. I still had to uninstall the 929777 update from Control Panel> Programs & Features> View Installed Updates and finally reboot.Anonymous
March 16, 2008
Thx guys, this works for me so far ;)Anonymous
March 23, 2008
Okay I had something similar happening a little while back and found a solution quite accidentally. I don't remember if I had the same error (8000FFFF) but i remember there were two possible errors one with a series starting with 8xxxx..& the other with 7xxxx... Now incidentally I had trouble logging into my homail account and I google for it and realised that it had to do with my wireless router (netgear). It seems that the default value for MTU in netgear is 1500 while pppoe prefers 1492. Simple i changed the value and viola not only Hotmail loaded but I could also get the automatic updates going again. I hope this helps someone. cheers, ashyAnonymous
March 26, 2008
I tried this, i tried uninstalling the update 929777 too, neither has worked. it says the registry entry doesn't exist. any other leads perhaps?Anonymous
March 27, 2008
Need help with error 8000FFFF. Trying tirelessly to clear error. Nothing seems to work.Anonymous
March 31, 2008
hey kailash, thanks for the solution. worked beautifully chees vinayAnonymous
April 10, 2008
Hi, I am receiving this error when I am attenpting system restore because of the AutoUpdate loop my computer is going through (3 out of 3 installing 0% complete, shutdown, restart & repeat). I tried the reg delete but when the computer restarts it goes straight back to 3out of 3 screen so I checked the registry and AdvancedInstallersNeedResolving was still there after I deleted it. What am I doing wrong?Anonymous
April 13, 2008
I receive this error when trying to run windows updates? any help would be great.Anonymous
April 14, 2008
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April 15, 2008
HI Kailash, I have tried several pointers from different websites and their suggestions but nothing has been fixed so I will try yours and hopefully it will work for me as well. There should be more people like you on this planet that is willing to share their knowledge to others. Thanks. Regards, NoelAnonymous
April 25, 2008
Before you do all of the things you have been told, First turn off you firewall and see it if takes it! I deleted all the files, pulled my hair out only to find it was my Norton Firewall! Too make matters worse after through downloading 8000FFFF, I got a message saying that the download was not necessary for my system. Aint life grand? But Then you must hide/ignore the download in the settings or it will never go away! FloydAnonymous
April 29, 2008
it worked thanks Go startregedithk_loca_machineConponponets then you should see AdvancedInstallersNeedResolving in the right corner right click on it and delete should fix the problem thanks again HerbAnonymous
May 09, 2008
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May 11, 2008
You're the man! Thanks for fixing my issue! :)Anonymous
May 23, 2008
Thanks very much. Truly appreciate it.Anonymous
May 28, 2008
Awesome man , I m a tech from HP Technical Support.I had a customer calling in for the same issue after contacting Microsoft.Well I followed your fix and it worked like magic. Thnax, ImranAnonymous
July 03, 2008
Hey man you are amazing this step is very helpful and it worked amazingly on my customers computer.thank you very muchAnonymous
July 17, 2008
Error 8000FFFF can be caused by amount or RAM in the system. If a system has more than 3.5Gig in the system Windows Vista or XP 32 bit wont recognise this so Vista SP1 needs to be installed to recognise this or XP 64 bit installed.Anonymous
August 03, 2008
Thx, m8! :) It really works, i`ve just reinstalled my windows vista, 32 instead of 64 and faced with dis problem. I hope there are no any side effect too :) From Russia with Love :DAnonymous
August 25, 2008
i tried this but get error: access denied. any ideas?Anonymous
September 07, 2008
Thanks a lot man SERIOUS, You don't understand how much this means to me.. I've reformatted once already today.. and it still came up and trust me people, if your still unsure about doing this then don't be, its worked perfectly fine for me and I wish i did some more research before I reformatted again... Thanks mate!! :):)Anonymous
September 19, 2008
Your awesome fixed my new computer right up!!!Anonymous
October 17, 2008
I did what u say man. The fix starts a MSDOS window and asks me if i would like to uninstall a large file. I clicked yes. Then i run windows update and the error keeps appearing.Anonymous
October 29, 2008
How it worked for me: 1 Klicked on start button and in the search field in the big menu in vista that pops right up i enterd reg delete HKLMComponents /v AdvancedInstallersNeedResolving then i typed yes and pressed enter and opend update again and it worked! thanks :DAnonymous
November 01, 2008
This worked for me! thank you sooo much!Anonymous
November 16, 2008
Thanks for the fix...worked a treat..much appreciatedAnonymous
November 23, 2008
This worked for me also and was really simple to do.... THANK YOU so much!Anonymous
November 25, 2008
Yeah. That did it. Have a Dell Prescision M90 with 4gb ram. Things worked fine until recently (same system config since January 2008). Strange thing.Anonymous
December 05, 2008
Tried it and now i have a different error number. Oh well, it was worth a shot.Anonymous
December 07, 2008
Thank you thank you thank you. Couldn't find this anywhere else - was facing a re-install. You're really a star!Anonymous
December 11, 2008
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December 15, 2008
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December 22, 2008
thx: This worked perfect for me.Anonymous
December 31, 2008
Thank you for the fix, it worked perfectly. I now got 16 critical updates and 17 recommended updates. Working great! PattyAnonymous
January 03, 2009
this worked perfectly thank you so muchAnonymous
January 05, 2009
PRAISE THE LORD!!!! I have just purchased my new laptop 2 months ago and having this trouble scared me to death! I'm not a whizz at this computer thing but your step by step insructions where the perfect fix!!! Now downloading 20 different updates but at least they are available to me!!!! Thanks so very much!!!!Anonymous
January 09, 2009
I am VERY tech savvy and I couldn't figure this one out for the life of me. The error plagued me for months and I could not find a working fix for the life of me. Your fix worked PERFECTLY. Thanks so much! You are helping a ton of people by publishing this.Anonymous
January 10, 2009
Thank you for the fix. Worked perfectly.Anonymous
January 11, 2009
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January 12, 2009
Thank you so much! After 2 frustrating weeks, something that finally worked!Anonymous
January 17, 2009
Hats Off to the folks who resolved this !!! Its working just fine. Thank you...Anonymous
January 18, 2009
Thanks so much, this worked for me also. I haven't been able to update for the past 5 months and hadn't been able to find a fix for it until now.Anonymous
January 21, 2009
Incredibly easy to follow the instructions and works as magic! Thank you so much!Anonymous
January 22, 2009
OMG!!! I did exactly what was said. Command prompt, typed in reg delete HKLMComponents /v AdvancedInstallersNeedResolving it then asked Yes/No and i typed yes. Then I went to my windows update and it asked me to download windows update update, so I did. And OMG it worked!!!! I had 70 updates to install and its been working great. I've been doing my happy dance ever since..much appreciated. xoxoxoxAnonymous
January 23, 2009
Many thanks, spot on fix. Could those slackers at microsoft please add this excellent fix to their databaseAnonymous
January 24, 2009
THANK YOU!!! that popup at startup was rly starting 2 tick me off and microsoft support is useless. Again ty!Anonymous
January 28, 2009
When I open Windows Update in Control Panel, I receive an error code of 8000FFFF http://support.microsoft.com/kb/946414Anonymous
January 31, 2009
Ppl plz stop saying thank-you, because he needs to see what some ppl been having issues, not seeing "Thanks!!." I keep getting "ERROR : the system was unable to find the specified registry key or value." Please some1 help meAnonymous
February 01, 2009
This link to Microsoft page fixed the problem automaticly http://support.microsoft.com/kb/946414 YahooAnonymous
February 20, 2009
Thanks so much. All the other fixes did not work and I was ready to re-install.Anonymous
March 17, 2009
Works Great on my HP DV2910US laptop, Vista Premium, I had problems with windows update it was hanging on de .net 3.5 update. After removing Registy items works fine agian Thanks!Anonymous
March 18, 2009
Thanks alot, my windows update was causing GB's of error reports but its sweet now.Anonymous
April 02, 2009
The link to: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/946414 was the ONLY thing that got rid of the error message. A million thanks to Robear Dyer and this blog!!Anonymous
May 14, 2009
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May 23, 2009
To make it easier: copy the string kindly posted by Kailash; go to Start > Run (Or use the win key + r) and paste it in the field, hit Enter. The cmd window will open, check the top if it says you're running as admin. In the black cmd window there should now be a question if you like to delete this key, type the anser (yes) and hit enter. That should be it.Anonymous
June 08, 2009
Code 80073712 now i get this error code after trying all the fixes and deleting the valuesAnonymous
September 19, 2009
PLZ. i have a problem for installing this update for windows media centre and tried to install it manually by the stand alone from MS and this didnt work. Also disabled firewall and antivirus and didnt work too. Does this fix help me or have any side effects cuz i baught a new laptop ???? I'll be grateful if anyone replies thnx alotAnonymous
October 15, 2009
Thanks alot pal, i've been looking for a solution for weeks now! I'd like to buy you a gift =DAnonymous
November 03, 2009
10x man. I spent 2 days to fix this issue.Anonymous
December 27, 2009
This solved it!! i waited a while t troubleshoot it. Waiting for 52 updates to install now. So happy Thank You!Anonymous
January 04, 2010
The "reg delete HKLMComponents /v AdvancedInstallersNeedResolving" trick solved my problem as well. Thanks. I have searched several other places with no luck. Glenn Petersen, DKAnonymous
January 15, 2010
Thank you it's been a month with this and the fir was so easy .I very happy :) I had to go regedit way but it workedAnonymous
February 21, 2010
Deleting the "AdvancedInstallersNeedResolving" reg edit worked perfectly. I've been working on this for hours and hours and all other suggestions didn't work. One million thank you's!!!Anonymous
March 19, 2010
Kailash, I'm dancing for joy!! Thank you for helping with this issue--downloading updates now. I'm bookmarking your page forever after this miracle! Thanx again for sharing.Anonymous
March 25, 2010
Thanks, id spent ages trying and looking ofr a solution until i found this, worked first time.Anonymous
March 27, 2010
I think that a Registry Cleaner would kick this issue on the curb. I mean I have a Registry Cleaner, and it does me wonders. My system is constantly scanned, and all my issues are pretty well taken care of all the time. And it is quick too. Give it a shot, there are tons of them out there...Anonymous
July 10, 2010
This also seems to have worked for me. I have been searching for a solution for a very long time. Thank you so much!Anonymous
November 23, 2010
thx so much: This worked for me after spending several weeks searching!!!Anonymous
January 24, 2011
This worked for me, installing Vista SP1 on an Asus laptop PC that had only just been connected to the Internet. This is one of those 'gold nugget' posts that continues to help people for years after it was originally made!Anonymous
April 21, 2011
When, if ever, you see a change to the registry here's a helpful tip that you can use to look before you actually do something. The registry is identical to a text file and you can search it like a text file. In this case I would be looking for advancedinstallersneedresolving press Ctl-F and put advancedinstallersneedresolving into the search window and hit enter. The registry will be searched for that text string. This is a fast way, sometimes, to get to the key you want to change, also. And it can quickly verify that what you intend to look at, maybe change, is actually in the registry. All this and no need to open it and perhaps accidentally change something.