How to Fix Fix Error 0x80070042 — Windows Update Service Request Timeout on Windows
Getting Windows error 0x80070042? Update service request timed out? Windows Update stuck waiting for server response? Update download hangs with timeout error? Service connection lost during update? Fix error code 0x80070042.
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Main Troubleshooting Guide
How to Fix Windows Update Errors →Complete symptoms, causes, and step-by-step solutions
Symptoms
You might be experiencing this problem if you notice:
- •Windows Update fails with error code 0x80070042
- •Update download starts but times out partway through
- •Check for updates hangs then reports service timeout
- •Feature update installation fails with 0x80070042
- •Windows Update service shows request expired error
- •Multiple updates fail simultaneously with timeout errors
Common Causes
- ⚠Windows Update service connection timed out
- ⚠Network instability causing dropped update requests
- ⚠Firewall or proxy blocking sustained update connections
- ⚠Windows Update cache corrupted causing retry loops
- ⚠Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS) misconfigured
- ⚠DNS resolution delays slowing update server connections
Solutions
Solution 1: Reset Update Services and Cache
- 1Stop update services:
- 2CMD as Admin:
- 3net stop wuauserv
- 4net stop bits
- 5net stop cryptsvc
- 6Clear the update cache:
- 7rd /s /q C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution
- 8rd /s /q C:\Windows\System32\catroot2
- 9Restart services:
- 10net start cryptsvc
- 11net start bits
- 12net start wuauserv
- 13Try checking for updates again
Solution 2: Fix BITS and Network Configuration
- 1Reset BITS service:
- 2CMD as Admin:
- 3bitsadmin /reset /allusers
- 4Flush DNS and reset network:
- 5ipconfig /flushdns
- 6netsh winsock reset
- 7netsh int ip reset
- 8Check proxy settings:
- 9netsh winhttp show proxy
- 10If proxy is set and shouldnt be:
- 11netsh winhttp reset proxy
- 12Restart PC and retry updates
Solution 3: Repair System Components
- 1Run system file repair:
- 2CMD as Admin:
- 3sfc /scannow
- 4DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
- 5Re-register update DLLs:
- 6regsvr32 wuaueng.dll
- 7regsvr32 wuapi.dll
- 8regsvr32 wups.dll
- 9regsvr32 wups2.dll
- 10regsvr32 wuwebv.dll
- 11If still failing: download update from Microsoft Update Catalog
- 12Install manually to bypass the timeout issue
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