Rightek Rescue · Guides · Windows Update / can't reach sites

Windows Update won't work, or you can't reach any site? Here's the fix

Two common, related headaches: Windows Update keeps failing with an error code, or you're connected but can't load any website (or your browser keeps redirecting). The second one especially is often not a network problem at all — it's a hijacked hosts file or proxy, frequently left behind by malware.

Updated 23 August 2026 · written and tested by Rightek IT Services

What you're seeing

Windows Update stuck at a percentage, or failing with codes like 0x80070002, 0x8024402C, 0x800f081f
"Connected, no internet" — other devices work fine, but this PC can't reach sites
Websites redirect somewhere unexpected, or only certain sites (Windows Update, antivirus) are blocked

Why it happens

The Windows Update components (the SoftwareDistribution cache / servicing state) got wedged and need resetting
The hosts file was hijacked to block or redirect sites — a very common malware tactic (often blocking update and antivirus servers)
A leftover proxy setting (WinHTTP / Internet Settings) is routing traffic nowhere
The Base Filtering Engine / firewall service is hung

Fix it yourself — the manual steps

For update failures: stop the update services, clear C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution, restart them (a fiddly multi-command sequence).
For "can't reach sites": check C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts for junk entries, and clear any proxy in Internet Options and netsh winhttp reset proxy.
If it looks like malware set it up, run a full malware scan — otherwise it comes right back.

Which of the two problems do you have?

This page covers two faults that look similar and are not. Establishing which you have saves a lot of wasted effort:

Windows Update fails, but the internet is otherwise fine. Browsing works, other devices work. The update components are wedged — go to the reset sequence.
The internet is broken on this PC only. Other devices on the same network are fine, but this machine cannot reach sites, or reaches some and not others. That is a redirection problem — hosts file, proxy or DNS.

A quick test that separates them: if windowsupdate.microsoft.com and your antivirus vendor's site fail while everything else loads, something is blocking those specifically, which is deliberate rather than accidental. See clearing malware leftovers.

Resetting Windows Update properly

The full sequence, from an administrator Command Prompt. Stop the services, clear the caches, start them again:

net stop wuauserv, net stop cryptSvc, net stop bits, net stop msiserver
ren C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution SoftwareDistribution.old
ren C:\Windows\System32\catroot2 catroot2.old
net start wuauserv, net start cryptSvc, net start bits, net start msiserver

Renaming rather than deleting is deliberate — if this does not help you can rename them back. Windows rebuilds both folders automatically. Reboot afterwards and try the update again; expect the first check to take a while because the whole catalogue is being re-fetched.

If the update still fails, the component store itself may be damaged: DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth then sfc /scannow.

The full network-redirection checklist

For the second problem, work through all of these — fixing one and leaving another set is why it appears to come back:

Hosts file: open C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts in Notepad as administrator. Every line should begin with #. Delete anything else.
WinHTTP proxy: netsh winhttp reset proxy
Browser and system proxy: Settings → Network & Internet → Proxy, everything off except automatic detection.
DNS on the adapter: should be automatic unless you deliberately set otherwise.
Reset the stack: netsh int ip reset, netsh winsock reset, then reboot. A wedged Winsock catalogue produces exactly this symptom and nothing else fixes it.
Flush the cache: ipconfig /flushdns

Check the router before you blame the PC

If more than one device is affected, or the problem survives everything above, the change may be on the router rather than the computer. Router DNS settings are a known target precisely because they affect every device and survive a Windows reinstall entirely — which is how people conclude an infection came back after a wipe when it never lived on the PC at all.

⚡ The one-click way: let Rightek Rescue do it

Rescue restores a clean hosts file (keeping a backup) and clears a hijacked proxy , and has tools to reset the Windows Update components and the network stack. Its built-in Malware Scan checks whether an infection put the hijack there. On any working PC: download Rescue and choose Fix My PC (or the individual tools). Not sure what's wrong? It tells you free first.

Get Rightek Rescue → See it work

FAQ

I'm connected but no sites load - is it my internet?

Usually not, if other devices work fine. On one PC it's almost always a hijacked hosts file or a bad proxy setting - both of which Rescue resets. It's also worth a malware scan, since malware often sets these.

Will resetting Windows Update delete my files?

No. It only clears the update cache and servicing state - your documents, photos and programs are untouched.

The redirects came back after I fixed the hosts file - why?

Because whatever changed it is still on the PC. Run a full malware scan; Rescue checks the startup locations malware hides in as part of the fix.

Which Windows versions are supported?

Windows 10 and 11, live or from the Rescue USB.

Is it safe to delete the SoftwareDistribution folder?

Renaming it is safe and is the better move. It holds downloaded update files and the update history, and Windows rebuilds it automatically on the next check. Renaming rather than deleting means you can put it back if this turns out not to be the problem.

Why can I reach most sites but not Windows Update or antivirus vendors?

Because that pattern is deliberate rather than accidental. Blocking exactly those destinations stops you fetching the tools that would remove an infection, and it is usually done through the hosts file or a proxy setting. A general network fault does not pick targets.

I reinstalled Windows and it is still happening. How?

Then the change is not on the PC. Router DNS settings are the usual answer — they affect every device on the network and survive any amount of work on a single computer. Check the router's DNS configuration before concluding anything survived the reinstall.

What does netsh winsock reset actually do?

It rebuilds the Winsock catalogue, which is the list of network components layered into Windows' networking stack. Software that inserts itself there and is then partially removed leaves the stack broken, producing a machine that is connected but cannot reach anything. Resetting it clears those leftovers.