How to fix 0x800703f9 Windows 10 update error?

Question

Issue: How to fix 0x800703f9 Windows 10 update error?

Hey, I cannot upgrade to Windows 10 from Windows 8.1. I receive 0x800703f9 Windows 10. I have almost 29 GB free space on my PC, so I think it’s some issue with Windows Update Service. How can I fix it?

Solved Answer

0x800703f9 Windows 10 update error might occur when upgrading from old version of the operating system to the newest one. Also, it might be delivered during the installation of software updates. In some cases, the source of the problem is the lack of space. However, if you have plenty of free space on C drive, the problem hides elsewhere.

The most common sources of the 0x800703f9 error are:

• antivirus software blocks Windows Update service;^[1]
• issues with Windows Update;
• corrupted system files;
• issues with Windows registry.^[2]

Due to these reasons, you can encounter the 0x800703f9 error which prevents from installing important Windows updates. Typically, the error code is followed by these identified problems:

• Windows 10 not updating. In this case, you can fix the 0x800703f9 error by resetting Windows Update components.
• Windows Update failed. This issue can be solved by running Window Update troubleshooter (explanation given in the method 2 below).
• Windows Update problems. The right solution for this problem is SFC^[3] and DISM^[4] scans that are explained in the method 4 below.
• Windows fails to update. You should be able to leave this annoying situation and fix 0x800703f9 Windows 10 update error with the help of one of our suggested methods below.

Possible ways to fix 0x800703f9 error on Windows 10

In the first part of the article, we have briefly explained that 0x800703f9 error might be caused by several issues with Windows Update service or other components. However, all of the problems can be solved. Try the following methods:

Method 1. Check antivirus settings or disable it temporarily

Some antivirus programs can block Windows Update. This method should be helpful especially if you just obtained a new security program and hadn’t checked its settings yet. Therefore, you should have a look through antivirus settings and make sure that Windows updates are not blocked.

However, if this does not help, you should try disabling the program entirely. Then try to install updates and check if the error code 0x800703f9 shows up again.

Method 2. Run Windows Update Troubleshooter

If you suspect that the error 0x800703f9 is caused by problems with Windows Update service, you should take advantage of Windows Update Troubleshooter:

1. Download it from the Microsoft website.
2. Open the program and follow instructions on the screen.
3. After that try to install updates agains.

Method 3. Reset Windows Update components

The problem can be corrupted Windows Update components. Hence, you have to stop this service and remove them:

1. Press Windows Key + K.
2. Choose Command Prompt (Admin) from the list.
3. Type the following commands and click Enter after each of them to stop BITS, Cryptographic, MSI Installer and the Windows Update Services:
   net stop wuauserv
   net stop cryptSvc
   net stop bits
   net stop msiserver
4. Type the following two commands and click Enter after each of them to rename the SoftwareDistribution and Catroot2 folder:
   ren C:\\Windows\\SoftwareDistribution SoftwareDistribution.old
   ren C:\\Windows\\System32\\catroot2 Catroot2.old
5. Type the following commands and hit Enter after each of them to enable BITS, Cryptographic, MSI Installer and the Windows Update Services that you have disabled in the second step:
   net start wuauserv
   net start cryptSvc
   net start bits
   net start msiserver
6. Type exit in the Command Prompt.
7. Navigate to Windows updates and try to install them again.

Method 4. Run SFC and DISM scan

If none of the previous methods helped to fix 0x800703f9 Windows 10 update error, try running SFC and DISM scans to fix corrupted system files:

1. Run Command Prompt as administrator.
2. Type sfc /scannow and click Enter.
   
3. Wait until the scan is over and check if some issues were detected and fixed. Keep in mind that the procedure takes about 15 minutes, so do not stop it.

If SFC scam did not give results, run DISM scan:

1. Open Command Prompt as administrator.
2. Type the following command and click Enter: DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
   
   
3. DISM scan might take more than 20 minutes. After that check, if you can install an update.

Method 5. Modify Windows Update settings

1. Navigate to Settings app by clicking Windows Key + I.
2. Go to Update & Security.
3. In the left pane, you will see Update settings category options where you should find and open Advanced options.
   
4. Find Give me updates for other Microsoft products when I update Windows option and remove the tick.
   

Try installing updates. However, if 0x800703f9 Windows 10 update error shows up again, you might need to clean the registry.

Method 6. Clean Windows registry

Corrupted Windows registry entries might cause many problems, including this Windows update error. Therefore, you might fix those entries. We do not recommend trying to find what’s wrong manually. Please take advantage of such tools like Reimage to fix errors and avoid the damage.

Repair your Errors automatically

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