Friday, August 17, 2012

Windows update error 0x8024402F

I run yesterday into a weird error, for which I spent half of day to solve the problem. It’s unlikely you’d run into the same problem, so this is more for me to remember what I did to fix it in case I run into this again…

Yesterday I upgraded my laptop to Windows 8 Pro and installed Office 2013 Consumer Preview (upgrade from Win7 Ultimate/Office 2010). After the upgrade, when I tried to install latest Windows updates, I kept getting error 0x8024402F.

I tried the Help page on the error code, I launched the troubleshooter there (which claimed it could be a problem with the server connection, and claimed to have applied fixes), but all lead to nothing.

Knowing in the past I had trouble with Windows Update I searched my blog, which pointed out to problems related to UseWUServer set when I joined CorpNet. I left corp.microsoft.com domain and joined my home domain, but that only cost me 2 reboots and still didn’t fix anything.

I searched the the net for the error code, I found more KnowledgeBase pages with more FixIt installers which also did not fix the problem.

From http://support.microsoft.com/kb/836941 I found out the error code means WU_E_PT_ECP_SUCCEEDED_WITH_ERRORS. Further searches on the named error pointed to a WindowsUpdate.log file (instructions for reading it are at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/902093).

I looked in the log file and it contained more error details like this:

1060 15a8 PT WARNING: ECP: Failed to validate cab file digest downloaded from http://www.download.windowsupdate.com/msdownload/update/software/svpk/2008/06/1319061_d1590aa04b224974f0cf46ee7937bda90a815268.cab with error 0x80246003

Great, now I was looking for a different error code, 0x80246003. A search on the error number on Internet didn’t find any solution. The only thing I could find is a KB page http://support.microsoft.com/kb/938205 where I learned the error code 0x80246003 is WU_E_DM_UNKNOWNALGORITHM “A download manager operation could not be completed because the file metadata requested an unrecognized hash algorithm.”
Further searches on the named error lead nowhere. I tried re-registering the cryptographic providers dlls, comparing with other machines where things were working, all to no avail.

I run ProcMon searching for failures (when in doubt, run Process Monitor), but again this didn’t help.

I searched the internal Corpnet site for the error code or named error, but that also didn’t lead to a solutions.

Ultimately, I searched the source code. The error code is returned from only one place, from a failed test checking whether test keys are allowed. This had 2 parts:

- checking whether I had a file AUTest.cab in %windir%\SoftwareDistribution folder

- checking whether HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\WindowsUpdate\Test\AllowSHA1ContentHash = (dword)1

ProcMon should have shown these as well (at least the first one, to begin with), probably I just missed the line between so many other failures.  Anyway, I set easily the registry value, but I didn’t have the file on any other machine where things were working fine.

After more CorpNet searches I found on http://mswikis/wukipedia/Wiki%20Pages/What%20is%20autest.cab.aspx where to get this test cab file (I needed to obtain a latest version anyway, since the file is signed and expires every 2 weeks).

I copied it to SoftwareDistribution folder, stopped and restarted the Windows Update service (‘net stop wuauserv’/’net start wuauserv’), and next time I tried Windows Update the update finally succeeded! After that I deleted the test cab file, and after that the updates still seem to work fine.

I suspect some internal test qfe was installed on my laptop when I joined CorpNet a while ago (giving the old ‘svpk/2008/06’ date of the update, suggesting some Win7 pre-service pack timeframe), and it was causing trouble now.

Anyway, I’m glad the problem seems fixed, but just in case here is this article to remind me the solution in case I run into this ever again.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

That's OK... but may you tell me please, where I may got that fuc#$^# AUTest.cab?

Alin Constantin said...

@anonymous: You don't. If you read carefully the post you'd find that's a Microsoft internal test cab file (that gets replaced with a new version every 2 weeks anyway). That applies only to the error 0x80246003/WU_E_DM_UNKNOWNALGORITHM. I doubt you run into the same thing. In my case I bet I run into this error because MSIT policies installed some Microsoft internal/pre-release update when I connected the computer to Corpnet at work.

Check your windowsupdate.log file for the error code you're getting, I bet it's something different.
Also look at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/902093, in the bottom of the article there are registry keys allowing to enable extended logging, perhaps you'll get more information that way about what's wrong in your case.

Anonymous said...

I'm installed Win 8 Pro MSDN release - and my problem exactly same like you described in your article! (same error in windowsupdate.log file, etc.)... But I don't know where get that AUTest.cab... You said find it somewhere....

Alin Constantin said...

@Anonymous: I work at Microsoft and I found the cab on internal shares, after digging through sources.
If customers like you are hitting the problem it probably means there is a broader issue than what I thought - it should be investigated by the people more knowledgeable with Windows Update.
You should contact Microsoft support http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/ or open a Connect bug http://connect.microsoft.com/ (I'd go first with Support site)

If you find a solution eventually, I'd appreciate posting here a quick note as well, I'm curious what the real problem was. Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Also had the same problem.
The fix was to uninstall Office 2003.

Alin Constantin said...

Interesting. I don't have Office 2003 (I have 2013 preview), but I have 'Office 2003 Web Components' installed. I'll try that if I run into this problem on another machine.

Anonymous said...

I have the EXACT same issue you have. So imagine my joy when I see a "fix" for it here, then, imagine how PISSED OFF I was to find that the link you gave for AUTest.cab is bad! So why not upload that file so others with this issue can use it?
Thanks,
-Clint

Alin Constantin said...

@Clint: Have you even read what I posted 2 times already in comments?
The AuTest.cab is a Microsoft INTERNAL cabinet file - I don't have rights to post it here. Even if I would, that file is certificate-signed and expires every 2 weeks...
As I said from the first phrase, this post is more for me to remember what I did to fix it in case I run into this again.

I suggest you try uninstalling Office components (like the other Anonymous posted, it could be some Office 2003 component to blame). You may need to double check the products guids from HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall, I seem to remember some older Office versions leaving components installed that didn't show in ControlPanel's AddRemove programs.
Or, contact Microsoft support.

Alin

Anonymous said...

I think 0x8024402F covers a multitude of sins/problems. For me uninstalling the .Net Framework V4 fixed the issue.