Sometimes the solution is soooo simple:
The fix for me was to:
- go into Windows Update and
- change the settings to “Never check for updates (not recommended)”,
- click OK, and
- then change it back to “Install updates automatically”.
I’m sure that switching it off this way and then choosing any option that enables windows updates would have had the same effect. As soon as I did this, windows update went from having a red X to a green check mark that said “Windows is up to date” (even though it was not – but this signified that the service was now working properly). I clicked check for updates and was successful – several updates were ready to be downloaded and installed.
Source: windows update cannot currently check for updates because the service is not running window 7 HELP
–jeroen
