How to Fix the Windows Update Error 0x80070002

Windows operating systems are con­fig­ured as standard to search for the newest updates once they’re connected to the internet. However, you can also start the search for the latest updates manually in the Update Center. It’s certainly advisable to use one of these two options. After all, without regular Windows updates, you not only miss out on the latest features of Windows and other Microsoft ap­pli­ca­tions like Office or Outlook, but also important bug fixes and security im­prove­ments (such as the removal of security vul­ner­a­bil­i­ties).

However, issues like error 0x80070002 can occur when searching for updates and in­stalling them au­to­mat­i­cal­ly or manually. These problems prevent the update process, thereby exposing the stability of the system to sig­nif­i­cant risk. We explain what’s behind error message 0x80070002 and how you can resolve this problem yourself.

The error message “0x80070002” is one of the more well-known error codes for problems en­coun­tered when updating Windows. It not only occurs in current versions of Windows, like Windows 10, but also in older editions such as Vista or XP. In some cases, the code “0x80070003” is also shown which refers to the same problem. Plus, depending on the system version, there are the al­ter­na­tive codes “80070002” or “80070003”. The message behind these four possible codes is “ERROR_FILE_NOT_FOUND”.

The fact that the Windows update process failed because a file could not be found could be due to a missing file or a file that’s damaged. The key processes that may be re­spon­si­ble for this are the down­load­ing and unpacking of the in­stal­la­tion files. Since Windows doesn’t resolve this problem itself but instead displays error 0x80070002, it’s a good idea to try to solve the problem yourself and install the relevant update anyway.

If you get the error code “0x80070002” when in­stalling a Windows update, this could be due to various reasons. For instance, one pos­si­bil­i­ty is that the Windows service re­spon­si­ble for updates is not working properly, making in­stal­la­tion im­pos­si­ble. It’s also possible that important system files have been lost or deleted, or that incorrect system settings have been applied. This may not nec­es­sar­i­ly be due to any changes made by yourself; these system issues can also be caused by malware or defective hardware.

Read the following solution sug­ges­tions to find out how best to approach the 0x80070002 error in each case.

Before restart­ing the agent, first open the following directory on your computer (if you’ve installed Windows on a different drive, replace the drive letter ac­cord­ing­ly):

Now restart the Update Service via the button with the same name in the Microsoft Man­age­ment Console and then carry out a system restart. Af­ter­wards, the agent will be able to try to download and install the prob­lem­at­ic update again.

As soon as you’ve opened the command line, enter the following commands to start the SFC:

Keep the command prompt open until the check process has been fully completed. The tool will then show you the result of the check. A list of damaged files that couldn’t be repaired can sub­se­quent­ly be found in the log file cbs.log, located in the directory Windows/Logs/CBS.

System crashes or improper deletion can result in file system errors, i.e. defective hard drive sectors. In turn, these can cause a wide range of com­pli­ca­tions such as the 0x80070002 update problem. Windows offers a solution in­te­grat­ed as standard, the CHKDSK tool (Check Disk), which enables you to discover these kinds of errors in the file system structure and resolve them at any time. Like the SFC program described above, CHKDSK can be run via command line.

Here, too, it’s necessary to start the command prompt as an ad­min­is­tra­tor:

1. Open the Windows Start menu.
2. Enter the term “cmd” into the search.
3. Right-click on “Command Prompt” and then “Run as ad­min­is­tra­tor”.

To scan and repair the drive you’ve installed Windows on (usually C:), enter the following command:

Since the drive is currently being used by Windows and its various services and processes, you’ll receive a message that CHKDSK can’t be started at this time. Type “J” and confirm with the [Enter] key, so that the check program will be run prior to the next system start instead.

If important system files or settings are erroneous or missing, there’s also the chance your computer is infected with malware. In this case, your efforts to fix the 0x80070002 error will likely remain un­suc­cess­ful until you find the harmful software and remove it entirely from your system. Learn about the best tools for finding and removing spyware, Trojan horses, viruses, and other harmful software by reading our extensive article on malware.

If, despite following these solution sug­ges­tions, the Update Center still displays the error code “0x80070002”, you should try to download and install the relevant update yourself. Microsoft makes all released updates available on its Online Update Catalog. You just need to type in the knowledge base number of the update (always starting with “KB”) into the search bar and press “Search”; the web ap­pli­ca­tion will then look for the right in­stal­la­tion files au­to­mat­i­cal­ly.

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