How to fix “Something went wrong” error in Windows 10

What is “Something went wrong” error

“Something went wrong. Try to Reopen Settings Later” is a message faced by users when trying to open Windows Update Center. This, therefore, prevents users from having any further interaction with updates (checking or installing them). Such an error may happen for a number of reasons. Most often there are configuration or compatibility issues that people are often not aware of. Any third-party software or inner Windows problems could be the reason causing your Update Center to a fault. It is quite hard to pinpoint which reason has forced the issue to come straight away, so it is necessary to test all available solutions until you find the right one. Below, we will deconstruct a couple of methods able to solve the “Something went wrong” error. Make sure to follow each step carefully without missing any details.

Something went wrong error (Windows Update)

Something went wrong error (Windows installation)

Something went wrong error (changing PIN)

1. Run a Clean Bootup

As long as such errors can pop due to third-party software that causes some incompatibility, it is worth checking if this is your case. Clean bootup ensures your PC is started only with in-built apps and services to find out whether some secondary app prompts the issue. At times it is common to see antimalware software conflicting with Windows services as well. To launch in Clean bootup mode, simply follow the steps below:

1. Press Windows key + R combination and paste msconfig.
2. Then in the opened window go to the Services tab located on top.
3. Check the box next to Hide All Microsoft Services and click on the Disable all button.
4. Now choose the General tab and select the Selective startup option. Make sure that the box is checked only next to the Load System Services.
5. Click Apply and OK. Then reboot your PC.

Now you can try to access the Window Update Center whilst being in Clean Boot mode. In case everything works fine now, this means there is some third-party program failing to get along with Windows processes. Think of what you installed recently and try to delete it. After booting in Clean Mode, you should turn Windows back to Normal Startup settings. To do this, simply redo all the steps you implemented above by enabling the disabled services and changing your startup option from Selective to Normal.

2. Reset Windows Update components

Another nice method to try whilst solving update-related issues is resetting Windows Update settings. It has been proven to be effective in many cases. The whole procedure involves restarting BITS, Cryptographic, MSI Installer, and Windows Update services as well as renaming some update folders (SoftwareDistribution and Catroot2). These folders contain temporary files necessary for implementing Windows Updates. Based on this, we will force Windows to delete corrupted elements and create update components from scratch. We are going to use the console to run the necessary commands. This is more advanced, yet will not take too much time and knowledge to do it. Simply follow the steps below:

1. Open Command Prompt by typing cmd into the searching box next to the Start Menu button.
2. Right-click on Command Prompt and choose Run as administrator.
3. Copy-paste this list of commands one by one clicking Enter after each. (This action will disable services responsible for Windows Updates)

net stop wuauserv
net stop cryptSvc
net stop bits
net stop msiserver

4. Then, we have to rename the above-mentioned folders. Simply paste these commands by clicking Enter after each.

ren C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution SoftwareDistribution.bak
ren C:\Windows\System32\catroot2 Catroot2.bak

5. Finally, all left to do is to turn the disabled services back. So apply these commands likewise we did previously.

net start wuauserv
net start cryptSvc
net start bits
net start msiserver

6. Now we are all done with it. Go to the Windows Update Center and check if anything changed.

3. Check integrity of the system files

Just as we mentioned in the beginning, update issues may occur due to missing or damaged files. Such files are usually vital for Windows services to work correctly. If some of these files are out of their native environment, more likely it will be the reason for update errors. Below, we are going to use both SFC (System File Checker) and DISM (Deployment Image Servicing and Management), which will detect and restore absent components. This is how:

Using SFC

1. Open Command Prompt by typing cmd into the searching box next to the Start Menu button.
2. Right-click on Command Prompt and choose Run as administrator.
3. Once the console is opened, type the sfc /scannow command and click Enter.
4. When the fixing process is done, restart your computer.

Using DISM

1. Open Command Prompt as we did in the previous step.
2. Copy and paste this command DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth.
3. Click Enter and wait until Windows ends the scanning and fixing.
4. Once done, restart your PC and install the update again.

4. Scan your hard drive for damaged fragments

It is worth checking your hard drive for corruption and errors before moving to the next methods. You can do it easily with the help of below mentioned steps:

1. Open Command Prompt just as we did above.
2. Then, you should paste the chkdsk /f /r C: command and press Enter. If necessary, replace “C” with the letter of your hard drive.
3. The system will scan for both configuration and physical errors and automatically repair them.

This method is less likely to solve the issue, so do not worry if it did not work out.

5. Alter Startup settings for Update Orchestrator Service

Update Orchestrator Service (UOS) is considered to be very important for making Update processes function correctly. This service should be set to Automatic startup by default, however, there are cases when users had it disabled for unfounded reasons. Thus, make sure UOS is set up in a proper way:

1. Press Windows Key + R, copy-paste services.msc, and click Enter.
2. Then, search for Update Orchestrator Service among the list.
3. Once found, double-click on it and go to General tab.
4. Make sure Startup type is set to Automatic.
5. Finally, click Apply, close the window, and restart your PC to see if the problem has been resolved.

6. Adjust Values in Registry Editor

The problem with Update Center may be also related to wrong values in the Registry Editor. Below, we will check if this is the case.

1. Press Windows key + R, copy-paste regedit, and open it up.
2. Then, you should navigate to this path HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\UsoSvc.
3. After clicking on UsoSvc, find and double-tap on Start from the right pane.
4. Next to Value box, change the number to 2 and click OK in the end.

Now, you should have this key working fine. It is also worth doing the same for these services as well:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\WaaSMedicSvc
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\wuauserv

As soon as finished, reboot your PC and check if there is any difference whilst opening Windows Update Center.

7. Create a new local account

If none of the mentioned steps helped you resolve the issue, then creating a new user account might be a go-to measure. Sometimes newly created may restore issues with settings and let some services work correctly. Also note that new accounts do not contain data you stored previously, so make sure you move your files to it. In case new account helped you remove the issue, you can leave or delete your original one after moving all the important data. Below, you can find the steps to create a new account:

1. Right-click on the Start Menu button and choose Settings. You can also do Windows key + I combination.
2. Go to Accounts > Family & Other users.
3. On the right pane, scroll down to the Other users section and click Add someone else to this PC.
4. Now choose I don’t have this person’s sign-in information below.
5. Select Add a user without a Microsoft account at the bottom.
6. Then enter the username and password for the new user and click Next.
7. Now, you can switch to a new account (by clicking on the user icon in Start Menu) and try to open the Update Center again.

8. Use Media Creation Tool

Today’s issue does not allow people to monitor new updates that are released by Microsoft. With that comes the problem of being unable to update your system. This is why using Media Creation Tool may be a handy solution in this scenario. It will help you install fresh updates in spite of the problem. Not excluded that new updates will also fix the Windows Center error, which is discussed in this guide. This procedure will not touch your personal data but simply update the PC. In order to do it, follow the steps listed below:

1. At first, you have to download the utility from the Microsoft website.
2. Then, execute the downloaded file.
3. After agreeing with the Terms of use, there will be two options to choose from. Select Upgrade this PC now.
4. Choose to Keep Personal Files to ensure they will be untouched.
5. Finally, launch the process and wait until it ends.
6. Hopefully, this method helped you with the popping-up issue.

Summary

We hope you tested all the solutions and managed to find the one, which resolved the issue. If you stumble into any other problems with PC in the future, our website will be a handy tutorial to help you address them.