JSI Tip 5005. How do I troubleshoot Windows Update download and installation failures?

If you are having trouble with a Windows Update download and installation process, you can implement stepping mode, which will prompt you with a dialog box after each step in the process.

To implement stepping mode, run SteppingMode Y. To turn it off, run SteppingMode N.

NOTE: Some updates turn stepping mode off, so be sure to run SteppingMode Y before each update you wish to troubleshoot.

SteppingMode.bat contains:

@echo off
Setlocal
if {%1}=={} goto syntax
set mode=%1
set mode=%mode:"=%
if /i "%mode%" EQU "N" set mode=N&goto doit
if /i "%mode%" EQU "Y" set mode=Y&goto doit
:syntax
@echo Syntax: SteppingMode Y or SteppingMode N
endlocal
goto :EOF
:doit
@echo REGEDIT4>"%temp%SteppingMode.reg"
@echo [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftActive Setup]>>"%temp%SteppingMode.reg"
@echo "SteppingMode"="%mode%">>"%temp%SteppingMode.reg"
regedit /s "%temp%SteppingMode.reg"
endlocal