Windows Updates are essential for every system using the Windows OS. If not updated on time, the system might face serious security issues, performance issues, etc. Ideally, most computers have the Updates set to the Automatic Mode. However, at times, the system might not be able to pick up and install the updates.
At such times, running the Windows Update Troubleshooter or Windows Store Apps Troubleshooter is recommended as they are known to solve most problems. This built-in tools will fix several issues including the Service Registration is Missing or Corrupt error. This error halts Windows OS or its Universal Apps from updating further.
But at times, the Troubleshooters may fail to fix this error. In such cases, you may need to fix it manually. Fixing this error might need quite some technical knowledge because the fix needs registry level troubleshooting.
Service Registration is Missing or Corrupt
It is good to know how to troubleshoot and fix this error manually. Let us see how to do it.
1] Before proceeding, please create a backup of the Registry because registry level troubleshooting might cause issues with your operating system. We will use the Registry Editor to delete a few values from the Registry. To be precise, we would need to remove the value ThresholdOptedIn.
So Run ‘regedit’ to open the Registry Editor and in the left pane, search for the following key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsSelfHostApplicability
Click on the ‘ThresholdOptedIn‘ value in the right pane, if you see it, delete it.
2] Next, right-click on the Start Button and open Command Prompt in Admin mode. Copy-paste the following commands one after the other and press ‘Enter’.
net stop wuauserv
net stop msiserver
net stop bits
ren C:WindowsSystem32catroot2 catroot2.old
ren C:WindowsSoftwareDistribution SoftwareDistribution.old
net start cryptSvc
net start wuauserv
net start msiserver
net start bits
net stop cryptSvc
What you are doing here is shutting down Windows Update related Services, resetting Catroot2 folder, renaming the SoftwareDistribution folder and then starting the Windows Services back.
Close the command prompt and restart the system. Check if the issue is resolved. If not, proceed to the following step.
3] Disable your antivirus and check if it resolves the issue. If it resolves, then the antivirus software on the system might need to be changed. If not, please re-enable the anti-virus program.
4] Run System File Checker and Repair Windows System Image and see if that replaces potentially corrupted Windows Update system files.
Reboot the system and try to update Windows again to verify if the issue has been resolved.
5] Check if certain Windows Update related services are running or not. Open the ‘Run’ box and enter services.msc. Press ‘Enter’.
In the Services Manager, locate the ‘Windows Update Service. Since the services are in alphabetical order, things become easy. Ensure that the Service is Started and its Startup type set to ‘Automatic‘.
Cryptographic Service should be started and set to Automatic, and Background Intelligent Transfer Service should be started and set to Automatic (Delayed Start).
TIP: See this post if Windows Services will not start.
6] If you are facing problems while updating Windows Store apps, then Reset Windows Store Cache and see if that works for you.
Hope something helps.