WSUS Deployment Issues

As mentioned in a previous post, I have deployed Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) in our company network. While overall the deployment went well, there were a number of issues with several computers, and overcoming them was a bit of a challenge. Most of the issues can be diagnosed by examining the WindowsUpdate.log file located in Windows directory. Here I'm going to share my experience.

1. Some computers were running Windows 2000 with Service Pack 2. This version simply doesn't support automatic updates. The solution was to upgrade to Service Pack 4 manually.
2. A common problem on both Windows XP and Windows 2000 computers was broken MS XML installation. This manifested in the following errors in WindowsUpdate.log:

   WARNING: GetConfig failure, error = 0x80244001, soap client error = 1,
     soap error code = 0, HTTP status code = 200
   WARNING: Sync of Updates: 0x80244001
   WARNING: Failed to synchronize, error = 0x80244001
   WARNING: Exit code = 0x80244001
   

   Error code 0x80244001, which means "SOAP client initialization failure", is indicative of MS XML installation problem. The solution is to reinstall MSXML 3.0 SP5 from here.

   Another manifestation of MS XML problem was the following in WindowsUpdate.log:

   WARNING: Sync of Updates: 0x80040111
   WARNING: Failed to synchronize, error = 0x80040111
   WARNING: CEventNamespaceDefinition::Init failed = 80040111.
   WARNING: InitReportingComponents failed: 80040111
   WARNING: Exit code = 0x80040111
   

   Error code 0x80040111, which means "ClassFactory cannot supply requested class", also most likely is caused by broken MS XML. The solution is the same.

3. Even after MS XML reinstall, some computers failed to synchronize, displaying the following in the WindowsUpdate.log:

   WARNING: Sync of Updates: 0x80244010
   WARNING: Failed to synchronize, error = 0x80244010
   WARNING: Exit code = 0x80244010
   WARNING: WU client failed Searching for update with error 0x80244010
   

   Error code 0x80244010, which means "The maximum allowed number of round trips to the server was exceeded", in my experience can be dealt with as follows: either try again, or, if it occurs repeatedly, reset updates database. To reset the database, follow these steps:

   1. Stop automatic updates service (with "net stop wuauserv" command or in Services console)
   2. Delete or rename directory Windows\SoftwareDistribution
   3. Start automatic updates service (with "net start wuauserv" command or in Services console)
   4. Run "wuauclt /resetauthorization /detectnow" command