Microsoft forgot to change an expiration date, and now all attempts to run Windows Update in Win7 are failing with the bogus message “Windows Update cannot currently check for updates, because the service is not running.” Credit: Thinkstock/Microsoft Reports are piling in from afar that Windows Update in Win7 is broken. My first sighting was late Sunday afternoon, when KarenS posted on the AskWoody Lounge: When I clicked on the Windows Update icon today to start the updates it said that my computer was up to date and that there were no updates available which I know was not the truth because I hadn’t installed any of the [recent ones] KarenS reported that the machine would only regurgitate the message shown in the screenshot. Woody Leonhard/IDG There was an attempt to isolate the problem on KarenS’s computers, to no avail — the update service was working fine. There’s a parallel thread — a long one — on the Microsoft Answers forum, where JimLewsSE asked how to fix error code 80248015 when trying to access Windows Update. An anonymous poster on AskWoody had this fascinating observation: Did you realize that we’ve passed “ExpiryDate”? I didn’t so I had problems with Windows/Microsoft Update. Look at “c:WindowsSoftwareDistributionAuthCabsauthcab.cab” file. There is information about valid date: 2013-12-03T11:59:25.5067616-08:00 2017-12-03T11:59:25.5067616-08:00 We must wait for newer file … or revert system’s date to older than 2017-12-03. A more detailed observation in the same vein was posted on the Answers forum by ArgHereBeDragons early this morning. Microsoft, characteristically, has yet to weigh in on the subject. I guess everybody’s on their way to Hawaii, to see Win10 run on ARM chips. Three years ago, we had a similar problem with XP and Server 2003. Short answer: It’s Microsoft’s fault. It let the ExpiryDate pass without updating it. You can tweak your machine (e.g., set the date back), but for now Win7 users just get to wait until Microsoft acknowledges and fixes the bug. In the interim, half of all Windows users around the world are unable to run Windows Update. Have a Win7 update problem? Hit the AskWoody Lounge. Related content opinion On a personal note... Woody Leonhard looks back a bit, looks ahead to retirement — and shares good news about who's picking up the Windows patching torch. By Woody Leonhard Nov 09, 2020 3 mins Small and Medium Business Computers Windows news analysis Get Microsoft's October patches installed — and seriously consider Win10 2004 Odd ancillary patches have their problems, but the mainstream October patches look pretty reliable. The big question: Is Win10 version 2004 up to your stability standards. I’m skeptical -- especially because it has few worthwhile improvements. By Woody Leonhard Oct 30, 2020 6 mins Small and Medium Business Microsoft Computers news analysis Microsoft Patch Alert: October 2020 The big news with this month’s patches – aside from the usual smorgasbord of strange errors – has more to do with the patches that are outside the regular cumulative update stream. Remarkably, we didn’t get any security fixes By Woody Leonhard Oct 22, 2020 189 mins Small and Medium Business Microsoft Office Microsoft news analysis With Patch Tuesday here, be sure Windows Update is paused With all the flotsam floating around, it’s easy to lose sight of Second Tuesdays. October’s arrives tomorrow and, with it, another round of Windows and Office patches. Take a minute to make sure you aren’t in the front lines, as eve By Woody Leonhard Oct 12, 2020 5 mins Small and Medium Business Microsoft Windows Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe