I keep getting a wuauclt.exe pop-up error box and no matter what I do (click on the send error report, don’t send, or debug buttons), it keeps popping back up. I don’t know what wuauclt.exe is or how to get rid of these pop-ups. I have Windows XP Home Edition. Please help.
What is the Wuauclt.exe?
Wuauclt.exe is a Windows program file that is used for automatic updates. Its official name is Windows Update Automatic Update Client. As with any computer program, this program occasionally becomes corrupt, can’t function properly, or generates error messages.
Solutions vary depending on the error message. For example, if you are receiving a wuauclt.exe error message that says, “Generic Host Process for Win32 Services has encountered a problem and needs to close” you would need to stop several services on your computer before going in and renaming a bunch of related DLL, EXE, and CPL files as described in this Microsoft Knowledge Base article. Other users have reported errors with wuauclt.exe and McAfee software’s buffer overflow protection which requires turning off buffer overflow protection while in Safe Mode.
Since I don’t know the exact error that wuauclt.exe is generating, let’s go through some basic steps that could resolve the problem for you. If none work, let us know the exact error message.
What does Clicking on Send Error Report Do?
First, your popup box is giving you several options: Send Error Report, Don’t Send, and Debug. This is a nifty utility known as Dr. Watson. Try the Send Error Report option one more time and confirm your choice if prompted to allow the information to be collected and sent to Microsoft. Once sent, this information is compared to a large database. If a solution exists, a new window will appear telling you what to do to fix the problem. If not, we’re on our own. Since you’ve already done this, it’s likely that no solution exists, but let’s try one last time just in case a solution has been posted between then and now.
Update Windows
Since the automatic update tool is generating errors, it’s likely that your operating system hasn’t been updated in some time. Go ahead and update Windows manually. Doing so will secure your computer with the latest security patches as well as apply any new hotfixes developed by Microsoft. Who knows? This may even solve this pesky wuauclt.exe error.
Update Windows Update Agent
Microsoft’s update Web site (http://update.microsoft.com/) should automatically install the most current Windows Update Agent on your computer.
After the update and after applying all Windows updates, do you still receive the error? If so, let us know the exact error message so we can further pinpoint the problem. While some users get around problems related to automatic updates by turning automatic updates off, doing so ignores the problem and leaves your operating system vulnerable.
Celeste Stewart | June 24th, 2009
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I keep getting this error message saying it needs to close and keeps popping up. When I try to install the automatic updates it doesnt allow it to download anything it freezes or tells me i have to close. What do i do now
I have had the exact error as well as a stop code c000021a. It is an update error and correpted process. The fix that worked for me is to run custom windows updates and only choose the most recent Service Pack updates. http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=318666 Then reboot computer and try all updates again. It took two update reboots and everything now works with no error messages. Good luck!
Thank you. The MS fix worked. Still…they ought to provide a short explanation as to what steps one is taking.