Windows update error is quite common in almost all Windows versions. 80072efe Windows update prevents you from downloading the new Windows updates. The corresponding message with an error code is usually one of the following three messages:

  1. ERROR_INTERNET_CONNECTION_ABORTED: This error shows up due to an unstable Internet connection while downloading updates.
  2. WININET_E_CONNECTION_ABBORTED: Occurs when the connection with Windows Update Server is interrupted or aborted.
  3. ERROR_WINHTTP_CONNECTION_ABBORTED: This error occurs when the connection with the Windows server is aborted.
windows-update-code-80072efe

Whatever the reason, this issue is faced by many people around the globe and needs to be resolved. Unfortunately, any permanent solution has not yet been proposed by Microsoft, due to which the cases mentioned below come forward from time to time:

Windows Update Error 80072EFE. Currently I'm running Windows 7 Pro x64 and recently started receiving the error code 80072EFE when trying to update Windows.

However, let's focus on how to fix Windows update error 80072efe:

Fix 1: Smart Repair by PassFab FixUWinnew

PassFab FixUWin is an ultimate tool to rescue you in situations where Windows update code 80072efe keeps appearing. This fantastic tool helps you download and install Windows updates successfully and perform specific tasks such as repairing the blue or black screen error in Windows, resetting Windows login passwords, recovering any deleted data and files, creating backups of your data, and much more.

PassFab FixUWin Suite also gives you access to a faulty PC and you can perform various tasks with it. You can resolve Windows update 80072efe issue by using this incredible tool by following three simple steps:

Step 1: Create a Bootable Disk

  1. Download, install and launch the PassFab FixUWin on any PC.
  2. Plug in a CD/DVD/USB to the computer.
  3. Tips:

    Any data stored on the device will be deleted during the process. You should create a backup of your data before performing this step.

  4. Click "Create boot disk now".
  5. Choose your device, i.e., CD/DVD/USB, from the drop-down list and click Next to wait until the burning process complete.
  6. create boot disk now

Step 2: Boot from Bootable Media

  1. Now plug the bootable device created in the previous step into the faulty PC.
  2. Restart the computer and press the Boot Key continously to open the Boot Menu.
  3. Boot Key Desktop Laptop Motherboard
    F12 ASUS, Acer, Founder, HP, Hasee, Haier, Lenovo, THTF Acer, BenQ, Dell, Emachines, eMachines, Fujitsu, Founder, GIGABYTE, Gateway, IBM, Lenovo, SAMSUNG, ThinkPad, Hasee, TOSHIBA, THTF, MSI Great Wall, Dell, TOSHIBA, Foxconn, GIGABYTE, Fujitsu, Gamen, Haier, IBM, Lenovo, Topstar, SONY, THTF, SAMSUNG, ThinkPad, Acer, HP, Hasee, Founder
    Esc Dell ASUS, Sony Great Wall, Foxconn, ESC, SOYO, MAXSUN, Colorful, SONY, SAMSUNG, Spark, UNIKA
    F9 BenQ, HP BISOTAR, HP
  4. With arrow keys, navigate to your bootable device and press Enter to boot the PC through it.

When the PC restarts, you will see PassFab FixUWin colorful and attractive interface.

Step 3: Fix the Error Code

  1. Click the "Automated Repair" button.
  2. click automated repair
  3. Choose the disk partition that needs to be repaired. Click Start repair.
  4. select partition
  5. Let the software repair the partition. Once done, click Restart to reboot your PC.
  6. repair complete

When your PC restarts, you will face no problem while downloading Windows updates. Feel free to download and install the updates without fearing Windows update code 80072efe.

Fix 2: Run the Windows Update Troubleshooter

  • Press Windows Key + S to open the Search Box.
  • Type " Troubleshoot" and press Enter.
  • Click Troubleshoot Settings. click-troubleshoot-settings
  • Click on Additional Troubleshooters to expand the list of available troubleshooters. click-on-additonal-troublshootters
  • Go to Windows Update. Click the Run the troubleshooter button. go-to-windows-update
  • Follow the troubleshooter to resolve the issues with Windows Update.

Fix 3: Delete the catroot2 Folder for Windows Update

Another best fix to resolve Windows Update error 80072efe is deleting the catroot2 folder. Here is a guide to follow:

  • Open Run dialog by pressing Windows Key + R simultaneously.
  • Type " services.msc". Press Enter. type-services-msc
  • Look for Cryptographic Services and double click on it when found. look-for-cryptographic-services
  • Click Stop under the Cryptographic Services window. click-stop
  • Click Apply.
  • Click Ok to terminate the process.
  • Now open File Explorer.
  • Go to C drive and go to Windows -> System32. system32
  • Look for the catroot2 folder, right-click on it and click Delete from the pop-up menu. look-for-catroot2-folder
  • Restart the Cryptographic services by following steps number 1,2,3 again. When you reach the Cryptographic Services Window, click the Start button and follow Step 5. restart-the-cryptographic
  • Reboot your computer and apply new settings.

Tips:

Please note that an Admin account can only delete the catroot2 folder. After performing the above steps, try downloading the Windows update again.

Fix 4: Disable Third-Party Antivirus Software

If you have any third-party antivirus software in your PC, it might stop the Windows updates from downloading and causing the Windows update error 80072efe. The potential fix for this problem is uninstalling or disabling the antivirus program. The steps for disabling it are given below:

  • Click on System Tray Icon in the lower-right corner of your screen.
  • Right-click on the Antivirus program, search for disabling the option and disable it for a particular time. right-click-antivirus-program
  • Try downloading the Windows Updates.

Fix 5: Reset Windows Update Components

Sometimes, corrupted update files can cause problems downloading new updates. So, you can try to delete such files and uninstall the previous Windows updates that might conflict with the new updates. You can reset the Windows Update components simply by running some commands in Command prompt as follows:

  • Type " cmd" in Search Box, right-click on it and choose Run As Administrator.
  • Type " net stop wuauserv". Press Enter.
  • Now, type " net stop cryptsrv". Press Enter.
  • Type in " net stop bits". Press Enter.
  • Type " net stop msiserver". Press Enter. type-net-stop-msiserver
  • Now, open File Explorer.
  • Navigate to C:\\Windows\System32\catroot2 and delete all the files in the folder. delete-filesin-folder
  • Now move to C:\\Windows\SoftwareDistribution and delete all the files. softwaredistribution
  • Now re-launch the Command Prompt in Administrator mode and type the following commands one by one while pressing Enter after each:
    • Net start wuauserv
    • Net start cryptsrv
    • Net start bits
    • Net start msiserver
  • Once all the above commands have been executed, reboot your system and re-download the updates.

Conclusion

While downloading Windows updates, we sometimes encounter Windows update error 80072efe accompanied by an error message specifying the cause of the error. Usually, the error gets resolved simply by restoring the network or troubleshooting the problems, but there are times when nothing simpler works. So, this article has proposed the best possible solutions to the Windows update 80072efe issue.

Along with some built-in ways, the solutions include using a fantastic tool, i.e., the PassFab FixUWin, built exclusively to resolve management issues on different Windows versions. Suppose you are a non-technical person having little or no knowledge of computers. In that case, we recommend you use PassFab FixUWin so that you don't end up deleting all your data or creating some fatal issues in your computer.

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