May 262017
This minor reset can be used when Windows 7 fails to find updates i.e progress bar never stops.
Open an elevated command prompt and run these commands:
net stop wuauserv net stop cryptsvc
Delete or rename %windir%\SoftwareDistribution directory
Delete or rename %windir%\System32\catroot2
Restart the services we had previously stopped:
net start wuauserv net start cryptsvc
Install latest Windows Update Client from:
W7 64bit: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=53332
W7 32bit: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=53335
Restart the computer
You should then be able to check for updates manually and get the PC fully patched
If the above fails, Microsoft have documented a ‘hard reset’ at:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-au/kb/971058