Win8 upgrade problem

[unrox]

I am trying to update from Win 8 to Win 8.1. When I try the upgrade I get the message that I have to get the most recent Win 8 upgrades. Upon going into control panel to Upgrade I get this message.
"Windows cannot check for updates because the service is not running.
You may need to restart your computer." Restarting does not help. I tried Google to find something that might help, No luck. Any help greatly appreciated.

[Groucho2004]

I am trying to update from Win 8 to Win 8.1. When I try the upgrade I get the message that I have to get the most recent Win 8 upgrades. Upon going into control panel to Upgrade I get this message.
"Windows cannot check for updates because the service is not running.
You may need to restart your computer." Restarting does not help. I tried Google to find something that might help, No luck. Any help greatly appreciated.
I told you before that you're more likely to get help on a forum like MSFN. Why you keep posting these things on a Video forum is a mystery.

[LoRd_MuldeR]

Goto "Computer Management" -> "Services and Applications" -> "Services" and ensure that those services are running:
Windows Update
Background Intelligent Transfer Service

Alternatively, if you prefer a fresh install, you can download (legally) a Windows 8.1 ISO like described here:
http://winsupersite.com/windows-8/windows-81-tip-download-windows-81-iso-windows-8-product-key

(Note: The Windows 8.1 ISO won't accept Windows 8 keys, but you can install with the generic Windows 8.1 key (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj612867.aspx) and activate with your original Windows 8 key later)

[nhakobian]

Its very common for some malware / viruses / spyware to disable these services to try and prevent their own removal. I recently had to clean up a computer which this had happened to and used utilities like malwarebytes and the built in windows security essentials to clean it up. Once the malware was gone, these services had to be restarted, then windows update proceeded normally.

Now, its not guaranteed that this is what happened to your system, but if you can't get the services to restart by hand, its something to look into. I'm not sure how things work in Windows 8, but in Windows 7, you sometimes need to run malware removal utilities in safe mode as some malware intentionally force close removal utilities if they are detected while running.

[foxyshadis]

You can sometimes reset a broken Windows Update client by stopping those services, renaming %windir%\SoftwareDistribution, rebooting, then deleting it. (Generally, stopping the services, deleting, and restarting them is enough, but sometimes other things hold on to the folder too.) Before that, also run sfc /scannow from an elevated command prompt.

If that doesn't fix your problem, you have a very deeply broken or malware infected system, and it'd need hours of an expert's hands-on. Far quicker to just reinstall from scratch.

[unrox]

I told you before that you're more likely to get help on a forum like MSFN. Why you keep posting these things on a Video forum is a mystery.
Maybe because of some of the excellent replies I sometimes receive, like the ones after yours. Thanks for the help .