Summary: Error 8000FFFF results on Windows Vista machines with 4gig of RAM. As of this writing there's no resolution to error 8000FFFF on a Windows Update.
I recently got a new machine with Windows Vista pre-installed. Naturally one of the first things it does is connect to Windows Update and install a bunch of updates released since the Vista DVD was created. But one of them fails with error 8000FFFF. Why? And what do I do?
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So I'll come clean: this is me asking myself the question. I recently got a new laptop with Windows Vista pre-installed, and have started down the Vista path.
Naturally I was disappointed to start out by getting that error.
And my disappointment around that error continues.
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Here's the error that I got:
As with most errors, it's fairly obscure with just an error code: 8000FFFF. And the programmer in me didn't hold out much hope for that error code telling much, since it looked like a "default" code; in many programs "FFFF" is often used as a generic "something broke" error.
The programmer in me was right. Clicking on the "Get Help" link got me a lot of help ... on totally unrelated errors.
It gets worse. I decide to ignore the problem for now, but the Windows Update icon in the notification area continually tells me that there's an important update I should install. If I click on it, it shows me:
Note that it does indicate that there was an error in the last update attempt. In fact, if I look at the update history it also tells me exactly the same thing; error 8000FFFF:
And that's how it remains today.
The Problem
As you can see from that error log entry it references "when a certain hardware configurations exist". The hardware configuration?
Having 4gig of RAM.
When I ordered my computer I decided to max out the RAM from the beginning, and on this machine that's 4gig.
Unfortunately the very condition that this particular update relates to is apparently preventing it from installing properly.
And, as of this writing, there's no update.
Another symptom of this issue, by the way is this:
As you can see, Vista reports 3.3gig, and not the 4gig of RAM that's actually in the machine.
It'll be interesting to see how quickly they resolve this issue.
But for now, I wait.
Related:
Ask Leo! - Are automatic updates a good thing?
Ask Leo! - Internet Safety: How do I keep my computer safe on the internet?
Article C3002 - April 23, 2007
I have a Dell with 6 GB RAM and also have this problem. Where can I find "Wendy's" solution? Is it usable for a techno-dunce like me?
Posted by: Paul at May 25, 2009 8:20 PMokay so i have read just about everything that comes to this error 8000ffff. i found this website and it fixed the problem for me cause i had a HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\COMPONENTS\AdvancedInstallersNeedResolving porblem.
Posted by: Rachael at May 28, 2009 10:07 AMnow its all fixed thanks so much everyone...
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/946414#Fixed
I tried following the directions from the website left here, and I got up to Step 8 which says this: In the Save in box, click Desktop, and then click Save to save the file to your desktop.
Posted by: Emily at June 21, 2009 7:12 PMI did that, but step 9 is this: "In the details pane, right-click PendingXmlIdentifier, and then click Delete. If this value does not exist, go to the next step." I have no clue what the details pane is! Can someone please help me? Thanks. :)
Hi!
Posted by: omar at September 10, 2009 3:05 AMi reinstalled vista and when i tried to update windows i got that error message.
previously i had reinstalled the antivirus and updated it but i didn't scan the computer which was telling me that i should run a complete scan. that's what i did and ... i don't if that's the problem, but it worked: i managed to download and install the vista updates.
Regards.
so i tried that
Per Microsoft, as Rachael stated:
Posted by: Matt at December 17, 2009 5:43 AMhttp://support.microsoft.com/kb/946414#Fixed
delete keys noted in article, run services.msc and stop the windows update service. Go to c:\Windows\ and delete the "softwaredistribution" folder. Restart the system and viola! the folder will regenerate and forget any pending/ failed updates.