Brand new Dell Computer does not check for Windows Updates after Factory Restore Error 0x80072EE2

Posted 2/21/2011 4:49:24 PM

Good evening, I felt I would share a quick fix for an issue that came up when we were trying to repair a brand new Dell Inspiron 2305 (the big touch screen computer). Long story short, if you are trying to check for Windows Updates and it is failing with the Error code 0x80072EE2 even after a factory image, please read ahead for a quick fix.

Turns out that Dell misconfigured the factory image on at least one of the machines that got out of the factory. They are configured to use a WSUS (Windows Server Update Services) server that is internal to Dell (at the IP address 172.23.49.241 which is an internal IP). This obviously doesn't work once the computer leaves Dell. To fix this problem, follow these steps:

1. Open Regedit by going to Start and typing "regedit" and hitting enter. Accept the UAC prompt (if you get one)

regeditstartmenu

2. Navigate to the Following Key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\AU
 

3. Change the value of "UseWUServer" from "1" to "0"


regeditkeys

4. Reboot the computer and Windows Update should work

I have sent this information to Dell, so hopefully they fix it. For now, this should help those of you that need Windows Updates before they do.

Let me know if you have any questions or comments.
-Ryan

Comments for "Brand new Dell Computer does not check for Windows Updates after Factory Restore Error 0x80072EE2"

  1. Nomen Clature says:
    Just a note--- You can also remedy the problem by removing the HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate key from the registry. This is the key that stores the actual Dell WSUS server info. Once it's gone, Windows will use the default Microsoft servers.
    Posted: 3/16/2011 12:55:53 PM
  2. Bill says:
    Thank you Ryan! It's almost 4:00 AM and I just figured out how to fix my brand new Dell Latitude E6410 the windows update :) just after reading your comments, I tried all combinations on the internet none of them worked except yours, thanks again man!
    Posted: 3/20/2011 12:43:28 AM
  3. Mukesh says:
    This man. You save me a lot of time and headscarf.
    Posted: 3/20/2011 1:03:10 PM
  4. Justin says:
    After looking a tons of (useless) Microsoft forum posts, yours is the one that did the trick. Thank you!
    Posted: 5/18/2011 12:40:09 PM

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