“The update is not applicable to your computer”: Windows Update Error

Hi, admin! I am trying to manually install the security update KB4103723, which I manually downloaded from the Windows Update Catalog, on my Windows 10 1607 computer (the automatic Windows update doesn’t work, because the computer is located in the isolated network). I downloaded the MSU update file and try to run it. The window appears: “Windows Update Standalone Installer: Searching for updates on this computer”, and after 2 minutes the error pops up:

The update is not applicable to your computer

Answer

I can’t unequivocally give the answer why a specific update doesn’t applicable to your computer. But I’ll try to consider the main reasons why it is impossible to install a security updates in Windows 10 and how to solve your problem.

So, the error “The update is not applicable to your computer” appears when you try to manually install an MSU update using the wusa.exe utility (Windows Update Standalone Installer). Why Windows 10 / 8.1 / 7 can assume that the update is not applicable?

• If the computer didn’t rebooted for a long time or didn’t restart after installing the latest updates, try to force restart your Windows;
• This update doesn’t match your OS version, edition, build, bitness (processor architecture) or language. For example, you are trying to install x86 update on Windows x64. Check this info on your computer and try to download an update suitable for your Windows version. Regarding the system language: sometimes the language of the installed system is used, it differs from the interface language (here you need to be careful);
• This update or a newer (that replaces your update) has already been installed. Information about replaced updates can be found on the KB page on the Microsoft website. Usually this information is listed in the format: Package Details. This update has been replaced by the following updates. The list of installed updates can be obtained using the wmic qfe list command or using the PowerShell module PSWindowsUpdate;
• You computer is not met the requirements for installing this update. For example, most updates for Windows 7 require SP1 installed, updates for Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2 require Update 1. All this information should also be present on the KB information page. Carefully read all the requirements for your patch, you may have to install another update first;
• Windows Update service doesn’t work correctly (you can try to run the Winodow Update Agent reset script or use Windows Update Troubleshooter (Settings -> Update & Security -> Troubleshoot > Windows Update and press Run the troubleshooter);
• If you received an * .msu update file from third-party source, it may have been damaged. Try to download the MSU update file from the Windows Update Catalog site (https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com);
• Check the Windows system files integrity using the command Dism.exe /Online /Cleanup-Image /Restorehealth or sfc /scannow

In some cases, you can try to install the MSU update file not via the WUSA.exe utility (which is used by the Windows Update Standalone Installer), but by unpacking the CAB file and installing it via the DISM or Add-WindowsPackage cmdlet directly into the Windows image. The procedure for manually installing a CAB update might look like this:

1. Unpack the MSU update file: expand _f:* “C:\Temp\windows10.0-KB4103723-x64.msu” C:\Temp\KB4103723
2. In the directory C:\Temp\KB4103723 a CAB will appear with the name Windows10.0-KB4103723-x64.cab;
3. Install this CAB file using DISM.exe (DISM.exe /Online /Add-Package /PackagePath:c:\Temp\Windows10.0-KB4103723-x64.cab) or using PowerShell (Add-WindowsPackage -Online -PackagePath “c:\Temp\Windows10.0-KB4103723-x64.cab”)

Regarding your case. It is not necessary to install exactly the update KB4103723. This is a cumulative update for Windows 10 1607 x64 from May 2018, respectively, you can install any later cumulative update for your version of Windows, because it already includes all previous updates. For example, you can install the update KB4480961 (January 2019) for Windows 10 1607.

Sometimes it is useful to look at the specific update installation error code in the Event Viewer. Go to the section Event Viewer -> Windows Logs -> Setup and find the event with the WUSA source, most likely it will contain the event something like this:

It makes sense to search Google for information on this Windows Update installation error code, you can also be assisted by a complete list of Windows Update error codes.

Also, look for information about the update installation in the %systemroot%\Logs\CBS\CBS.log file (look for errors by your KB number).