Repair Windows Defender Update Error 0x80240016

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Windows Defender error code 0x80240016 occurs primarily due to incorrectly configured system files in your device.

When users update Windows Defender, this hexadecimal error code appears constantly on the screen.

This error code is quite common among users who appear with different error messages. If you are one of those who are experiencing the same problem, you should not ignore it, even if it does not appear to be a significant problem.

Take a good look at the entire article and follow the steps one by one. This guide gives you step-by-step instructions for resolving the Windows Defender error you encountered. But don’t miss a step and don’t make a mistake.

Check for Windows Defender Updates

1. To check for Windows Defender updates, follow these steps
2. Start Windows Defender, if it is not already open. To do so, click Start, click Programs, and then click Windows Defender.
3. Look for new definitions. To do so, click Check for Updates Now.

Stop Windows Update

This is the main method to correct the error code 0x80240016 in Windows Defender. To do this, first press the “Start” button and click on the search field.

Then type “services.msc” in the field and click the “Enter” button. You will now see all Windows services that are stored on your system.

Next, search for Windows Update and continue by clicking the right mouse button. Then select the “Stop” button and pause the function for a few seconds.

Reset Update Components

If troubleshooting fails, this method can be convenient. It works for almost all upgrade problems. Resetting the update components includes resetting the software distribution folder and the Catroot2 folder. By the way, read How to Reset Update Components for more details. Hopefully this will fix update error 0x80240016.

Manually Resetting Windows Update Components

Go to search and enter cmd
Open the command prompt as an administrator
Disable the BITS service, the Windows Update service, and the cryptographic service.
To do this, enter the following lines and press Enter:

• net stop bits
• net stop wuauserv
• net stop appidsvc
• net stop cryptsvc

Delete the qmgr.dat files. At the command prompt, type the following command, then press Enter : Del “%ALLUSERSPROFILE%/Application Data/Microsoft/Network Downloaderqmgr.dat”.
Then type the following line at the command prompt and press Enter:

• regsvr32.exe atl.dll
• regsvr32.exe urlmon.dll
• regsvr32.exe mshtml.dll
• regsvr32.exe shdocvw.dll
• regsvr32.exe browseui.dll
• regsvr32.exe jscript.dll
• regsvr32.exe vbscript.dll
• regsvr32.exe scrrun.dll
• regsvr32.exe msxml.dll
• regsvr32.exe msxml3.dll
• regsvr32.exe msxml6.dll
• regsvr32.exe actxprxy.dll
• regsvr32.exe softpub.dll
• regsvr32.exe wintrust.dll
• regsvr32.exe dssenh.dll
• regsvr32.exe rsaenh.dll
• regsvr32.exe gpkcsp.dll
• regsvr32.exe sccbase.dll
• regsvr32.exe slbcsp.dll
• regsvr32.exe cryptdlg.dll
• regsvr32.exe oleaut32.dll
• regsvr32.exe ole32.dll
• regsvr32.exe shell32.dll
• regsvr32.exe initpki.dll
• regsvr32.exe wuapi.dll
• regsvr32.exe wuaueng.dll
• regsvr32.exe wuaueng1.dll
• regsvr32.exe wucltui.dll
• regsvr32.exe wups.dll
• regsvr32.exe wups2.dll
• regsvr32.exe wuweb.dll
• regsvr32.exe qmgr.dll
• regsvr32.exe qmgrprxy.dll
• regsvr32.exe wucltux.dll
• regsvr32.exe muweb.dll
• regsvr32.exe wuwebv.dll
• Reset Winstock by typing the following command:
• netsh winsock reset

Now, you’ll have to reset your proxy settings, by adding this line:

• netsh winhttp reset proxy

Reset the BITS service, the Windows Update service, and the Cryptographic service by adding these commands:

• net start bits
• net start wuauserv
• net start appidsvc
• net start cryptsvc

Install the latest version of Windows Update Agent
Restart your PC

Clean Boot

Antivirus software and firewalls often cause problems when installing or downloading update files. As a result, Windows may display different error codes. Therefore, you should temporarily disable these security programs and try to update the windows. This should work. In fact, if it doesn’t work as expected, you can make a fresh start. It will help determine if a third party service is causing the problem.

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/protect/forum/all/my-windows-defender-wont-update/3440d603-bfb0-43a0-af5a-2fc1942b18fb

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