2026-03 Update is not installing (15 retries already)

Hi Yamaris Rivera,

I understand that the 2026‑03 Windows Update (Build 26200.8117) may repeatedly fail to install and continue retrying. This update was released as an out‑of‑band cumulative package for Windows 11 24H2 / 25H2 and includes improvements from earlier March releases.

Since it is a cumulative update, it can still be installed manually even if earlier March updates did not complete successfully. Here are some possible options that you can try to refresh the local update components and install the update manually:

1, Reset Windows Update Components

• Press Windows key, type cmd
• Right-click Command Prompt and choose Run as Administrator
• Then run these command lines:

net stop wuauserv
net stop bits
net stop cryptsvc
net stop msiserver
ren C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution SoftwareDistribution.old
ren C:\Windows\System32\catroot2 Catroot2.old
net start wuauserv
net start bits
net start cryptsvc
net start msiserver

• Restart your PC once completed.

2, Repair System Image

• Run the following commands one-by-one in Command Prompt (Admin):

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
sfc /scannow

• Restart again after both commands finish.

3, Install the Update Manually

• Download and install the latest cumulative package from the Microsoft Update Catalog: 2026-03 Cumulative Update for Windows 11

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KB5086672 is not a normal monthly update.

That is an out-of-band update Microsoft released to fix a problem logging into the Office apps caused by a bug in the March update.

There is no need to install that KB5086672 update if it is continually failing.

The best option is to pause your updates until the full April update is released next Tuesday.

I can't find at the prompt to select "run as administrator". Can someone help me?