I have been trying to fix this problem for over 3 weeks now and all help topics and advice fail due to the Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS) not being present on my PC.
PC config: Win7 64Bit SP1, IE9 (update version 9.0.9 KB2722913), Java (Version 6 Update 35 - reported by http://java.com/en/download/installed.jsp as the recommended Java even though some help forum posts state Version 7 Update 5 (or higher) should be used)
Origin of the problem was a Malware infection. Following solution threads led me to uninstall all McAfee and Norton products and then to use the full removal tools of both these products to completely remove all traces of them. When I removed my active security software (McAfee Total Protection) I switched to use the Microsoft Security Essentials which finally cleaned the PC of the Malware and has now been running without problems for 3 weeks.
My remaining issue is the "Code 80246008 Windows Update encountered an unknown error" whenever I try to apply updates. The support.microsoft.com solutions request that the Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS) be started and be set to start automatically start when the PC is started. Unfortunately the BITS service is not present in the Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Administrative\Services list of services, so I cannot set or change the properties of the BITS. Other solutions run a Fix It, but this seems to do nothing.
The most recent threads I followed and tried was http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_other-windows_update/windows-update-80246008-error-code-and-windows/348d3556-fac2-4fb1-9cde-26ec1a8d7723?page=2 At the very least this thread seemd to lead to the root of the problem (i.e. that BITS is not running). As I commented in this thread... After following all steps up to 11c I get the following message popup when I run the Fix it 50202....
"Service 'BITS' (BITS) failed to start. Verify that you have sufficient privileges to start system services."
It gives the options "Try Again" and "Cancel". The same popup results whenever I "Try Again" so I am left with noption except to "Cancel" - which then causes the Fix it to roll back the action. The same occurs when I run the Fix it 50202 with AGGRESSIVE selected. I am logged on as an admin level user, so I don't see what else I can do.
I have been applying Windows Updates manually as often as I can, but the list of current outstanding updates are KB982726, KB2754296, KB2744842, KB2732059, KB2735855, KB890830
This is quite frustrating, but it seems that I am finally getting close to the actual problem.... that the BITS service is not running and not present in the list of system services.
Help would be much appreciated.
