Answers:
1. The only changes made to the computer would have been Windows updates.
2. I am trying to start the service by running services.msc, double-clicking the Windows Update service on the extended tab, and clicking the button "Start". Status of service is stopped.
Start fails.
3. If I go to Windows Update in the Control Panel to view the update history, it is blank.
4. I renamed the SoftwareDistribution folder SoftwareDistribution.old (there was no need to stop the Update service since it isn't running).
5. Cryptographic and Background Intelligence Transfer Service are both running.
METHOD 1:
Deleted the C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\DataStore folder and attempted to start the Windows Update service in services.msc. Service would not start.
METHOD 2:
Also failed. Here is what happened at each step of the process:
a. net stop wuauserv: The Windows Update service is not started.
b. net stop cryptSvc: Service stopped successfully
c. net stop bits: The service is not responding to the control function.
d. net stop msiserver: The Windows Installer service is not started.
e. Successfully renamed catroot2 to catroot2.old
f. net start wuauserv: The service is not responding to the control function.
g. net start cryptSvc: Service started successfully
h. net start bits: The service is not responding to the control function.
i. net start msiserver: Service started successfully
I checked services.msc a bit later and found that despite the message at step h, the BITS service was running.
Windows Update service would still not start.
Doing "dir catr*" in the Windows system32 directory shows there are now two directories: catroot and catroot2.old. There is no new catroot2.