Fix for “Windows Update cannot currently check for updates, because the service Is not running”

Microsoft normally releases security patches for its Windows Operating System on the second Tuesday of each month (Patch Tuesday), with the exception being updates to the definitions for Windows Defender and Microsoft Security Essentials, which are released daily. There are also times when the company will release system critical patches outside of the Patch Tuesday period. With that said, these updates from Microsoft help keep your system secure among other things and should be downloaded and installed as often as they are released.
Now to the problem. I have had the opportunity of having to fix several computer in the recent past (including a few minutes ago) where the Windows Update utility returns the following error:

For those of you who may have experienced this error, you would know that even after restarting the service and the computer the error keeps popping up when you try checking for updates. So how do you fix it?

1. Click on Start
2. Go to Computer or My Computer (based on the version of Windows you’re using)
3. Go to the C drive (or whatever drive letter has the OS installation)
4. Go to the Windows folder
5. Go to SoftwareDistribution
6. Go to DataStore
7. Go to Logs
8. Delete the edb.log file (if you’re not seeing the .log part, then delete the files that simply says edb)
9. Restart your computer and try running the Windows Update Utility again

For the more techie among you, here’s the file path:
C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\DataStore\Logs\edb.log
The edb file keeps track of the update history and status of your computer. If the status cannot be determined then the updates won’t run. This often happens as a result of the file becoming corrupted.
NB: If the file does not exist (as in after you’ve deleted it), upon restarting your computer the OS will recreate it, assume that updates were never run or installed and should start working as normal again.
Please let me know if this fix worked for you in the comment section of this post.
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UPDATE: If you’re having trouble deleting the files then you’ll need to ensure that the Windows Update utility has been stopped first. Here’s what you can do:

1. Go to Start and type services.msc
2. Hit Enter
3. Scroll down to find Windows Update
4. Right mouse Click on Windows Update and choose Stop (Do not close the windows)
5. Now go to C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\ and try deleting all files in the folder again
6. Go back to the Services window and start Windows Update (Right mosue click on Windows Update and choose start)
7. Restart your computer.

- See more at: http://jervisdabreo.com/thetechcorner/fix-for-windows-update-cannot-currently-check-for-updates-because-the-service-is-not-running/#sthash.85lI2cTw.dpuf