This is a community-run resource to help you fix access to the internet and the Windows Update service on earlier versions of Windows. Since Windows XP was discontinued in 2014, followed by Windows 7 in 2020, Microsoft has closed services they depend on, such as Windows Update. There are also design flaws with these earlier versions of Windows Update, which make them difficult to get working on new installations.
Legacy Update can install all relevant updates necessary to fix access to the Windows Update service on unsupported versions of Windows. These versions of Windows may display the error “Windows could not search for new updates: Windows Update encountered an unknown error” with error code 80072EFE, or may simply never finish checking for updates. Legacy Update identifies the updates your system lacks, and installs them automatically, restoring the Windows Update service to full functionality.
Windows Update provides many optional and recommended updates, in addition to drivers for your system, but Windows XP and 2000 can only install critical security updates through the built-in Automatic Updates feature. Legacy Update revives the original Windows Update website - the only way to see and install every update available for your system. Legacy Update also restores access to Windows Ultimate Extras on Windows Vista Ultimate.
Legacy Update also restores connectivity to some websites in Internet Explorer, and other programs that use the Windows built-in networking functionality. This includes Windows Product Activation on Windows XP and Windows Server 2003, allowing you to activate these versions of Windows online in seconds (a legitimate product key is still required).
Just want to appreciate the nostalgia of the classic Windows Update website? Legacy Update can also be installed on Windows 10 and 11. This works even on versions of these OSes that have removed Internet Explorer. Legacy Update won’t modify your Windows 10 or 11 installation.
| Windows XP users: You may need to follow the workaround here to run Legacy Update. | |
| Compatible with Windows 2000, XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, 10, and 11 (including equivalent Windows Server releases) All Windows editions (Professional, Home, Media Center Edition, etc.) 32-bit, 64-bit, and Itanium processors Compatibility · Release history |
Legacy Update can be launched from the Start menu, Control Panel, or Install Updates in the site sidebar. You can uninstall Legacy Update from Add and Remove Programs.
If you encounter errors while trying to install updates, our Windows Update Error Codes list might be useful.
Running Windows 95, 98, Me, or NT 4.0? Try our sister project Windows Update Restored instead.
Huge thanks to Michael MJD for his demonstration video of Legacy Update!
Disclaimer
The existence of this site shouldn’t be taken as an endorsement to continue using unsupported OSes. You should stick to a supported OS such as Windows 10 or 11 (or, try Linux?!). However, this service exists anyway in recognition that using these OSes is sometimes necessary to run legacy hardware/software, or just interesting to play around with.
This site is not affiliated with or endorsed by Microsoft. This software is provided “as is”, without warranty of any kind. We don’t believe anything should go wrong, but please ensure you have backups of any important data anyway.
Credits
Legacy Update is made available for free thanks to generous support from these fans:
Sam Bushman, Junior Moreno, AnemonePrune, Trevor Key, miss australiana, @jeanluc162, @valnoxy, @Emil215p, @vondenstein, @oblakhost, @LabelGames, @NuwanWolters, @only-cliches, Marrianne, Teena Rodriguez, Alex Auspitz, Timon, Alexis Irizarry, Roger Smith, Ryan Croughn, and 2 private supporters.
Your name can be here too! Support me on GitHub Sponsors or Patreon. You can also support me anonymously on Ko-fi, which has the lowest fees.
Thanks to the Internet Archive for all they do to preserve information that might otherwise be lost forever. Their extensive Wayback Machine backups of the Windows Update website are what allowed me to successfully create Legacy Update.
Thanks to the countless people on MSFN, BetaArchive, and other Microsoft fan forums for all the little tidbits that helped me get this working.
A very special thank you to those who support me on Ko-fi, GitHub Sponsors, and Patreon, and to those who report bugs and help me discover fixes.