Hello, and welcome to Sysnative :)
Does this issue affect Windows Update only as far as you are aware? No other parts of Windows Explorer? Can you please spot check that Control Panel, Networking and Sharing Centre, Recycle Bin, and (My) Computer all open properly.
These special folders work in a very similar way to Windows Update. They actually work as shell extensions out of the Windows Shell Common Dll, shdocvw.dll. For this reason, I will be asking for the state of this file (whether it is corrupt or not) to be verified with the System File Checker (instructions on how later, explanations on why first: I find that most people like to know what is going on, what I plan to do, and why).
It is also potentially possible that the registry side of the Windows Update Shell Extension is corrupt (CLSID: {36eef7db-88ad-4e81-ad49-0e313f0c35f8}). Registry cleaners just love deleting "unused" CLSIDs. Perhaps one took it too far on this machine. I suspect this is unlikely, but I can check.
Also, we can perform a Clean Boot on both startup items and services. I suspect this is the most likely cause. We will just temporarily disable everything, see if some piece of junk on the computer is interfering. If it is, it is just a case of halving and halving again until we find the piece of software responsible for these issues.
This is the general stuff. Then comes the clever stuff: using much more advanced techniques to try to identify exactly what is hanging, and a few tricks I have up my sleeve (such as running the 32bit copy of Windows Update on 64bit Windows to test). This varies greatly between 32bit and 64bit computers. Do you know whether this computer is 32bit or 64bit? I will show you how to find out later, if you don't know.
BTW, I haven't forgotten about your mention of FixIt and Service troubles, but similar stuff applies.
I just thought that you might like a run down of what I plan to do. You can safely ignore all of the above, any of it you don't understand, but if you are curious, you may also ask questions about it.
Ignoring all of the above, here is what you actually need to do:
I would like you to perform a Clean Boot procedure to rule out any possible interference from most startup applications and 3rd party services:
How to perform a clean boot to troubleshoot a problem in Windows Vista, Windows 7, or Windows 8
Please let me know whether or not this helps, any improvements or changes, and whether you have a 32bit or 64bit computer.
Thank you,
Richard
