Update: 403 error from Windows Update - FIXED
I had been trying to find why I could not get one of our computers to pull Windows updates. Every time we tried, we got the error "403 access is forbidden." After some further intense digging around, it boiled down to these potential problems:
1. Security Settings are incorrect.
2. A Windows Update agent file is not working.
3. Incorrect configuration of Automatic Updates service.
These were the steps that were tried:
Step 1: Automatically restore security settings to the default
==================================================
1. Access the link http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=313222
2. Click "Fix this problem" link and click "Run" in the "File Download" dialog box.
3. Follow the steps in this wizard.
Didn't help at all, so on to step two:
Step 2: Reinstall Windows Update Agent 3.0
=====================================
1. Downloaded the file from the following link:
http://download.windowsupdate.com/windowsupdate/redist/standalone/7.4.7600.226/windowsupdateagent30-x86.exe
2. Saved the file to "C: drive".
3. Click "Start", "Run", type: "C:\WindowsUpdateAgent30-x86.exe /wuforce" (without quotations) and then press "Enter" to install the Windows Update engine.
This step did the trick, and we were able to once again start getting updates. So apparently something in the update agent had gotten corrupt.
I just thought I would pass along this information in case anyone else comes across this error, which I found out is quite common afterall.
1. Security Settings are incorrect.
2. A Windows Update agent file is not working.
3. Incorrect configuration of Automatic Updates service.
These were the steps that were tried:
Step 1: Automatically restore security settings to the default
==================================================
1. Access the link http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=313222
2. Click "Fix this problem" link and click "Run" in the "File Download" dialog box.
3. Follow the steps in this wizard.
Didn't help at all, so on to step two:
Step 2: Reinstall Windows Update Agent 3.0
=====================================
1. Downloaded the file from the following link:
http://download.windowsupdate.com/windowsupdate/redist/standalone/7.4.7600.226/windowsupdateagent30-x86.exe
2. Saved the file to "C: drive".
3. Click "Start", "Run", type: "C:\WindowsUpdateAgent30-x86.exe /wuforce" (without quotations) and then press "Enter" to install the Windows Update engine.
This step did the trick, and we were able to once again start getting updates. So apparently something in the update agent had gotten corrupt.
I just thought I would pass along this information in case anyone else comes across this error, which I found out is quite common afterall.