The Best Solutions to the Windows 10 Error Code 0x80004005

Windows is one of the most popular operating systems worldwide, which is due in particular to its high level of user friendliness and the broad support of third-party applications and devices.

But like other software, Microsoft systems are known to be anything but perfect: Windows is also known for system crashes and error messages that appear to appear out of nowhere and only transmit cryptic error codes . The best example of this is the 0x80004005 error, which even Microsoft calls an “unspecified” error. In what situations can it occur and what are the possible solutions to fix the windows 10 error code 0x80004005?

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What is behind the Windows 10 error code 0x80004005?

The Windows 10 error code 0x80004005 is a cross-version error message that occurs particularly in situations in which users are denied access to an application , a service or a device for unforeseen reasons. Possible scenarios in which such access problems with the windows 10 error code 0x80004005can occur are, for example, the following:

Installation of a Windows update or a program
Updating software
Establishing a connection to a network
Access to shared network resources
Receive email in Outlook
Start a virtual machine
Extract a compressed file

Even if the 0x80004005 error is one of the rare Windows errors, it can occur in a wide variety of situations. However, since the cause is not a malfunction of the system but can be traced back to incorrect or incorrect settings or files of the applications, services or devices concerned, there is also no uniform solution for the access problem. Rather, the possible solutions depend on the context in which the 0x80004005 error occurred .

Solutions for the 0x80004005 error during Windows updates

If the installation of a new Windows update does not work and you get the error code “0x80004005” instead, you have various possible solutions: For example, you can use the troubleshooting provided by Microsoft , check (including repair) the system files, the update services restart or install the respective update manually .

Solution 1: Troubleshoot

Windows 7 and Windows 8 users can download the Windows Update Troubleshooter from the Microsoft forum . After the download, start troubleshooting by double-clicking the downloaded file (WindowsUpdate.diagcab). Then select the entry ” Windows Update ” and click on ” Next “, whereupon Windows begins to attempt to fix the update error.

In Windows 10, the update error handling is located in the ” Update and Security ” menu . You can find this in the settings, which can be opened using the button of the same name in the start menu. After you have opened the “Update and Security” menu, select the “ Troubleshoot ” section in the left side menu and click on the “ Windows Update ” entry . Then the button ” Perform troubleshooting ” appears, via which you can start the auxiliary tool:

Solution 2: Check and Repair the System files using SFC

If the installation of a Windows update is blocked, this may be due to damaged or missing system files. In this case you can solve the problem with the help of the command line program SFC ( S ystem F ile C hecker), which is installed by default on all Windows systems. However, this solution only works if you have administrator rights , because you have to run the command prompt as administrator in order to start SFC. If you meet this requirement, start the system check as follows:

Type ” cmd ” into the Windows search.
Select the command prompt with a right click and then click on the menu item “Run as administrator “.
Enter the command sfc / scannow and press the [Enter] key.

Solution 3: Restart the update Services

In order to be able to obtain and install the updates regularly provided by Microsoft, Windows uses various services. If these do not work properly, errors such as the 0x80004005 error code are a possible consequence. A promising solution is therefore to restart these services, which you can also do via the command prompt . So start it as administrator as described in the previous section and enter the following commands in order to stop the services in the first step:

Solution 4: Install the update manually

If the 0x80004005 error still appears in the update center despite the attempted solutions described, you can try to download and install the relevant update manually. To do this, make a note of the associated knowledge base number and enter it into the search window of the web-based Microsoft Update catalog . You will then receive a list of the installation files for the update for the various architectures, from which you only need to find the variant that suits you.

After the download, double-click the downloaded msu file . Follow the instructions and then restart the PC to complete the update process.

This is how you can fix the 0x80004005 error in Microsoft Outlook

If you get the windows 10 error code 0x80004005 while checking e-mails with the Outlook client, there could be two main reasons:

The anti-virus software you are using is blocking the retrieval of received messages.
There is a problem with the notification of newly received emails.

You can quickly and easily check whether the former is the case by temporarily deactivating the security software you are using and trying to retrieve your messages again. If it turns out that the program is actually responsible for the access problem, you should contact the manufacturer directly or switch to another solution.

If the problem is that the notification of new emails does not work, you can solve this problem by deactivating the feature. To do this, open the Outlook options (“File” -> “Options”) and switch to the “ E-Mail ” category . Remove then in the ” new messages ” uncheck ” Desktop Alert Show ” and accept the change by clicking ” OK “.

Error code “0x80004005” when unzipping files – what to do?

If you want to unzip zipped files with the standard Windows tool and are confronted with the 0x80004005 error, this usually indicates that the archive was compressed with an algorithm that is not supported . A second possible cause is that the ZIP file is password-protected , because the Windows program only offers support for ZIPCrypto and AES-128, while encrypted archive files are often based on AES-256.

The obvious solution is to rely on third-party tools like WinZip or the freely licensed 7-Zipto fall back on. These programs support far more compression and encryption methods than the built-in Windows service and greatly increase your chances of being able to open the file.

Fix 0x80004005 Network Error – Here’s How It Works

When using private or public networks, errors such as “0x80004005” often occur, which can optionally prevent access to the entire network or to individual network resources (e.g. shared folders or drives). One of the most common causes for this is that Client for Microsoft Networks and / or File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks are not enabled. To fix the error, it is sufficient in most cases to activate these two services , which is done as follows:

Open the control panel from the start menu.
Click on the point “ Network and Sharing Center ” (symbol view).
Select the problematic network connection under the heading “Show active networks” and click on ” Properties ” in the menu that then appears .
Check the entries “Client for Microsoft Networks” and “File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks”.
Save the changes by clicking on ” OK “.

If access to shared folders is prevented, the status of the Windows services mentioned should also be checked on the part of the network participant who makes the respective resources available in the network .

How to fix 0x80004005 errors when installing or updating software

The windows 10 error code 0x80004005 occurs not only with problems with applications and services from Microsoft, but also with problems with third-party software – especially when installing or updating it. One possible reason for this is that the file or files used to install or update a program are corrupted . If you have downloaded it from the Internet, you can first try downloading it again.

If the problem persists, you should direct your attention to the security software used: Both the real-time protection and the Windows firewall and corresponding solutions from third-party providers can basically block the execution of installation files and thus cause error messages like “0x80004005”.

Temporarily disable the respective tools to check whether they are actually responsible for the error. Before doing this, however, make absolutely sure that you obtain the installation files from a reputable source . Otherwise, you risk paving malware its way into your system.

Solutions for the 0x80004005 error when using VirtualBox

VirtualBox is one of the best-known solutions for virtually running any number of guest operating systems such as Ubuntu or other Windows editions. When starting a virtual machine that has been set up, however, the 0x80004005 error code can also occur.

In most cases, the problem is that virtualization software files have been lost or damaged . For such scenarios, VirtualBox offers a repair function that you can use by running the setup again and selecting the “Repair” option. VirtualBox then automatically replaces incorrect or missing files without having to delete machines that have already been set up.

Access error when you start a VirtualBox machine can be the result of a driver problem also: Lenovo works with the driver “VirtualBox NDIS6 Bridged Networking Driver”, which is why this in the settings of the network connection ” VirtualBox Host-Only Network must be enabled.” So open the Network and Sharing Center and check in the settings of the mentioned adapter whether NDIS6 is activated. Put a check mark on the appropriate line to fix windows 10 0x80004005 error code.