Knowledge Base

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Article Summary: This article provides information on troubleshooting error 0x80244021 when checking for updates on a Windows machine.

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When attempting to check for updates from a Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) server on a computer running Windows 7 or a later version (including client and server versions), you may receive the following error:



Clicking Try again simply results in the error being repeated. As shown in WUA Networking Error Codes, code 0x80244021 translates to WU_E_PT_HTTP_STATUS_BAD_GATEWAY, which in turn translates to "The server, while acting as a gateway or proxy, received an invalid response from the upstream server it accessed in attempting to fulfill the request."

Note that in this situation, the affected computer may or may not be able to automatically check for and download updates from WSUS. Manual update checking will definitely be affected, however.

This issue can occur if the computer checking for updates is behind a proxy server, even if the WSUS server is on the same local network and Internet Explorer is configured to bypass the proxy server for local addresses. A packet trace will confirm that traffic is being sent to the proxy rather than the local WSUS server. The reason this happens is twofold:

• As explained in KB900935: How the Windows Update Client Determines Which Proxy Server to Use to Connect to the Windows Update Web Site, if a proxy server is explicitly specified in Internet Explorer, the Windows Update client will use that proxy server.
• Further, as explained in KB262981: Internet Explorer Uses Proxy Server for Local IP Address Even if the "Bypass Proxy Server for Local Addresses" Option Is Turned On, the "Bypass Proxy Server..." option only applies when a user attempts to access a local site using its NetBIOS name. Accessing a local site by its IP address or fully-qualified domain name (FQDN) results in traffic being sent to the proxy server's address.

Since the Group Policy setting that directs clients to a WSUS server typically uses the server's FQDN, manually checking for updates causes traffic to be sent to the proxy server instead of directly to the WSUS server, and error 0x80244021 results. To resolve the issue, follow the steps listed in KB262981, linked above, to create one or more exceptions to Internet Explorer's proxy configuration on affected machines:

1. From within Internet Explorer, open the Internet Options window.
2. Under the Connections tab, click LAN settings.
   
3. In the LAN Settings window, click Advanced.
   
4. In the Exceptions section, add the FQDN of the WSUS server.
   
5. Click OK until the Internet Options window is closed. You should now be able to check for and install updates from the WSUS server.

A lot of flexibility is available when creating proxy exceptions in Internet Explorer. For more information, see Using Proxy Selection and Proxy Bypass Lists.

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