Windows unable to check for updates - says service not started (even though the service is started)

I've seen a few Windows 7 machines that have Windows Update problems where the machine says the service is not started even the service is started.  When this happens, the computer can no longer check for updates and it'll go indefinitely without checking for updates. The fix is to wipe out the update cache and then check for updates again.

The process as described here:

Stop the Windows Update process
Delete the content from c:\windows\softwaredistribution
Start the Windows Update process

Check for Updates.

I also recommend that you make sure the system is set to install updates for all Microsoft products as well.  To do that, open Internet Explorer and put microsoft.com in the Compatibility View sites.  Then go to http://update.microsoft.com/microsoftupdate in IE.   

Windows 7 not installing updates

As of March 2017, I rarely ever touch a Windows 7 machine anymore, but I did today, and the machine was checking for updates over and over again.  I googled and found a solution in my case (below).  The machine I was working on had installed updates in October 2016.  In general, I'd say my process for updating Windows 7 machines is this:

Install the convenience update if the most recent updates were older than April 2016

If the convenience update is installed, then I'd recommend these commands from an elevated command prompt:

net stop wuauserv
net stop cryptSvc
net stop bits
net stop msiserver
ren C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution SoftwareDistribution.old
ren C:\Windows\System32\catroot2 catroot2.old
net start wuauserv
net start cryptSvc
net start bits
net start msiserver