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How to fix Windows 10 update issues like "Your Device is Missing Important Security and Quality Fixes”

I bought a second-hand Alienware laptop off Facebook Marketplace. It looked in near-new condition and the seller reset the laptop and along with it, the Windows 10 installation.
But when I got it home, the Windows 10 automatic update got stuck several times, eventually stuck on “Your Device is Missing Important Security and Quality Fixes” and error 0x800f984 with retries failing.

I searched for a solution and found this page . I tried the initial solutions including trying to fix corrupted files, but after hours, it seemed the best and most straightforward solution was to just bypass the automated installer and go straight to Microsoft to download Windows 10 updates.
It did take a while to download (on my slow internet connection) but I didn't need to use the command line to try speculative fixes, or any even more complicated solutions that might result in a worse situation if done incorrectly. Afterwards, it had a few more updates but they went through fine.

That page also has a handy tool to prepare a USB (minimum 8 GB) as an installation disk to completely reinstall Windows on a PC.

If you have update issues, I recommend trying this method first. Depending on how outdated your current Windows 10 version is, updates with features can be a big download and the installation time afterwards can be substantial.

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