Cannot Contact Patch Source, 0x80248008

Issue

A Windows device fails to patch and shows as incompatible on the Devices page. The compatibility detail reports that the device cannot contact the patch source "Windows Update Server", and the underlying Windows Update error is:

0x80248008

Because the device cannot reach a working update source, scans return no applicable updates and patch policies have nothing to install.

Environment

• Automox (current agent release)
• Windows devices patched through Windows Update (OS, cumulative, and driver updates)
• Console areas: Devices page (compatibility status), Activity Log

Overview

0x80248008 is Windows Update's WU_E_DS_MISSINGDATA result — a data store error meaning the Windows Update data store is missing required information. On the device this shows up as Windows Update being unable to establish a usable update source, which Automox surfaces as "cannot contact the patch source."

There are two common causes, and it is worth identifying which one applies before making changes:

• The device is pointed at an unreachable update server. A Group Policy or registry setting (WUServer / WUStatusServer) directs Windows Update to an internal WSUS or SCCM server that is offline, decommissioned, or otherwise unreachable — often a leftover configuration on a device that is no longer meant to use WSUS. Windows Update never reaches a source, so no update metadata is stored.
• The local Windows Update data store is corrupted or incomplete. The SoftwareDistribution data store on the device is damaged or missing entries, so Windows Update cannot resolve a source even when connectivity is fine.

Resolution

1. Confirm whether the device is directed to a WSUS/SCCM server:
   • Check for a WSUS configuration in the registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate — specifically the WUServer and WUStatusServer values, and UseWUServer under the AU subkey.
   • If a WUServer value is present, the device is being redirected to that server. Automox honors a device's WSUS configuration — if the device is set to use WSUS, it will use WSUS.
2. If the device should use WSUS:
   • Verify the WSUS/SCCM server is online and reachable from the device (DNS resolves, the port answers, no firewall or proxy is blocking it).
   • Confirm the server has approved and synced the updates you expect — a reachable WSUS server with nothing approved still yields no applicable updates.
3. If the device should not use WSUS (the configuration is a leftover):
   • Remove the WSUS client settings so the device talks to Microsoft's public Windows Update service, then rescan. Removing the WUServer / WUStatusServer / UseWUServer values (or the GPO that sets them) redirects the device back to public Windows Update.
   • For a repeatable fix at scale, the base-tier Reset Windows Update Settings worklet in the Automox Worklet Catalog resets Windows Update components to their defaults and clears related files.
4. If no WSUS configuration is present (or the error persists after fixing the source), repair the local Windows Update data store:
   • Reset the Windows Update components by following Windows Update Services Reset.
   • As a lighter first attempt, clear only the data store: stop the Windows Update service in services.msc, delete the contents of %windir%\SoftwareDistribution\DataStore (this clears the update data store; it does not remove installed updates), then start the service again. If the error returns, perform the full reset.
5. Rescan the device and re-run the policy:
   • After the source is reachable and the data store rebuilds, the device's compatibility status clears on the next scan and pending patches become available.

Notes

• Automox does not override a device's Windows Update source. If a device is configured (by policy or registry) to use a WSUS/SCCM server, Automox scans against that server — so an unreachable or empty WSUS server presents as this error, not as an Automox connectivity problem.
• Clearing %windir%\SoftwareDistribution\DataStore clears cached update metadata and history; it does not uninstall applied updates. Back up the Windows Update log first if you need the history.
• For other Windows Update error codes seen on the device or in the Activity Log, see Common Windows Update Error Codes.