An unexpected error occurred in the WSUS Snap-in

You may have seen the Update Service console on your WSUS server stating ‘An unexpected error occurred in the WSUS Snap-in‘ after configuring your server, making DNS changes, applying Windows updates, or after a restart. This error can be due to various reasons, but is usually linked to the networking of the system. In this post, we are going to talk about this issue and see what you can do to resolve it.

An unexpected error occurred in the WSUS snap-in. The snap-in will be
unloaded.

Click the Unload WSUS Snap-in button to allow MMC to unload the Snap-in. MMC will ask you if you would like to report this error to Microsoft. 

Fix An unexpected error occurred in the WSUS Snap-in

If an unexpected error occurred in the WSUS Snap-in, you need to follow the solutions mentioned below.

1. Delete MMC Cache
2. Check Critical Services
3. Adjust IIS Memory Limits for WSUS
4. Reset WSUS Server Node or Reinstall Snap-in.

1] Delete MMC Cache

You may encounter this issue if MMC or Microsoft Management Console cache files are corrupted. MMC stores user-specific console settings (window layout, expanded nodes, preferences) in local cache files to restore your last session. Therefore, clearing the cache is the most effective solution in this case. To clear the cache, you need to delete the MMC Cache using the following steps.

• Exit the WSUS console and any other MMC windows (e.g., Device Manager, Group Policy Editor).
• Now, open the Task Manager and terminate MMC (mmc.exe) processes.
• Hit Win + R, type “%appdata%\Microsoft\MMC”, and click on Ok.
• Delete alll files named:
  • wsus
  • Update Services or Services
  • wsus.msc (if present)
  • Any file starting with tmp_wsus
• Now, launch the WSUS console as Administrator and MMC will automatically recreate new cache files.

Check if the issue is resolved.

2] Check Critical Services

Next, verify that all critical WSUS Services are running properly. If any are stopped or misconfigured, the WSUS console will fail to load or throw “unexpected error” messages.

Open the Services app from the Start Menu and look for the following services.

• WsusService
• MSSQL$MICROSOFT##WID
• W3SVC
• IISADMIN
• WAS
• MSSQLSERVER (or your SQL instance name)

All the services should be running to ensure that you don’t get the error. If any of these services are not running, start them

To start the service, right-click on the service and select Start. If a service fails to start, double-click on it, go to the Log on tab, and ensure it’s set to the Local System accounr or a domain account with permissions. Also, ensure that the Startup type to Automatic (Delayed Start). Finally, reboot the computer.

For WID, verify no Group Policy blocks NT SERVICE\MSSQL$MICROSOFT##WID from starting.

3] Adjust IIS Memory Limits for WSUS

The IIS Application Pool may recycle or crash due to memory constraints and throw the error message in question. When WSUS operations exceed the default memory cap, the IIS worker process terminates abruptly and breaks the WSUS console connection. To adjust ISS Memory Limits for WSUS, you need to follow the solutions mentioned below.

Via IIS

1. Launch Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.
2. Now, go to Application Pools > WsusPool > Advanced Settings.
3. Set Private Memory Limit (KB) to 0, Queue Length from 1,000 to 25,000, and for Rapid-Fail Protection, set Enabled to False as it prevents pool shutdown after crashes.
4. Right-click on WsusPool and click on Recycle.

Via PowerShell

Open PowerShell as an administrator and then run the following commands.

# Set unlimited private memory

Set-ItemProperty "IIS:\AppPools\WsusPool" -Name "recycling.periodicRestart.privateMemory" -Value 0

# Increase queue length to 25,000

Set-ItemProperty "IIS:\AppPools\WsusPool" -Name "queueLength" -Value 25000

# Disable rapid-fail protection

Set-ItemProperty "IIS:\AppPools\WsusPool" -Name "failure.rapidFailProtection" -Value $false

# Restart IIS

iisreset

Now, restart dependent services using the following command.

Restart-Service WsusService, W3SVC, IISADMIN

Hopefully, this should help.

4] Reset WSUS Server Node or Reinstall Snap-in

If nothing works, our last solution is to reset the WSUS Server Node or reinstall the Snap-in. First, let’s reset the Server Node using the following steps.

1. Open the WSUS Console.
2. Right-click on the top-level server node and select Reset Server Node.
3. Wait for a minute or two while the console rebuilds the cache that we just deleted.

If this didn’t help, you need to reinstall WSUS Snap-in. For that, follow the steps mentioned below.

1. Open Server Manager.
2. Go to Manage > Remove Roles and Features.
3. Uncheck Windows Server Update Services under Server Roles.
4. Now, follow the on-screen instructions for removal, make sure to not delete SUSDB or WSUSContent.
5. Run the following commands one by one to remove residual MMC Files.
6. Remove-Item “$env:APPDATA\Microsoft\MMC\wsus” -Force -Recurse
7. Remove-Item “C:\Program Files\Update Services\*” -Recurse -Force
8. Now, from the Server Manager, install WSUS Role. During the setup, reattach to the existing SUSDB database and WSUSContent directory.

Finally, check if the issue is resolved.

Read: Using Windows Server Update Services in Enterprise environment

How to solve WSUS error connection issue?

To resolve WSUS connection errors, first verify critical services are running (WsusService, W3SVC, and database services via services.msc). Next, check firewall rules to ensure ports 8530 (HTTP) and 8531 (HTTPS) are open. Reset IIS using iisreset and delete the MMC cache (%appdata%\Microsoft\MMC\wsus). If issues persist, reset the server node in the WSUS console (right-click server name → “Reset Server Node”) or reinstall the WSUS role/RSAT tools. Finally, confirm DNS resolution and host file entries point correctly to the WSUS server.

Read: How to import updates into WSUS using PowerShell

What is error code 0x80244017 in WSUS client?

Error code 0x80244017 indicates a Windows Update client cannot connect to your WSUS server, typically due to network issues (firewall blocking ports 80/443, DNS failure), misconfigured Group Policy (wrong WSUS URL), or SSL/TLS problems (expired/revoked certificate). To resolve this issue, you can follow the tips mentioned below.

1. Verify gpresult /r shows the correct WSUS URL under Specify intranet Microsoft update service location.
2. Test connectivity (ping + telnet WSUS_Server 8530).
3. Reset the client (wuauclt /detectnow + reboot).

Also Read: Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) Troubleshooting.