2026-03 Security Update (KB5079473) (26200.8037) Update Failing

Hi. I'm David, and I'm happy to help you.

It's possible that one failed update is causing subsequent updates to fail as well, especially when they are related to drivers or system components. Since your Intel and NVIDIA display drivers are failing, that explains why brightness control is not working. Once the root cause is resolved, the other updates should also succeed.

Please clarify the following:

Do you have a third-party antivirus installed? If yes, which one?

Additionally, could you let me know the current "OS Build" of your Windows 11?

• Press "Windows + R", type winver, and click OK.

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I await your reply.

Error 0x80070002 during Windows Update generally indicates corrupted or incomplete update components. For repeated update failures (including KB5079473 and multiple Intel/NVIDIA driver updates), use the built‑in servicing repair and then retry Windows Update.

Follow these steps in order:

1. Run component cleanup (fixes many update failures)
   1. Select Start, type cmd.
   2. Right‑click Command Prompt and select Run as administrator.
   3. If prompted by UAC, select Yes.
   4. In the Command Prompt window, run:

            dism /online /cleanup-image /startcomponentcleanup
      

   5. Wait for the command to complete.
   6. Restart the device.
   7. Go to Settings → Windows Update and select Check for updates. Try installing KB5079473 and the pending driver updates again.
2. If updates still fail If the same or similar error persists after the DISM cleanup and reboot, follow the guidance to troubleshoot upgrade/installation errors:
   • See Get help with Windows 10 upgrade and installation errors (applies similarly to Windows 11) from the Windows Update help article referenced below and work through the recommended steps (additional DISM/SFC checks, freeing disk space, etc.).
3. For repeated driver‑specific failures (Intel/NVIDIA) After the servicing cleanup and a successful Windows Update check:
   • Let Windows Update attempt the Intel and NVIDIA driver installs again.
   • If specific Intel chipset or management engine components continue to fail, open Device Manager → System devices, right‑click the affected Intel device, choose Update driver, and allow Windows to search automatically. This uses the same mechanism described for Intel chipset devices in the SMBus controller article.

If, after DISM cleanup, reboot, and retry, KB5079473 still fails and no other Windows Update troubleshooting steps resolve it, wait and retry later; in some cases the issue can self‑correct on Microsoft’s side, as reported in a similar KB5079473 failure case.

References:

• When trying to install updates from Windows Update you might receive "Updates Failed. There were problems installing some updates, but we'll try again later" with Errors: 0x80073701, 0x800f0988
• Loss of functionality for some Intel SMBus Controller devices after you update your system through Windows Update
• Latest Security Update KB5079473 (26200.8037) Fails to Install - Microsoft Q&A