Error 0x80070422Service is disabled or not running

What it means

0x80070422 maps to ERROR_SERVICE_DISABLED: Windows tried to use a service and could not, because the service is set to Disabled or has no enabled devices. The most common case is the Windows Update service (wuauserv) having been turned off, so update checks fail immediately. The same code appears for the Windows Defender Firewall service and a few other feature services when they are disabled.

Services get disabled by "debloat" scripts, privacy tools, misguided optimisation guides, or occasionally malware.

Fix through the Services console

1. Press Win+R, type services.msc, press Enter.
2. Find the service named in the context, usually Windows Update.
3. Double-click it, set Startup type to Automatic (Manual is acceptable for Windows Update), click Apply, then Start.
4. For a firewall 0x80070422, do the same for Windows Defender Firewall.

Fix from the command line

In an elevated prompt (see sc):

sc config wuauserv start= auto
sc start wuauserv

For the firewall:

sc config mpssvc start= auto
sc start mpssvc

Note the required space after start=.

Check dependencies

If the service will not start, a service it depends on may also be disabled. Windows Update depends on Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS), Cryptographic Services (cryptSvc) and RPC. Ensure those are running or set to manual as well. Many of these run inside svchost.exe.

If it recurs

A service that re-disables itself after you enable it points to a tool or script re-applying the change, or to malware. Identify what runs at startup (Task Manager → Startup, and scheduled tasks), remove the offending optimisation tool, and run a malware scan. A service that starts but then times out is a different error; see 1053.