Windows Update Tips - Clearing Windows Update History or...Everthing

At time Windows Update can become stuck or unstable.  Here's s few tips on troubleshooting Windows Update (I'm using Windows 7 as my reference).

Clearing Download Cache
Stop Service:
   net stop wuauserv
Delete only the %windir%\Software Distribution\Download folder

Resetting Windows Update History
Stop service:
   net stop wuauserv
Delete Entire %windir%\Software Distribution Folder

Resetting all Windows Update Components (The Nuclear Option)
Stop all Windows Update related services:
   net stop bits
   net stop wuauserv
   net stop appidsvc
   net stop cryptsvc

Some References on Windows Updates
Microsoft.com: How do I reset Windows Update components?

[SOLVED] Lenovo A6000 Update Error: "Your phone has not switched carriers an cannot be upgraded" (status 101)

     My Lenovo A6000 has been stuck on Android 4.4.4 ever since I bought it...I was so happy when the system updater notified me that an upgrade was available!  After downloading the 1GB update though it failed to install.  So I tried it again...and the installation failed again.  So what is a self-respecting Android user supposed to do but go find the OTA and download it from XDA-Developers.  I downloaded this ROM here:

     XDA - Lenovo A6000 5.0.2 official rom file (Google Drive)  | Direct LINK - Google Drive Direct Link

I made a backup of this ZIP here, but I make no warranty about it's safety or legitimacy:

     Personal Copy of Kraft-A6000_S052_150825_WCCA.zip

     (Note: Later I found this link too...for what it's worth. Lenovo a6000 plus Lolipop 5.0.2 official OTA zip file(Google drive)

     To install it, I saved the file to my SD Card and then powered off the phone.  The instructions for going into Recovery mode are (source: How to Enter Recovery Mode on A6000):

• Power off your device.
• Boot in recovery mode by pressing and holding Volume Up and Power Button at the same time.
• Release all buttons when the Lenovo A6000 screen flickers and in a few seconds the Recovery screen will appear.
• When the Android image appears press Power shortly

     After installing the ZIP file from the SD Card (one of the options in recovery mode) I got an error that the installation did not finish...but on rebooting the phone the OS was at version 5.0.2! What?!  Almost immediately after that  it prompted me to install another update, version S056, a 156MB update. Downloaded, rebooted, and then got this error:

LENOVO A6000 System Update Kraft-A6000_S054_150915 - lenovoError details..Stock recovery says, "Your phone does not switch carrier, cannot upgrade"E: Error in /data/data/com.Lenovo.its/ap_its packages/(long hash numbers)-Lenovo ota.zip
Status(101)Installation aborted

     Man...what is the deal with Lenovo's ROMs?! After searching the Internet it becomes very obvious that the Lollipop upgrade for Lenovo phones is NOT GOING WELL. (Example: Lenovo Forum).  After some searching and finding many solutions that involve downgrading, using ADB, and other advanced method I found two off-the-cuff remarks that the "Carrier" ZIP files are bundled in the original "Kraft-A6000_S052_150825_WCCA.zip" file. So the solution I found to work for me was:

1. Extract Kraft-A6000_S052_150825_WCCA.zip on a desktop computer (I used Windows)
2. Locate the correct country .zip file in the extracted files. For me the file I needed was HongKong.ota.zip
3. Connect the phone the computer via USB and copy that file to the root of the SD Card (I used MTP mode).
4. When I tried to boot the phone into Recovery mode using the original instructions above the phone was unresponsive at the touch menu (so many bugs!)...so the only way I found to easily force the phone into recovery mode is to allow the System Update Utility to download and attempt to install the 156MB update...and then FAIL which leaves you in Recovery mode thankfully.  Select install update from SD Card and then choose your country's specific OTA.ZIP file.  This succeded and automatically rebooted the phone.

     I made a backup of the ZIPs here, but I make no warranty about it's safety or legitimacy:

          Extracted folder of Lenovo Carrier ZIPs on Google Drive

     After this procedure the System Update worked for me successfully after re-downloading the 156MB package again.

HOW TO: Create a bootable USB flash drive in Windows from an ISO (Manually)

Summary:
A bootable USB flash drive can be used as an alternative to booting from CD or PXE on a enterprise network.

Prerequisites:

• ISO file that you want to boot from (Linux, Windows, etc.).  In the example below I will make a bootable Windows 8 Installation CD USB drive.
• USB Flash Drive: Verify that it is large enough to hold the entire contents of the ISO file
• 7-Zip: Used to extract the .ISO file to the USB Flash Drive. [DOWNLOAD]

Preparing the bootable USB Flash Drive:
1. Insert a USB Flash Drive into a Windows 7 or Windows 8 client.
2. As an Administrator launch the Command Prompt. (Windows Logo + R, type: cmd.exe, Enter)
3. In the Command Prompt type:

ATTENTION: Replace '#' with the DISK number of the USB Flash Drive.

diskpart
list disk
select disk #
clean
create par primary
select par 1
active
format fs=fat32 label="Win8ProInstall" quick
assign
exit

4. It may be necessary to remove the USB Flash Drive and re-insert it.
5. Locate the file windows8pro.iso on you local computer (or whatever the ISO you have is called)
6. Right-click on the file windows8pro.iso and locate the 7-Zip context menu option.
7. From the 7-Zip context menu select the option "Extract files...".
8. In the "Extract" dialog enter the drive letter of the USB Flash Drive and click "OK" to begin extracting the files.
9. Once the extract process completes, eject the USB Flash Drive. Test the drive to ensure that it is ready for production use.

Alternate Instructions - Especially for Linux based ISO's:
Although I've had less success with creating Windows bootable USB drives with another tool called UnetbootIn - it can create bootable USB drives without the need for entering data in a command prompt.  Personally I've found this tool to work much more reliably with Linux bootable drives.

UnetbootIn Project Homepage