In most cases, this problem will appear when your OS will recommend the installation of a Realtek driver that is already installed on your PC. This is most commonly the reason why you’ll see the 0x80070103 error. There are two major ways to force your OS to recognize that the update is already installed – you can either run the Windows Update Troubleshooter or you can temporarily pause & restart the updates to force the recognition of the overlap. If the Realtek driver is indeed missing from your computer and Windows Update can’t install it, you can simply download & install it manually from your motherboard manufacturer’s website. However, this problem can also occur due to a WU inconsistency. In this case, you should restart the main WU service, clear the WU temp folder and clear the Windows download folders before attempting to install the updates again. System file corruption can also be an underlying cause of why you might experience this problem. To fix it, deploy SFC & DISM scans in quick succession or refresh every OS file with a clean install or repair install procedure. There’s also a way to hide the error without finding the root cause of the issue – by using the Show or Hide Update Troubleshooter to hide the Realtek driver. Below you’ll find a series of confirmed methods that other affected users have successfully used to fix or circumvent the 0x80070103 error.
1. Run the Windows Update Troubleshooter
If this problem is occurring because you already have the Realtek driver that Windows Updates tries to push installed on your PC, running the Windows Update Troubleshooter will allow you to fix the issue easily and painlessly. Note: The Windows Update Troubleshooter includes a series of automated repair strategies that your OS will be capable of enforcing automatically depending on the discovered issue. After an initial analysis, the utility will recommend a viable fix to fix the Windows Update issue at hand. Other users that have leveraged this fix have confirmed that after deploying the recommended fix (most commonly the restart of all involved WU dependencies) the failing update disappeared from the queue as their OS realized that the update was already installed. Update: This fix is mostly confirmed to be effective on Windows 11. Despite a reputation of ineffectiveness, the built-in Troubleshooter appears to be effective in this circumstance. Here’s a quick tutorial on how to run the Windows Update troubleshooter and fix the error code 0x80070103 when installing Realtek drivers: Note: The instructions below are universal and will work on both Windows 10 and Windows 11, but the screens and menu items will e slightly different than those below if you’re using Windows 10.
2. Pause & Restart updates
If the problem occurs because WU tries to install a Realtek driver that you already installed manually and the method above didn’t help, the easiest way to fix it is by accessing the Windows Update screen and pausing updates for a week. Note: This method will work because Microsoft has already released a hotfix for this issue. If you originally got this error due to WU trying to install a pending update that was already installed for you, the problem won’t return after 1 week because your WU servers are updated to avoid this issue as of now. According to Microsoft’s employees, this hotfix was pushed on every WU channel (including Windows Insider). Follow the instructions below to access the Windows Update screen (inside Windows Settings) and pause the updates for one week and fix the 0x80070103 error.:
3. Download the Realtek driver from the manufacturer’s website
If you’ve already taken the steps to ensure that the 0x80070103 error is not occurring due to a Realtek driver that already exists on your system, there’s a big chance the reason you are experiencing this issue is due to driver mismatch. Most commonly, the Realtek driver version that WU tries to install on your system is not compatible with your hardware. If this scenario is applicable, you can get the issue fixed by accessing the download page of your system manufacturer and manually downloading & install the Realtek driver. Follow the instructions below for specific steps on how to do this: Note: The screens you’ll see below will be different depending on your system manufacturer’s website.
4. Restart the Windows Update Service
Another reason why you can expect to see the 0x80070103 error is when the primary Windows Update service is stuck in a limbo state (it’s neither open nor closed). This is typically encountered on older Windows 10 builds when a cumulative or feature update is unexpectedly interrupted by a system shutdown. If this scenario is applicable, you should be able to fix the error by using the Services screen to restart the main Windows Update service. Note: This fix has been confirmed to work on both Windows 10 and Windows 11. There’s no need to restart any other service dependencies besides the main Windows Update service. Here’s a quick guide on restarting the main Windows Update service:
5. Hide the Failing update with the Show or Hide Update Troubleshooter
Microsoft has a history of pushing upgrades that interfere with previously installed security components. In this case, the situation is a bit different since you’re most likely seeing the 0x80070103 error because the update that’s failing is already installed on your system. One way to take care of this issue in this particular scenario is to use the Microsoft Show or Hide Troubleshooter to prevent your system from trying to install the incompatible driver again. To hide the KB5012643 update, use the Microsoft Show or Hide troubleshooter application as described below:
6. Delete the Windows Temp Files (Windows 11)
You can also expect to see the 0x80070103 error when installing a pending Realtek sound driver due to corrupted data stored inside the temp or prefetch folder. Some affected users that we’re also dealing with this issue have reported that the problem was fixed and they’ve been able to install the failing Realtek driver normally after they they deleted the temporary windows files. On Windows 11, both of these directories are prone to hosting corrupted system data (especially if you use insider build versions). Note: The Temp is a directory used by Windows to store temporary system files associated with your applications and system processes, Prefetch is dedicated to storing temporary launch data that is used to optimize boot and program launch times. Both of these directories can be deleted without impacting other components of the operating system. Follow the procedures below to clear both the Temp and Prefetch files on Windows 11 and fix the 0x80070103 error:
7. Deploy SFC & DISM Scans
System file corruption is another potential reason why you might be unable to install the pending Realtek driver as well as any other update your OS tries to install via Windows Updates. If you’ve reached this method without a viable fix, you should try to repair the damaged Windows files & associated dependencies that are causing this behavior on your Windows 11 laptop. SFC, short for System File Checker, and DISM, short for Deployment Image Servicing and Management, are two built-in tools that you can use to automatically find and replace broken system files with their healthy counterparts. Here’s a quick guide on how to deploy SFC and DISM scans in quick succession:
8. Install the failing update via Microsoft Update Catalog
One quick workaround that will allow you to install the failing update without having to locate and repair the main cause of the problem is the Microsoft Update Catalog. This is the easiest and quickest approach to avoid the 0x80070103 error and ‘sideload’ the Realtek driver via the official Microsoft directory for updates. Important: Going this route will not solve the underlying source of the problem. Even if you are successful in sideloading the ‘bad’ Realtek update, this will not resolve the root cause of the problem. To ‘sideload’ the failing update via the MUC infrastructure, follow the steps below:
9. Perform a repair install or clean install
If you’ve gotten this far in your troubleshooting quest and you’re still seeing the Realtek driver in the WU queue and it’s not installing, you’re most likely dealing with some sort of system file corruption that’s affecting Windows Update. Because there are literally tens of thousands of potential culprits that could be to fault for this problem, the best course of action would be to ensure that you replace every Windows file with a healthy equivalent. This ensures that any possibly corrupted Windows Update dependency is replaced with a healthy counterpart. There are two approaches you can take in this case: • Do a repair install (in-place repair) – This method will only affect your system files, leaving everything else unaffected. If you have sensitive personal information that you cannot afford to lose, this should be your first step. Keep in mind, however, that appropriate installation discs are necessary. • Do a clean install – This is the simplest option. If you don’t have the necessary installation CDs, you can still perform this procedure, but you’ll lose any personal data, documents, and media stored on the operating system partition.
