0x80070422 means a service the update depends on is disabled: the requested work cannot start because the machinery that does it was switched off. It appears immediately when checking for updates or starting their installation. On Windows, the Windows Update service itself, or one of its dependencies, is set to Disabled.
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth, then sfc /scannow. Restart afterwards; a repaired store often lets the same update sail through on the next attempt.If a service refuses to stay enabled or flips back to Disabled, something is actively setting it: security or “optimizer” software is the usual author, and malware is the less common one. Remove the tool doing it, run a full Windows Security scan, and if the configuration still will not hold, an in-place repair install restores the service defaults.
Who disabled my Windows Update service? Most often a tweaking, debloating, or privacy tool, sometimes a PC ‘optimizer,’ occasionally malware that wants the machine unpatched. Windows does not disable its own update service in normal operation, so a Disabled setting is a fingerprint of something that was run on purpose or installed.
Will setting the service to Automatic cause forced updates? Manual is the factory default and is enough: Windows starts the service itself when an update check runs. Automatic also works. The point of this fix is only to get it out of Disabled, which blocks updates entirely.