I'm running into an issue with Windows Update on Windows 7 Professional. I am totally up to date in Windows Updates as of last week, but discovered this issue [today] during my Sunday morning PC maintenance ritual. In CONTROL PANEL -> SYSTEM & SECURITY -> Windows Update, when I select "Check for Updates", I get a pop-up stating:

"Windows Update cannot currently check for updates, because the service is not running. You may need to restart your computer."

I've re-started several times, checked that the service hadn't been disabled at start up, and I've googled extensively on the topic - but have come up with nothing. I know there must be some way to start the service from the cmd line, and I would like to know how to get the service to start at boot.

Please let me know if I have left any details out that may aid in formulating a response. Any of the community's excellent insights would be greatly appreciated!