Several Windows 7 users are reporting that Windows Update is broken, throwing up error 80248015. A detailed thread about the issue is open on Microsoft Answers forum where many have reported the error.
Users are receiving the following message when they try to run Windows Update on machines running Windows 7:
"Windows Update cannot currently check for updates because the service is not running. You may need to restart your computer."
Mary Jo Foley from ZDNet reported a different error, " Windows could not search for new updates." However, the point is that there"s a problem which the Redmond-based company has to fix at the earliest.
As per Computerworld, the main cause is likely that Microsoft forgot to change the expiration date, which is why users are seeing the errors with Windows Update. A temporary solution is to set the date to something older than December 3, 2017, and run Windows Update.
There"s no word from Microsoft about the issue, so Windows 7 users have to wait until the problem is resolved by the company. Microsoft confirmed that Windows 7 will get security updates through mid-January 2020, so we should expect a fix for this issue as there are plenty of users who are still using the operating system.
Source: Microsoft Answers via ComputerWorld, ZDNet, GHacks