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

After replacing a hard drive in my laptop, the following error message appears when I click on "Check for updates":

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

In this case, the following method helped me to fix the problem:

1. Right-click on "Management" in "My Computer."
2. Click "Services and Applications" > "Services."
3. Disable "Windows Update" by clicking "Stop" after right-clicking on it. (Please do not close this window.)
4. Browse the folder "SoftwareDistribution" and change the name of this folder (e.g. to "SoftwareDistribution-2".)
5. Enable "Windows Update," which was stopped in step 3, by clicking "Start" after right-clicking on it.
6. Now "Windows Update" will work properly.