United failed to fully capitalise on Manchester City's defeat at Stoke as they missed several chances to earn a much-needed win.
Marouane Fellaini struck the woodwork in the first half and had a shot saved from three yards by Adrian after the break while Anthony Martial, Jesse Lingard and Bastian Schweinsteiger all spurned good opportunities in front of goal.
This was not a lucky afternoon for West Ham, however
They could have just as easily registered their first win at Old Trafford since 2007.
The Hammers struck the woodwork twice and Victor Moses should have scored when clean through.
Mauro Zarate also somehow screwed his shot wide from close range after being played in by Andy Carroll.
The noises coming out of the Old Trafford boardroom before kick-off were of support for Louis van Gaal despite the less than convincing performances from his team.
But the only noise reverberating around Old Trafford at the final whistle was booing after this latest disappointment.
United, now fourth in the standings, may be just three points off the top of the table, but - make no mistake - their fans are deeply unhappy with their manager.
Fellaini looked keen to make an impression on his second league start of the season.
The Belgian got on the end of Paddy McNair's cross, but his header clipped the bar after being diverted off Winston Reid.
The West Ham defender came to his team's rescue again when he deflected Martial's shot wide from inside the box after some more good work from Fellaini, who cushioned Lingard's cross deep in the box with expertise.
United then barely troubled West Ham for the rest of the first half.
Mark Noble slotted the ball between Daley Blind and Matteo Darmian to send Moses clear, but David de Gea sprinted off his line to save.
The Hammers then struck the woodwork twice in twice minutes
De Gea dropped Aaron Creswell's ball into the box and Chris Smalling's attempted clearance hit Zarate on the head and clipped the left post.
Reid then lost his marker and powered a low header at the foot of the same post.
United were reeling
They were also lucky to have 11 men on the pitch too
Fellaini slid in late with his studs up on James Tomkins, but referee Mark Clattenburg kept his cards in his pocket.
Schweinsteiger also escaped punishment despite catching Reid with his left forearm.
Moses and Morgan Schneiderlin were replaced by Michail Antonio and Michael Carrick due to hamstring injuries and United substituted McNair for debutant Guillermo Varela after the restart.
Antonio was causing United no end of problems
He found Carroll with a low ball into the box and he cushioned the ball to Zarate, but, with the goal gaping, the forward somehow dragged his shot wide
It was an embarrassing miss and he knew it.
Fellaini then missed from the same distance at the other end when Adrian smothered his shot.
Schweinsteiger then curled a fierce shot just over
Van Gaal brought on Memphis Depay and he made a big impression, laying the ball off to Martial, but his shot whistled inches wide and United could not find a winner.
Source : PA
Source: PA