I think we are trying to help upgrading an existing Windows 10 installation. Post 10 is recommending completely wiping the disk and doing a clean install which would then require significant effort to reinstall all programs.
These installation problems are not helped by uninformative Microsoft error messages!
I could not agree more! How are we supposed to fix a "problem" when the error message is worded in a confusing way or we do not know what the error message means? Personally I have no idea what the error message means and nor would the average PC user for that matter.
Yes you are correct, I am not trying to install Windows 10. I already have that installed. I am trying to update (they call it "upgrade") to Version/Build 1511, 10586 of Windows 10.
Also, having to reach inside your machine and start pulling cables just to install Windows is so "old school" it is laughable. Wasn't Windows 10 supposed to be the most sophisticated and intelligent operating system to date? If so, it should be able to install an update on any PC that already has Windows 10 installed. But this is evidently not the case. The way it is now you can install Windows 10, but you can't update it to a later build. This is beyond a joke! Somewhere the programming has taken a backwards leap.
Could be you don't have a Microsoft reserved partition (this type of partition is never shown in disk management - it should be between EFI and C where you have unallocated space). You can see it using diskpart.
From a command prompt enter the commands in red (change the select disk 0 to select disk 1 if required) and post the results.Code:Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.10586] (c) 2015 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. C:\WINDOWS\system32>diskpart Microsoft DiskPart version 10.0.10586 Copyright (C) 1999-2013 Microsoft Corporation. On computer: Windows-vm1 DISKPART> select disk 0 Disk 0 is now the selected disk. DISKPART> list partition Partition ### Type Size Offset ------------- ---------------- ------- ------- Partition 1 Recovery 500 MB 20 KB Partition 2 System 200 MB 500 MB Partition 3 Reserved 16 MB 701 MB Partition 4 Primary 20 GB 717 MB DISKPART>
Thank you for your reply. The Diskpart image is as follows:
Are you sure this is a GPT disk? From diskpart enter list disk. There will be a * under the gpt heading if it is like thisThe partitions look like GPT / EUFI but there are a couple of problems... If your disk is indeed GPT type then you could make these changes...Code:DISKPART> list disk Disk ### Status Size Free Dyn Gpt -------- ------------- ------- ------- --- --- * Disk 0 Online 113 GB 128 MB * Disk 1 Online 14 GB 0 B DISKPART>
You are missing MSR between partitions 2 and 3. You can create it with diskpart as described here How to recreate a Microsoft Reserved Partition for GPT volumes on AppAssure Agents (137589)
For you it would be
diskpart
select disk 0
create partition msr offset = 701 (The 701 is 829 from your picture above minus 128)
You can try the upgrade again at this point.
The second problem is that your ESP and Recovery are not the correct type. The upgrade may or may not check for this.
Again from diskpart (selecting the same disk). The correct partition types for WinRE and EFI can be set like this
select disk 0
select partition 1
remove
set id=de94bba4-06d1-4d40-a16a-bfd50179d6ac override
gpt attributes=0x8000000000000001
select partition 2
remove
set id=c12a7328-f81f-11d2-ba4b-00a0c93ec93b override
Sorry but you might have to "dumb things down" a bit, as I have no idea what a GPT disk is?
Here is the print screen when I list disk.
Trying your method to create MSR partition I get the following message:
"MSR and EFI partitions are only supported on GPT disks.
Convert the selected disk to GPT and try again."
You do not have a GPT partition table.
"When you deploy Windows to a UEFI-based device, you must format the hard drive that includes the Windows partition by using a GUID partition table (GPT) file system. Additional drives may use either the GPT or the master boot record (MBR) file format."
To reinstall windows, you will need to delete all the partitions on your drive, and install on the unallocated drive, that way windows can make its own partitions it needs to run.
I can't make sense of the above. Post 3 by the OP shows Disk 1 apparently has a UEFI structure. Does MSINFO32 report you booting in a UEFI mode under BIOS mode? You can also use Minitool Parttion Wizard to explore the partitions - Disk 1 should show partition types GPT.
Open an elevated command prompt and try the command bcdedit /export <yourfilename> (insert your choice of folder/filename). If this command fails, it indicates a problem with the boot configuration which my solution fixed. The integrity of the ESP partition seems fairly critical for Windows 10 to upgrade/install. You could try my boot configuration repair at post 7 - there is nothing to lose but ensure you do a full backup first.
If you conclude you do have an MBR disk after all, you can use the Partition Wizard function 'Convert MBR Disk to GPT Disk' to convert to the GPT structure. However, I've never used this and don't know how reliable this is. Note Minitool have a bootable version of Partition Wizard which may be safer to use than trying this repair from within Windows.
I think that the OP has previously changed the disk partition table to MBR (Master Boot Record) and for this reason the ESP partition (300 MB) appears in the partition list.
SOURCE: http://thestarman.narod.ru/asm/mbr/GPT.htm
One quick way to determine if a disk is GPT partitioned is to use the List Disk command of the "DISKPART" tool under a Command Prompt (may require Administrator rights). Simply enter the commands shown in GREEN below. If any attached disk has been GPT partitioned, an asterisk (*) will appear under the "Gpt" column; as shown in YELLOW for Disk 0 below:
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