Upgrade from 1809 to 1903 seems to be in a loop

I decided today to install the 1903 upgrade from 1809.

At first all went well, preparation seemed normal and then the download started which went along smoothly until it got to 99%. The download has been sitting on 99% for hours.

If I check Task Manager and Resource Monitor, Windows Update is using around 30% of the CPU. Nothing much else is happening. The Disk will show some activity, but not much and the Network also shows some occasional activity but neither are what I would expect during a download.

The download speed of the Internet connection is around 40Mbps, which is good. Neither the computer nor the Router is being used for anything else during this upgrade so the upgrade has access to 100% of the resources.

Any thoughts...? Should I just be patient...? How long will this take...? I am not in a hurry but this is not the behavior that I have experienced in the past with feature updates.

T......

- - - Updated - - -

Update to previous post.....

After 5 hours of doing not much Windows now reports the following error....

"Windows 10, version 1903 - Error 0x80070002"

After Googling for an answer I am no further. This machine has plenty of RAM (8GB), the Windows partition has almost 200GB of free disk space; the Internet connection (Ethernet) is stable and reasonably fast at 40Mbps. A scan of the hardware components indicates no problems.

Any suggestions....?

T.

Tabvla said:

I decided today to install the 1903 upgrade from 1809. At first all went well, preparation seemed normal and then the download started which went along smoothly until it got to 99%. The download has been sitting on 99% for hours....

Any thoughts...? Should I just be patient...? How long will this take...? I am not in a hurry but this is not the behavior that I have experienced in the past with feature updates.

Windows Update has evolved. A Feature Update now uses the Unified Update Platform (UUP). This is designed to reduce the download size of an update by only downloading the changes, not the full set of files as are used in the ISO. The step from 99% downloaded to 100% downloaded is a long one. It doesn't actually seem to be downloading anything further, rather it is processing what it has downloaded. I timed the process here...

Bree said:

Windows Update said "Downloading - 0%" which climbed steadily to 99% while Task Manager showed steady download progress. Network activity virtually ceased after 3.5GB had been downloaded in 15 minutes...

...The step from "Downloading - 99%" to "Downloading - 100%" took an astonishing 42 minutes, during which there was little or no network activity but a lot of CPU activity, mostly from the Windows Installer. This would presumably be the "applying “binary deltas”� or “diffs”� to old files to generate newer files" stage.

How long does the 1903 upgrade take using Windows Update?

Any suggestions....?.

Yes. First and foremost, make sure you have a way back in case it goes horribly wrong. I use Macrium Reflect Free to make a system image before any major update.

Backup and Restore with Macrium Reflect


Next, forget about using Windows Update. It's possibly the slowest and least reliable way to get a Feature Update. My preferred method is the use the Media Creation Tool to make the ISO, double-click on the ISO to mount it as a virtual DVD, then run the Setup.exe you'll find on the root of the drive to start the upgrade.

Download Windows 10 ISO File

Ztruker and Bree, thank you for your replies.

The upgrade eventually finished downloading and the installation then seemed to progress as expected until the request for a Restart. After the Restart the process got as far as 6% at which point it failed and crashed.

I eventually managed to login at which point I ran SFC. SFC reported that there were some files that were corrupt and that could not be repaired. I checked the CAB file and found numerous problems. I have attached the SFC message. The CAB file exceeds the maximum file size permitted by this Forum and I have therefore not attached it to this Post.

I don't know enough about this to understand what to do about the information provided in the CAB file.

With regards the the upgrade to 1903. When I check Windows Update I am back to where I was before I started this process, namely that 1903 is ready to be downloaded and installed.

Should I try to download and install 1903 again. If I did that is there a chance that the corrupt files could be fixed?

Interestingly, if I had not run SFC I would not have known that anything was wrong, as 1809 seems to be running normally.

I would prefer not to reinstall Windows as that would be a real pain, so any suggestions as to what I could do next to return to a healthy system, would be much appreciated.

Thanks

T.

1) Run setupdiag > post a share link into the thread using one drive, drop box, or google drive

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/win...rade/setupdiag

Share OneDrive files and folders - Office Support

2) There are log collectors used in another forum room.
Run both V2 and DM and upload results into this thread:
BSOD - Posting Instructions

3) Find a flash drive that you can format (> or = 8 GB)

Bree said:

........ Next, forget about using Windows Update. It's possibly the slowest and least reliable way to get a Feature Update. My preferred method is the use the Media Creation Tool to make the ISO, double-click on the ISO to mount it as a virtual DVD, then run the Setup.exe you'll find on the root of the drive to start the upgrade.
Download Windows 10 ISO File

Bree, I like the idea of the ISO. Before proceeding I have a couple of questions.

1. Am I correct in assuming that the ISO option is just an upgrade and that all installed software and existing settings remain unchanged? And will upgrading from the ISO fix the SFC problems that I mentioned previously?

2. In Shawn's Tutorial he writes.... ".....Before you begin, make sure you have:

• An internet connection (internet service provider fees may apply).
• Sufficient data storage available on a computer, USB or external drive for the download....."

How much is "sufficient data storage" on a USB or external drive? And why is this needed if the ISO is being mounted as a virtual DVD, as per your Post?

3. Step 5 of Shawn's Tutorial is "What do you want to do" and Shawn shows the second option as selected. What is the implication of selecting the first option - "Upgrade this PC now"

4. In Step 6 Shawn un-ticks "Use the recommended options for this PC". Why?

5. In Step 8 of Shawn's Tutorial the options are USB or DVD. If USB can this be a separate partition on the USB with data in the other partition or must the USB be empty? If DVD will the ISO fit on a standard 4.7GB DVD?

6. What happens after Step 11?

7. Will I need to know the Product Key/Digital License at any time during this process?

Thanks

T.

Tabvla said:

1. Am I correct in assuming that the ISO option is just an upgrade and that all installed software and existing settings remain unchanged? And will upgrading from the ISO fix the SFC problems that I mentioned previously?

Yes. The upgrade will keep user files and installed apps. SFC issues should be fixed too, but note that there is a new known issue with the Defender platform update that incorrectly shows SFC errors.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/...s-as-corrupted
sfc /scannow failing after this latest Defender Platfom update.

2. In Shawn's Tutorial he writes.... ".....Before you begin, make sure you have:

• An internet connection (internet service provider fees may apply).
• Sufficient data storage available on a computer, USB or external drive for the download....."

How much is "sufficient data storage" on a USB or external drive? And why is this needed if the ISO is being mounted as a virtual DVD, as per your Post?

About 20GB is required for the Windows.old folder that is created by an upgrade. This is what lets you 'go back to your previous version of Windows' up to 10 days after the upgrade.

Go Back to the Previous Version of Windows in Windows 10

3. Step 5 of Shawn's Tutorial is "What do you want to do" and Shawn shows the second option as selected. What is the implication of selecting the first option - "Upgrade this PC now"

The second option lets you create an ISO or USB to perform the upgrade later. The first option will perform an update straight away, similar to using Windows Update or the Update Assistant.

4. In Step 6 Shawn un-ticks "Use the recommended options for this PC". Why?

This will enable the options to chose to make an ISO or USB for 32-bit/64-bit/both and choose the language. If you are making the ISO on the PC you intend to upgrade then it is not strictly necessary. If you are using another PC to make the ISO it may well be needed.

5. In Step 8 of Shawn's Tutorial the options are USB or DVD. If USB can this be a separate partition on the USB with data in the other partition or must the USB be empty? If DVD will the ISO fit on a standard 4.7GB DVD?

If you choose USB then the usb will be reformatted first, erasing its original contents and partitions. If you choose DVD then you will make an ISO file to be burned to a DVD later. For a single 'bits' ISO (32 or 64) it should fit on a standard 4.7GB DVD, for both 'bits' you'll need a dual-layer DVD. However, you don't need to burn to DVD to use the ISO. You can mount it as a virtual DVD by double-clicking on it.

6. What happens after Step 11?

This step? "11. When the download has finished, click/tap on the link where you selected to save the ISO file at to open that location, and click/tap on Finish."

When you click the link as Step 11 says, File Explorer will open at the folder you used to create the .iso file with the .iso selected. Double-click on the .iso file to mount it.

7. Will I need to know the Product Key/Digital License at any time during this process?

No. You are upgrading a machine that is already activated with a Digital Licence for Windows 10 so you will not be asked for a key. You do not need to provide a key to make the ISO or USB.

Tabvla said:

1. Am I correct in assuming that the ISO option is just an upgrade and that all installed software and existing settings remain unchanged? And will upgrading from the ISO fix the SFC problems that I mentioned previously?

An in place upgrade repair may change windows settings to default settings.

Bree, thank you for your detailed reply, much appreciated.

In the interim I ran the SetupDiag program as suggested by zBook (thanks zBook for that) and it reported that.....

".....Error: SetupDiag reports fatal migration plug-in failure.
Last Phase: Finalize
Last Operation: Gather data, scope: EVERYTHING

Plug-in Name = %windir%\system32\migration\SxsMigPlugin.dll
Migration Operation = IPostApply->PostApply
Plug-in Error: 0x00000002

Refer to "https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/desktop/Debug/system-error-codes" for error information....."

I went to the link provided and entered the error code and got 773 references....!!

But, if the ISO file is a complete install then is it reasonable to assume that the SFC errors might be fixed by installing the ISO - assuming that they are not the false errors associated with Windows Defender, as per your Post.

T.

Tabvla said:

...assuming that they are not the false errors associated with Windows Defender, as per your Post.

Use Option Five in this tutorial to see what your SFC errors are.


Run SFC Command in Windows 10