Win10 update (1809-1909) stalls on tablet

This is my Acer SW1-011 tablet laptop. Atom x5-X8350 1.44+1.44Ghz, X64, 32GB SSD, Win10 Home 1809 17763.1039

Windows Update says the current version of Windows is nearing end of service so I would like to get it updated soon.

I've had trouble installing updates in the past because of the small drive but it eventually worked after I told it to use the space on the 32GB TF card. This time I've been trying for about a week and it still hasn't been successful, most recently it gets to the point where it asks to reboot and then sits at Installing Updates 0% forever. I let it run overnight and it was still at 0% in the morning.

While researching how to fix that I read that it may work better if I update it from installation media on a USB drive. I have a USB drive that I prepared with Media Creation Tool a few weeks ago for a desktop installation but I am not sure how to use it to update. Is there a tutorial for this?

When upgrading with a Windows 10 iso it is performed as in this tutorial (in place upgrade repair):
Repair Install Windows 10 with an In-place Upgrade

This is a tutorial on increasing the free space:
Free Up Drive Space in Windows 10

These may be alternative options:

a) troubleshoot Windows upgrade failure by error code and messages:
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/win...rade/setupdiag

b) clean install:
Clean Install Windows 10

c) custom install:
Custom Install Windows 10


Run through this Windows upgrade checklist:

Code:

1) remove nonessential hardware
docks
USB devices
printers
headset
speakers
joysticks
projectors
scanners
plotters
portable optical drives (CD, DVD)
microphones
cameras
webcams
smartphones
bluetooth devices
USB drives (other than a windows 10 iso if used for the upgrade)
USB Wireless Mouse or Keyboard Receiver, USB Wireless Network Card
secondary monitors


2) These should be the only attached devices:
wired mouse
wired keyboard
monitor

Any of these that have been done in the past week are not necessary to repeat:


3) open administrative command prompt and type or copy and paste: (repair file system)
chkdsk /r /v 
This may take many hours so plan to run overnight
Find the chkdsk report in the event viewer using the information in this link and post into the thread:
Read Chkdsk Log in Event Viewer in Windows 10 Performance Maintenance Tutorials
https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/40822-read-chkdsk-log-event-viewer-windows-10-a.html 

4) open administrative command prompt and copy and paste: (repair operating system)
sfc /scannow 
dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth 
When these have completed > right click on the top bar or title bar of the administrative command prompt box > left click on edit then select all > right click on the top bar again > left click on edit then copy > paste into the thread

5) update windows (have all recommended updates installed) and reboot after updates

6) List and uninstall all non-Microsoft antivirus software
(This includes always on and manual software.)
(This includes running the applicable antivirus uninstall tools for any AV that could have been incompletely uninstalled)

7) List and uninstall all non-Microsoft firewall software

8) List all Microsoft and non-Microsoft drive encryption software. 
Uninstall all non-Microsoft disk encryption software

9) Run disk cleanup to clean temporary and system files

10) Verify that the drive has > 30 GB free space (At least 25 GB is needed for creating dumps)

11) Place the computer in clean boot:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/929135/how-to-perform-a-clean-boot-in-windows
How to perform a Clean Boot in Windows 10 - TechNet Articles - United States (English) - TechNet Wiki
https://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/29876.how-to-perform-a-clean-boot-in-windows-10.aspx
https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/41804-perform-clean-boot-windows-10-troubleshoot-software-conflicts.html


12) Detach all SATA devices other than the disk drive that has the Windows operating system
(Make sure that the only disk drive that is attached to the computer at the time of the upgrade attempt is the disk drive containing Windows)
(Other disk drives may be able to be detached by disconnecting cables or if necessary to remove the drive from the computer)

13) Make sure that there is no metered connection:  https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/17452/windows-metered-internet-connections-faq

Sidecar Bob said:

...Acer SW1-011 tablet laptop. ... 32GB SSD,...

That is the critical problem.

I have a USB drive that I prepared with Media Creation Tool a few weeks ago for a desktop installation but I am not sure how to use it to update. Is there a tutorial for this?

Your SW1-11 is (or should be) running 32-bit W10. If the USB was made for 64-bit architecture only then no, you cannot use it. You have the option when using the MCT to make an install usb to chose 32-bit, 64-bit or both. See Option One, Steps 6 & 7 here:

Create Bootable USB Flash Drive to Install Windows 10


The 'Repair Install Windows 10 with an In-place Upgrade' tutorial that zbook pointed you to has instructions for an upgrade using usb media in Step 5.

I think the SW1-011 should be running 64 bit Windows. It came with Win10 64 bit installed and Settings>System>About System Type says "64 bit operating system, X64 based processor".
And in anticipation that it could be needed for both 32 and 64 bit systems I made the installation USB for both.

I just freed up as much space as I could through Windows Settings on my C drive. It now shows 24.0GB used, 13.4 of that System & reserved and 6.13 Temporary BUT when I click on Temporary files and let it scan the total it finds adds up to less than 40MB.

I am about to start Step 5. I will report back when it is finished.

Sidecar Bob said:

I think the SW1-011 should be running 64 bit Windows. It came with Win10 64 bit installed and Settings>System>About System Type says "64 bit operating system, X64 based processor".

That's odd. 32-bit is the norm for machines with a 32GB SSD because the system files are much smaller than for a 64-bit install, and it is what Acer say in the SW1-011 specs.

Acer said:

SW1-011-18US
...
Software
Operating System Platform - Windows
Operating System - Windows 10 Home
Operating System Architecture - 32-bit

Datasheet PN: NT.LCSAA.003

Yeah, I thought it would be 32 but too but it isn't.

It seems to be working. Maybe. It sat at Working on Updates 0% for a while but now it says 1% so I'll let it sit for a while and see if it makes any progress.

- - - Updated - - -

I let it sit at 1% for an hour and a half, then re-started it. While it was putting everything back the way it was a window popped up telling me to reconnect the external storage device and click OK so I plugged the install USB back in and clicked and the same window opened. This time I removed & replaced the TF card (and removed the install USB) and clicked OK and it continued.
Hmm... Maybe the problem is caused by the TF reader stopping at some point in the update.... So I let it finish rebooting, plugged another USB drive into the micro USB port and tried again, this time telling it to use the empty USB drive.
Once it got to Working on updates 1% again I went out to clear the driveway (or at least enough of it that my wife can get the car into the garage when she comes home - I'll finish the job when the storm is over) and did a few other things and it is still at 1% almost 3 hours later and I am getting ready to re-start it again.
I'm thinking that maybe I should try a fresh install of 32 bit so that there will be more free space but I'm concerned that the product key may not be valid.

Sidecar Bob said:

...it is still at 1% almost 3 hours later and I am getting ready to re-start it again....

I'd sleep on it, and leave it running over night. I have occasionally seen an update take a long time...

...I'm thinking that maybe I should try a fresh install of 32 bit so that there will be more free space but I'm concerned that the product key may not be valid.

Keys don't care how many bits you install, just the edition (Home or Pro). Anyway, you won't be asked for one. On a PC built for W8/W8.1/W10 the OEM key is embedded in the bios. In a clean install Setup will read this key from the bios and use it to choose the correct edition to install, and for activation.

I restarted the update and in the morning it was still sitting at 1% so I restarted it and started a fresh install.

It would not let me install the 32 bit version so I installed the 64 bit again. After that a bunch of stuff doesn't work (not surprising) so I went to Acer's site on my main computer, downloaded the driver installer, transferred it to the SW1 on a USB drive and ran it. It said it installed everything but the network adapter still didn't work even after a reboot. Next I opened device manager and found a long list of unknown devices so I manually updated the drivers for all of them using the package that came with the installer.
About half way through I was starting to get good at using the touchpad sideways (no touchscreen function) but my neck started hurting from looking at the screen sideways and it occurred to me that I might be able to change the screen from portrait to landscape in display settings. After that the job got a lot easier.
It still didn't have WiFi so I plugged in the ESB/Ethernet adaptor, found it in Device Manager and manually installed its driver. As soon as I had internet I started it looking for updates and now the WiFi and touchscreen work.

BUT now there is only 244MB free on the main drive (it did recognize the nearly empty TF) so I don't know if there is enough memory to install any more updates.

And now I need to go run the snow blower for an hour or so and then go out to to pick up the mail so I'll let it try to install the rest of the updates on its own.

- - - Updated - - -

It is all updated now and miraculously the C drive has 6.98 GB free. I'm sure that will decrease a bit as I re-install my apps, even though it is set to install everything except maps on the E drive (32GB TF card).

Any ideas on freeing up more space for next time?

Oh, and something odd: It wouldn't install on the primary partition because there wasn't enough room. I had moved everything off of it anyway (including the pic I use for wallpaper) and when it re-installed it was in light mode with the taskbar at the bottom and the default wallpaper, start tiles &c as expected.
After finishing updating it now has my wallpaper but I have not copied that image back to this computer.

Just to clarify: I use this tablet for when I'm travelling (I like Windows Maps) and at home for controlling what we watch on the Chromecast, web browsing and playing solitaire or Backgammon while watching TV. It is set to put all apps & data on the TF card (except the map store) and since it is connected to the network while at home there is no need to have much on it except Windows and maybe a few audio files that I've copied to the desktop to listen to while away, which I can easily delete and re-copy after updating.

We are about to leave for the day so I don't have time to do it now but I'll try C>Properties>Cleanup tomorrow and let you know how much difference that makes.

I'm not sure how to compact the OS and compress the drive but I'm willing to try if you can explain or point me to a tutorial.

BTW: I don't know whether it is because of the newer version of Windows 10, because of re-installing all of the drivers or because the fresh install cleaned out some garbage but it seems to work a bit faster since re-installation and even images on the screen seem a bit sharper.

Now if I could only find a way to make it play audio louder (no it isn't a setting or a driver, it is because of tiny speakers heard through slots pointing away from the user that just aren't loud enough for much).