Updating work computer: 1909 to 20H2 in less than 3 hours

The Shrimp · 24 Jan 2021

Good day everyone. I have an issue. I hope you can help me.

The place where I work has a PC with Windows 10 Home, which needs to be updated. Current version is 1909, build 18363.1316. It isn't updated to 2004, so it's going to be from 1909 straight to 20H2. I have a couple of questions. First, here are the system specifications:

-It's a SHARE X4000 PC
-118 GB HD (44.8 used, 73.7 available)
-Processor is a Celeron 386U @1.80 GHz
-4 GB RAM
-64 bit system

Extra Equipment:
-Toshiba 4 TB external drive (2.5 TB available, I already have some stuff there)
-USB 16 GB stick

First, and most important, I think, is that Windows Home's updates can't be delayed indefinitely, so eventually the computer will update by itself. This is a problem, because we can't afford to lose half a day of work (or more) due to the PC suddenly updating. I am not in a situation where I can be there and actively participate in the process. These are my questions:

-What's the best way to update in this situation? Directly from Settings, ISO download, etc?

-How long you think it will take to move from 1909 to 20H2? Can it be done in under 2 hours? Maybe 3 if there is an unexpected issue? As far as I can tell, this time frame is not negotiable (the boss doesn't agree with me staying at the shop overnight), so, if something goes wrong after that, it won't be addressed until 7-9 hours later, when business opens again. This is, start the update, let it run overnight, and the people who open the shop in the morning continue if necessary (these people have practically no experience dealing with this kind of stuff). What are the odds of something going wrong during the update? Will time be lost in the morning if something unexpected happens? Is it necessary for me to overlook the whole process, or is there a way to configure the update to finish by itself?

-Of course, I plan to make a backup, since we can't afford to lose anything, but I still don't know if it will be a disk image, clone, cloud storage... which one(s) is(are) more convenient in this situation?

So, I need to backup the system, upgrade, and check for errors / bugs in less than 3 hours. How should I proceed?

Also, in case this can't be done, is there a way to stop the major updgrades without interfering with the security / bug-fix ones? Maybe via registry or Power Shell or something?

Thanks a lot for your attention, have a nice day.

dalchina · 24 Jan 2021

Hi, I will give you brief answers as this area has been discussed so often.

a. All Home users can take complete control of Windows Updates using free 3rd party utilities (and see relevant tutorial here on disabling automatic updates). These allow manual scans for updates.

b. Using such an approach means
- you can avoid any forced upgrade near or after end of service life
- you can plan WHEN to upgrade, allowing you to create a full disk image before the attempt in a controlled manner

c. Some have set connections to 'metered' and had success in blocking upgrades. This is not guaranteed.

How long does it take?
- perhaps a couple of hours if all goes well. However this time is unpredictable- can take longer. Sometimes it can take many hours.
- upgrades can fail, and roll back. Diagnosing upgrade failure despite detailed log file analysis over days can prove nigh impossible.

d. Disk Imaging

-Of course, I plan to make a backup, since we can't afford to lose anything,

- you haven't already been using disk imaging? (Very different from a backup of project or user files!)

Again and again and again and again tenforums members recommend the routine and regular use of disk imaging.E.g. Macrium Reflect (paid for business use).

If you don't know what disk imaging is, please try Google.
Thus you can recover failed systems if unbootable, corrupt, failed disk etc etc.. and revert to a previous good state.

e. -What's the best way to update in this situation? Directly from Settings, ISO download, etc?
Has your PC been offered an upgrade? If so, to which build?

MS restricts PCs from being offered a build it it's deemed there may be a compatibility issue.

The most controlled way is
a. Create a disk image
b. Download the relevant iso file (all Windows 10 builds are available)
c. Check you have at least 30Gb free on C:
d. Mount the iso file and start the upgrade attempt

Tutorial on Upgrading to Win 10 has a section on basic preparations and diagnosing problems.

ignatzatsonic · 24 Jan 2021

The Shrimp said:

-Of course, I plan to make a backup, since we can't afford to lose anything, but I still don't know if it will be a disk image, clone, cloud storage... which one(s) is(are) more convenient in this situation?

I'd think the best way to "back up" would be a system image of all partitions on the 118 gb drive, saving it to the 4 TB external.

In my experience, upgrades take less than 2 hours..........but what degree of certainty does your boss demand?

Perhaps more importantly, how much downtime is he willing to tolerate when your hard drive dies on this PC that apparently is extremely important because "we can't afford to lose a half day of work"?

Who will suffer when that happens? Does he expect hardware to run indefinitely without issues?

The Shrimp · 24 Jan 2021

dalchina said:

a. All Home users can take complete control of Windows Updates using free 3rd party utilities (and see relevant tutorial here on disabling automatic updates). These allow manual scans for updates.

Unfortunately, this is not possible. I do not have authorization to install anything on this computer.

dalchina said:

c. Some have set connections to 'metered' and had success in blocking upgrades. This is not guaranteed.

Same. I cannot do this as we have delivery online services (e.g. Uber Eats). I don't know if this is relevant.

dalchina said:

If you don't know what disk imaging is, please try Google.
Thus you can recover failed systems if unbootable, corrupt, failed disk etc etc.. and revert to a previous good state.

I understand the difference between disk image and cloning, but I don't think it will make a substantial difference. I need this to be done fast, or not to be done at all. I understand the implications, but I have no choice. It is not me who can decide what is to be done.

dalchina said:

MS restricts PCs from being offered a build it it's deemed there may be a compatibility issue.

The PC is asking me to upgrade to 20H2, so I think it is compatible.

ignatzatsonic said:

what degree of certainty does your boss demand?

Between 99.9% and 100%. No joke.

ignatzatsonic said:

Perhaps more importantly, how much downtime is he willing to tolerate when your hard drive dies on this PC that apparently is extremely important because "we can't afford to lose a half day of work"?

Around 0% and 0.01%. Again, no joke.

dalchina said:

Who will suffer when that happens?

We, the employees. This is how it works.

ignatzatsonic said:

Does he expect hardware to run indefinitely without issues?

Yep, pretty much.

dalchina · 24 Jan 2021

Thank you very much for your reply.

I understand the difference between disk image and cloning, but I don't think it will make a substantial difference.

It will if your PC becomes a complete mess through a badly failed upgrade attempt and you don't have one.
Want to be blamed for that?

Sounds like your company needs a proper IT policy.

NavyLCDR · 24 Jan 2021

Sounds to me like you need to let the boss dig his own grave on this computer. He or she is not being responsible about it at all. Unless you were hired as a manager or specifically for IT.

ignatzatsonic · 24 Jan 2021

The Shrimp said:

I understand the difference between disk image and cloning, but I don't think it will make a substantial difference. I need this to be done fast, or not to be done at all. I understand the implications, but I have no choice. It is not me who can decide what is to be done.

Imaging and restoration on a 120 gb drive probably wouldn't take 30 minutes if the user had prior experience. But dozens of greenhorns show up on this forum and are understandably confused by 10 page tutorials. Failure rate maybe 1 percent, assuming proper software choice to do the job, standard hardware in good working order, no surprises. That's a rank estimate based on observation here.

I'd further guess the failure rate is noticeably higher for first attempts by the inexperienced. You might hit a resolvable snag that would turn a 30 minute job into a 2 or 3 hour job due to confusion, at which point the boss runs you all off for incompetence.

You're in no-man's land since it's a 100 percent certainty you will have a motherboard or drive failure sooner or later and have no plan whatsoever for it, other than an authoritarian boss whose head is across the border in La-La land.

saidu4urp · 21 Feb 2021

Good day, if you want to upgrade windows 10 either 64bits or 32bit OS, if you don't want to weste more time or data, download medial installation exe for the latest windows 10, run it on your system, to download the iso file of the latest windows OS, if you have both 32 and 64 bits download both architecture if not download only 32 or 64 bit iso file.
After download run the iso file it will upgrade your systems IS to the latest one of without deleting any of your file or installed application. Thanks.