Use DISM to Repair Windows 10 Image  

@dualopsys
There is a command to display your drive's SMART status from the Command Prompt:

wmic diskdrive get status

If it simply displays OK then SMART is not reporting any drive failure. For more extensive predictive info:

wmic /namespace:\\root\wmi path MSStorageDriver_FailurePredictStatus

On my system, it only displays my 3 SATA disks and not my NVMe drive, but here is how that looks:

Code:

C:\>wmic /namespace:\\root\wmi path MSStorageDriver_FailurePredictStatus
Active  InstanceName                                                PredictFailure  Reason
TRUE    SCSI\Disk&Ven_&Prod_ST3000DM001-9YN1\4&1a67091a&0&000000_0  FALSE           0
TRUE    SCSI\Disk&Ven_&Prod_ST3000DM008-2DM1\4&1a67091a&0&010000_0  FALSE           0
TRUE    SCSI\Disk&Ven_&Prod_ST3000DM008-2DM1\4&1a67091a&0&020000_0  FALSE           0

You can try deleting and replacing your System partition. Below is how to do that on a GPT disk. Where I show "select par 1" use the number that list par shows is your System volume. The 2nd "list par" is so that you are certain that you have only the partition that you want selected. There will be an asterisk beside it in the list.

Code:

diskpart
sel disk 0
list par
select par 1
list par
del par override
create par efi
format quick fs=fat32
assign letter=S
exit

bootsect /nt60 S: /force
bcdboot C:\Windows /s S: /f UEFI

That should be all you need to replace the System partition and contents. Bcdboot gets all of the files required from C:\Windows, so it will match the installed version of Windows, no matter which version is on your USB.

However, all of this may simply prove that the installed Windows build has some incompatibility with your specific hardware and you still might just see the spinning dots below the Windows flag logo.

Have you tried getting into Windows in Safe mode? That should be an option under the boot menu from Advanced in the Repair your computer linked boot menu (which is the same as Windows RE when your computer crashes, but this one comes from the install media). Repair your computer link is on page 2 of Windows setup after booting from install media.

You can also force Safe mode by editing your BCD from the Command Prompt:

bcdedit /set {default} safeboot minimal

So you can try Safe Mode boot either way.

The very simplest is to do a clean install of Windows 10. Boot from USB and select Custom install. Delete every partition and install directly to the Unallocated space on your drive. That will only take a few minutes to do. But then you have all of your software and data to restore, since that would be totally deleted this way.

You could also install a second full copy of Windows 10 alongside what is there now. You can just shrink C: by enough to install a temporary copy of Windows 10, just to get the laptop booting on its own. Even as little as 20GB could work, but 32-64GB would be better, if you have the disk space. This would be a dual-boot option with the existing Windows 10, except that the existing Windows isn't working. Still it would give you the ability to check over all of the hardware from within a running OS.

To shrink C:, you would use diskpart. The querymax lets you know approximately how much C: can shrink. 65536=64GB. Then you would just continue with the Custom setup steps and install to your new 64GB volume.

Code:

diskpart
sel vol C
shrink querymax
shrink desired=65536
create par pri
format quick fs=NTFS
exit

- - - Updated - - -

dualopsys said:

@DonCuthbert..

I've been doing some additional research on the problem running system file checker.
it has been suggested in a Microsoft forum that the following DISM option: "/revertpendingactions" will remove the "pending repair" from SFC

incorporating your previous suggestions...

Code:

md C:\Scratch
DISM /Image:C:\ /Cleanup-Image /revertpendingactions /ScratchDir:C:\Scratch
sfc /scannow /OFFBOOTDIR=C:\ OFFWINDIR=C:\Windows

once the new DISM command is run, SFC may not need to be run

That sounds like it might work. The DISM help from DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /? says for revert pending actions:

WARNING! You should use the /RevertPendingActions option only in a system-recovery scenario to perform recovery operations on a Windows image that did not boot.

- - - Updated - - -

I should also add that when sfc fails to repair errors found, DISM with /RestoreHealth is how you fix it so that sfc can run clean. So the fact that DISM shows no errors indicates that all is well with the Windows system files on your C: drive and they are not in a corrupted state.

(may edit this post a couple of times as long as it doesn't get quoted...)

the computer is finally bootable to a normal desktop and did not need a windows 10 reinstall

here's a summary of today's activity:
1. for the past 2 days the computer would NOT boot to the advanced startup menus from the internal drive. had to boot from a usb drive. the usb drive was created with version 1909 from the Microsoft web site.

2. booted from usb stick and opened a command prompt (shift f10)
3. check drive health with command:
wmic diskdrive get status

drive showed OK health.

one note on using this command: I tried this command on another computer that contained a drive with "reallocated sectors". I consider the fact that sectors have been reallocated to be an indication of a drive in process of failing. The drive status even with reallocated sectors shows O.K.

4. ran the previously defined SFC command again to make sure that the result still showed "system repair pending".
@DonCuthbert please note that I forgot to mention a syntax error in the posted SFC command. There is a missing backslash on the OFFWINDIR switch. Unfortunately, I do not know how to go back and correct those posts once they have been quoted in subsequent posts.
corrected syntax:

Code:

sfc /scannow /OFFBOOTDIR=C:\ /OFFWINDIR=C:\Windows

5. ran the previously noted DISM command to attempt to repair the "system repair pending" error reported by SFC

Code:

md C:\Scratch
DISM /Image:C:\ /Cleanup-Image /revertpendingactions /ScratchDir:C:\Scratch

unfortunately, the command FAILED to complete with an obscure Microsoft error code: 0x800f082f

6. rebooted (from usb stick again) and relaunched a command prompt

7. looked for and could NOT find a way in advanced startup menus to cause a boot to SAFE BOOT mode. There was NO "see more recovery options" selection available. I suspect the missing menu selection is due to the fact that the machine was booted from the usb stick instead of booting from the hard drive.
To force the computer to boot into SAFE BOOT mode, the recommendedBCDEDIT command was used:

Code:

bcdedit /set {default} safeboot minimal

then executed the reboot command from the command prompt:

Code:

wpeutil reboot

8. once windows rebooted, the system started to load and the following message was observed:
"could not complete the updates
undoing changes
don't turn off your computer"

after a couple of minutes SAFE BOOT mode was active!

Based on the "undoing changes" message displayed I suspected that the "system repair pending" error noted by SFC was now corrected.

9. Before exiting safemode, the installed version of windows was checked thru the "settings" window.
as originally feared, the installed version was 1903.

10. I attempted to clear the SAFE BOOT mode thru MSCONFIG. Ran MSCONFIG and made sure that the NORMAL radio button was selected "general" tab, selected OK and then "restart" the computer using the standard windows controls.
the computer still booted into SAFE BOOT mode.

had to clear the SAFE BOOT condition with BCDEDIT in an administrative command prompt (opened while in SAFE BOOT):

Code:

bcdedit /deletevalue {default} safeboot

once again using standard windows controls, selected "restart".

the computer booted to the user account. After a couple of minutes, part of the desktop immediately appeared and then after a couple more minutes the remaining desktop icons appeared.

system now appears functioning.

I suspect that the reason the DISM command with the /revertpendingactions switch did not work was due to the differences in operating systems on the hard drive and the usb stick (1903 vs 1909 respectively).

I suspect that if the computer would have booted to the advanced options screen (no usb stick) and a command prompt was then opened (shift f10) that /revertpendingactions switch would have worked.

regardless, if booting into SAFE BOOT mode causes the operating system to initiate it's own actions to remove a pending operation, this would be a much safer choice to attempt FIRST (before DISM with the /revertpendingactions switch).

THANKS to everyone for the help!

jhvance said:

Well, this is a long thread but using the search tools on my particular issue there are zero hits so I'll post this and see if the local wizards can point toward a viable solution path...

I have a 32Gb eMMC notebook (Toshiba CL15-C) running Win10 Home v1809 (build 17763.973) which seemingly cannot be upgraded further -- have not been successful in cleaning off enough disk space when attempting from a USB drive on which the MCT has produced the associated installation files. Even when WU thinks it wants to do the upgrade and I allow it, there are a series of failing attempts between reboots that eventually ceases when the succeeding Patch Tuesday rolls around. After the latest cycle cleared yesterday, I thought I would run the DISM tool and then another round of disk cleaning but ran into a problem.

First running the /checkhealth step successfully returned a "no corruption" result; next, running the /scanhealth switch failed, with this message: "Not enough memory resources are available to complete this operation." The /restorehealth switch produced a comparable error message. Looking at the DISM log, there are errors (0x8007000e) in the CCbsConUIHandler function and references further error messages, and those reflect HRESULT - 0x8007000e - E_OUTOFMEMORY.

There is no way of changing the memory in that unit, although it does have auxiliary USB and SD card ports (and an SD card with plenty of space is inserted). I think I have successfully run the DISM tool on this unit previously during earlier OS upgrade efforts that went awry, so am unclear as to why there are "out of memory" failures now.

Any and all thoughts would be helpful, and thanks in advance.

An eMMC(electronic Multimedia card) can be equated to an SSD with the difference being the former caps out at 128GB and the latter can go up to 250GB, 500GB and 1000GB. With an eMMC, there is no way to add more RAM since it is soldered to the motherboard. If you were to replace the eMMC, you would be better off buying another notebook. Yours is at 32GB and the error (0x8007000e) is, in most instances, related to not having enough memory available as you have put it.

With that in mind, the workaround for the error you are seeing boils down to:
-Using disk cleanup to try to have more space
-Reset Windows Update-related folders, i.e., SoftwareDistribution & Catroot2 folders. Be careful about the latter, for there is also a Catroot folder and this one cannot be deleted or reset in system32.
What is Catroot & Catroot2 folder? How do you reset catroot2 folder
-Use Windows Update trouble shooter and reset Windows Update

Worth noting also, you are still on 1809. You should upgrade to 1903 or 1909, since after last Patch Tuesday there won't be any security patches for 1809.

I have a nice Dell 11" Notebook I got for $139 at a Wal*Mart unannounced special that has the same issue with only a 32GB SSD drive. It worked good through Win10 Version 1809 but due to a Windows change in needed space on the drive that didn't also allow also using a Thumb drive or SDHC card the computer is now living very happily running Linux Mint 19.3. For my need I replaced it with a Dell Latitude 12.5" with a 256GB SSD.