Solved Windows 10 > 11 update runs "into a problem"

Hello!

I am trying to update my Windows 10 PC to Windows 11 using the Windows 11 Installation Assistant.

I have already upgraded two old Asus laptops using Rufus (their processors were not cleared for 11), retaining all programs and files, with no problems at all.

I have already changed the CPU in my PC and converted my boot drive from MBR to GPT in order for my PC to pass the Windows 11 test. I also uninstalled Open Shell.

The first attempt failed because I failed to run the update as Admin.

The second attempt failed for some reason, and I read in thread here that moving C:\$WinREAgent elsewhere would help, so I did, and it did help the process get quite a bit further before failing. I have also disabled my third-party anit-virus software (F-Secure).

The attempted upgrade now gets as far as step 8 in this forum's tutorial "Upgrade to Windows 11 from Windows 10 with Windows 11 Insatllation Assistant". It reboots a few times in this step, as is expected, but somewhere after 64% or more, it goes to blue screen with "...ran into a problem and needs to restart". There is also a QR code, but the screen disappears almost immediately (too fast to read anything else). The PC restarts, displays "Attempting to recover installation" for a few seconds, followed by "Undoing changes made to your computer". This takes 10-15 minutes, and I am back to Windows 10, and I have no idea why.

Each attempt takes over a hour. It is particularly slow during "Step 3 of 3: Installing" between 71% and 89%.

Does anyone have any ideas what may be causing the update to fail? The blue screen I mentioned is useless, as it's only displayed for a second, and only the top half,

I would, if at all possible, like to avoid a clean install, as it would take days, if not weeks, to re-install all my programs and dig out their activation keys/codes and re-tweak them and get everything else working the way I like again.

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Well, I'd first check over the Windows 10 installation for any latent issues. Doing a DISM run to check the component store and an SFC /SCANNOW would be a useful exercise.

I hear you about the clean install, I just finished moving to Win11 on a new computer and doing a clean install, it was a time consuming affair by the time I got everything back to 100%.

You would need to look at the failure logs to see the cause of your failure. Depending on where in the install the failure occurs, the log can be in multiple places.
The following log files are created when an upgrade fails, and the installation rollback is initiated:
C:\$Windows.~BT\Sources\Rollback\setupact.log

C:\$Windows.~BT\Sources\Rollback\setupact.err

If logfiles do not direct you to what caused the error, I advise anyone to not waste his time. Either stay where you are or bite the bullet, back up your data, and do a clean install. 24h2 will have you chasing your tail for days.

If you have two or more disks try disconnecting them and leave only the Windows disk. Also disconnect any external devices just in case. Disable the antivirus and any other startup applications and non-Microsoft services. Assuming you have downloaded the ISO and all files are present, disconnect from the internet during the upgrade to prevent Windows Update interfering. I know there is a selection not to download updates during Setup, but I doubt it is honored.

Thank you all for yoursuggestions.

I have a look at C:\$Windows.~BT\Sources\Rollback\setupact.log. It was 4855KB long, and covered a time of 4½ minutes. I had a quick look, but nothing jumped out saying "here's the problem!".

C:\$Windows.~BT\Sources\Rollback\setupact.err was not present.

As I have all my data and files and stuff on a separate SSD to my boot drive, I disconnected that SSD. I also disconnected my webcam, trackball and USB hub, and gave it one last go.

And...

Habemus Fenestras Undecim!!
(We have Windows 11!!)

So thanks again, one and all.

if the upgrade fails again try burning the Windows 11 ISO to a USB stick
using Rufus then do the upgrade from the USB stick that normally has a greater degree of success.

best of luck, Steve ..

Dogmatix said:

Thank you all for yoursuggestions.

I have a look at C:\$Windows.~BT\Sources\Rollback\setupact.log. It was 4855KB long, and covered a time of 4½ minutes. I had a quick look, but nothing jumped out saying "here's the problem!".

C:\$Windows.~BT\Sources\Rollback\setupact.err was not present.

As I have all my data and files and stuff on a separate SSD to my boot drive, I disconnected that SSD. I also disconnected my webcam, trackball and USB hub, and gave it one last go.

And...

Habemus Fenestras Undecim!!
(We have Windows 11!!)

So thanks again, one and all.

Click to expand...

We have 11 windows?

I on'tday peaksay atinLay.

No logfile will say "here's the problem". MS has a speak all it's own. But there should be a hint in there and it should be toward the end of the logfile.

I don't know how to do this in W10, but in W11 you can turn off the automatic restart so that when the blue screen event occurs, it stays on the screen. In W11 you go to settings -> system -> about, and halfway down the page there's a link to advanced system settings. On that tab, click the settings button on the recovery section and uncheck automatic restart.

Why is the thread marked as Solved. Is it?

As already mentioned, leave only the target drive attached.
Run disk cleanup
How much free disk space you have?
Disable non MS antivirus and all startup applications.

Open a CMD window as administrator and type:
chkdsk c: /f
It will say your disk is in use and ask if you want to schedule to next start = yes
Restart

Back to Windows, open a CMD window as administrator and type:
sfc /scannow

If it finds any corrupted files, fixing or not, reboot and run again

Then run
Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth
and
Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth


Please post a whole window Disk Manager image of ALL your drives. Don't forget to expand the columns so we can read them. How to Post a Screenshot of Disk Management

Megahertz said:

Why is the thread marked as Solved. Is it?

(snip)

Click to expand...

I believe so. Post 5. "We have Windows 11!"

Like I said, this is a known bug. Having two or more disks connected somehow confuses Setup and fails. Disconnecting the secondary disks and leaving only the Windows disk succeeds. "Unknown is the will of the Lord" (here Lord is Microsoft).