Mandatory Windows 8.1 Update failing for many

[Shawn Knight]

Windows 8.1 Update has been available to download for a couple of days now but the installation process has been anything but smooth for many. Hundreds of posts have piled up on Microsoft’s Answers forum regarding a myriad of errors associated with the update as highlighted by InfoWorld.

The majority of posters appear to be experiencing issues about a third of the way through the installation process. Errors 80070020, 80073712, 800F081F, 80242FFF and 800F0922 are all common and have cropped up while attempting to install the update or while trying to run the DISM.EXE diagnostic process.

Some users aren’t getting specific error messages at all. As poster StefanA noted, the installation process quickly reached 74 percent then slowed to a crawl until it reached 89 percent. At that point, the installation aborted without a specific error message. A further message simply said the updates couldn’t be completed and that Windows was undoing changes.

Microsoft has released a few fixes and workarounds but trouble still seems to persist.

It’s a big problem in its own right but it’s compounded even more when you realize the update is mandatory for all Windows 8.1 users. Users of said operating system won’t be able to receive further updates from Microsoft starting next month unless they get Windows 8.1 Update.

Have you had any issues installing Windows 8.1 Update or are you holding out until Microsoft gets all of the kinks worked out? Let us know in the comments section below.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/56364-mandatory-windows-81-update-failing-for-many.html

 

[treeski]

That sucks for those affected, but it worked for me on my tablet, desktop and server.

 

[RH00D]

Worked fine for me on my tablet and desktop (ARM and x86_64).

I thought the problem was only for enterprises when deploying via WSUS servers.

 

[Jad Chaar]

Eh, it seems like a very buggy update. This is rare for MS.

 

[ajm123]

I had no problem with it on my laptop.

 

[Guest]

No problem here on an Acer laptop. Even forgot to uninstall "classic shell" before updating. BTW they worked like a charm together.

 

[dividebyzero]

Smooth install on desktop (Z77 chipset/x64 OS).

 

[Guest]

Mr Balmer please come back.

 

[Guest]

Worked fine for me. Downloaded and installed overnight without an issue.

 

[Guest]

Smooooooooooooooooth........

 

[Guest]

Installation went fine on my Dell laptop.

 

[Guest]

Everything good here, except for the lack of the start menu.

 

[Nobina]

I would install it but I don't want to upgrade but install a clean version and since I have Windows 7 now, I would have to reinstall everything. This update won't bring back start menu right?

 

[BMfan]

Went smooth for my friend and I.
The only problem so far is that one of his clients PC wont find the update.

 

[hahahanoobs]

No problems here.

 

[earthquake10]

The updates went smoothly for me at first, I.e., everything seemed fine, but I ended up loosing IE11 access. The Windows Community is filled with dozens of the same problem. Unfortunately, now I'm stuck with Chrome until MS works this bug out.

 

[Greg S]

Didn't work for me, but I just did an in place upgrade using the newest official distribution. I got some error telling me system files had issues, which wasn't really the case. I did a sfc /scannow and didn't get any errors or issues.

 

[Mike Steele]

Mine blue screened my tablet. a repair/restart completed the install and worked fine after that

 

[Guest]

The MS update failed for my HP laptop on the first try. The update was downloaded, installed, then the computer needed to be restarted. I restarted the laptop and during the bootup process where is says "Update in Progress, Do Not Turn Off the Computer.." it failed at about 75% completed. Then it immediately un-did all the changes on its own and rebooted again. It booted back into Win8.1.<no update applied> Checked Windows Update and it showed no updates. Clicked 'Check for Updates" and the 'Win8.1 Update' showed up again.
I tried the install one more time and it finally worked. The update was applied without issues the second time around.

 

[tonylukac]

Mine worked perfectly on a 5 year old computer. Like how it goes right to desktop instead of the metro/tile screen. Writing this on the updated windows 8.1. Have had trouble with 2 vista updates tho. They download but there is no progress on the update; always stays at update 1. The same thing happens with my songbird player when trying to play a song. The progress bar stays at the left and never plays after some windows update. Disableing the addons caused it to work, luckily.

 

[GhostRyder]

Worked perfectly fine on both my devices...

 

[spectrenad]

Started the update on mine before leaving for the weekend, hope I'll be able to boot up when I'll be back monday.

 

[TheBigFatClown]

Mr Balmer please come back.

Are you crazy? Balmer should be in prison for releasing Windows 8.

 

[Seventh Reign]

Mine froze but I just canceled the download and restarted and it worked fine.

Very nice update.

 

[ArjunDhanak212]

I downloaded the file the day the update was released (courtesy TS) but that day it wouldn't work no matter how many times I'd start the installation. Lucky for me, it worked today - right now to be precise

 

[ArjunDhanak212]

Mr Balmer please come back.

Are you crazy? Balmer should be in prison for releasing Windows 8.

Why do you think so?