Cumulative updates keep failing for almost 2 years now help!

[melissanesgoda]

This spring will be 2 years since this has been going on. It will do the update and then restart to finish or whatever and during that time my computer freezes. I wait hours and still froze so I have to force shut down. And then I look in windows update history and all of the cumulative updates have failed! Everythign else says success. Never really had computer issues so just ignored it but now i have something that comes on my screen daily which I believe from reading this site is the update assistant it downloads while my computer is on then has to restart and still this freezes during the updates. EVERY single update freezes and in the end it's the cumulative that fails every time.

So this week the assistant keeps coming on and I waste 3 times during the update process because it freezes 2-3 times and then eventually recovers my previous versions of windows.

I have read many articles this week trying to fix this. I am not a tech savy person but with instruction I can do things.

From what I've read I have completed a trouble shoot, I've made a file to run as admin that erases the update cache. I've went into documents and deleted the software files or something. I can't remember everything I've done. I turned off the updates yesterday because I work from home and use this computer and I don't have 3 hours daily to waste for this now! But even after turning the updates off here again I have the assistant downloading the updates. I did the event viewer I think it was to see after it didn't work correctly and it had like 13 errors which is probably an issue.

Please help! I don't know what to do. If I do the reinstall or whatever of windows 10 and keep my personal stuff is there anything I need to know? The computer was bought as windows 7 and then I did the 10 update like 3 years ago so no product key or whatever if that's needed.

 

[Colif]

Your win 7 licence key became a Win 10 one when you upgraded. You also don't need to know it as its stored on a Microsoft server now, they track what PC is activated.

After 2 years of trying to fix Win 10, I would have fresh installed long ago. That is very patient.

Event viewer isn't ideal really, a perfectly good working PC can have several hundred errors showing in there.


How to fix? well, since you haven't been able to update at all and are likely still on the November 2015 build of win 10 because of it (version updates likely freeze too), I would consider a fresh install using the latest build of win 10 as it is most likely way to fix this.

download the Windows 10 media creation tool and use it to make a win 10 installer on USB

Before you try either of these ideas, backup anything on the hard drive C is on you cannot afford to lose - mostly documents and music/pictures/videos you want to keep. Option B is a full wipe but option A might go wrong as well. Better to be safe than sorry.

A) Once the USB is created, try going into file explorer with USB in PC, and navigate to USB. Run setup and one of the options is to update current PC. Choose it, run through the options it offers and PC will restart and update current PC if it can.

B) If option A doesn't work, as it might not, the only sane way to proceed is a fresh install. You will lose all the data on C drive so this is why I said backup all data on C first

change boot order in BIOS so USB is first, hdd second
boot from installer
follow this guide: http://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/1950-windows-10-clean-install.html

when you reach the screen asking for licence, click "I don't have a key" and win 10 will continue to install and reactivate once finished

On the screen where you choose where to install win 10, if it gives you an error about GPT drives, delete all the partitions on the hdd and press next. If it still gives error, cancel out of the installer and restart PC and start installer again, it will accept next on that screen this time (some PC just need a restart here).

 

[melissanesgoda]

Hahah patient! Not this week. Only waited it out because it didn't really cause issues for me. it updated every few weeks and Id have to force restart in the am but nothing too major until this week where I couldn't take it!

I don't have a usb stick and I saved whatever was on my C drive just by sending myself via email.

So I don't have anything to save the download on. I could get something though. In my update and security there is a reset this pc option. Can I just click that? Or do i have to still download the creation tool?

And thank you very much for your help! I really appreciate it.

 

[Colif]

Can you right click start button
choose run...
type winver and press enter

Can you tell me which version and build you are on?

Depending how far back you are, you might find reset won't help a lot as there have been changes to how updates work now. That and I have found it difficult in the past to update older versions of win 10 to latest using windows update.

You can run the media creation tool and use it to update PC but it relies on processes on your PC to do that, and since every update until now has frozen, I don't like its chances of success. Main reason I suggested getting the USB as its got newer working versions of same processes.

You might need to buy a USB, 16gb is big enough. Can always format it after and use it for other things.

 

[melissanesgoda]

In maybe 2 hours I can tell you. The pop up to restart to install updates came up and I was in the middle of typing and it ended up restarting and doing the updates now.

So for USB will this one be fine? I have prime so wont have to wait too long. https://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Cruzer-Low-Profile-Drive-SDCZ33-016G-B35/dp/B005FYNSZA/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1510970100&sr=8-4&keywords=16+gb+usb

 

[melissanesgoda]

There is no way I can stop the update at this point is there? It just seems useless to wait it out when it never works.

 

[melissanesgoda]

Okay it's back! Something I did this week must have shortened it some how.

Version 1511 OS Build 10586.1176

 

[Colif]

that USB should be fine

Version 1511 is indeed the November 2015 version.

I guess since you have everything you want to keep, you can try a reset and then try to update from there.

 

[melissanesgoda]

Looks like I'll have to wait on the USB. I tried to reset and went through the things on the screen and then it went to restart to start the process and 20 seconds into restart it freezes.

 

[melissanesgoda]

Okay so the usb should arrive tomorrow. I'm trying to prepare and reading through the link you posted above for a clean install.

The link says- Warning
Before you get started installing Windows 10, be sure that you temporarily disable Secure Boot and Fast Boot in your UEFI firmware settings until finished. Some motherboards do not support booting from a USB flash drive with these enabled.

So I clicked to go to that page to disable. I'm assuming since I had Windows 7 before I start at step 3.

3. Boot to UEFI Firmware Settings at Boot
NOTE: This step can be used with any 32-bit or 64-bit Windows installed.

A) During the initial stages at boot, press the DELETE key to enter UEFI firmware settings, and go to step 4 below.
NOTE: Your PC may use another key to press instead, so be sure to read your PC's manual and/or the boot screen to see what key to press.

I'm confused on this. What does it mean by initial stages at boot? Like as the computer is starting up? And I don't have my pc manual to verify delete is the right key to press.

I figured if I needed to disable I could do these now since it says you can just leave them disabled

 

[Colif]

IS PC a custom build or brand name?
If custom, what motherboard does it have?
If brand name, what make/model?

If you tell me those things I will see what I can find.

 

[melissanesgoda]

We got it disabled. F12 to go to the bios I think it's called. Its a gateway from best buy. Acer motherboard I think and legacy bios I know. It's just a blue screen now. I have a friend over who knows some. And he's been calling another friend of his who seems to know a lot. But it's not working. We got the creation file on the usb but while installing it keeps freezing not sure if there are other issues. They deleted partitions and it still wouldn't work. His friend downloaded linux I think it is? And he went to go pick it up I guess that's the last chance if this doesn't work the computer is going to the trash

 

[Colif]

You could try to run memtest86 on your ram sticks in PC, as it could be bad ram causing the freezes. Use program to create a bootable USB, run it on 1 stick at a time and any errors above 0 are too many and might show cause of freezes.