Windows 10 upgrade, 10 tries, 10 fails

[GussNemo]

I have now tried to upgrade from Windows 7 Ultimate, 32 bit, to Windows 10 ten times and experienced ten failures.  Each time the error messages are the same, for both the blue screen and on the Windows Update window.

On the blue screen I see "The PC has experienced a problem, please wait we are collecting information: System Thread Exception Not Handled."  Collecting information?  Whose collecting information?  And where's it going?  I'd like to see that information. (a few sarcastic questions I have)

The error message on the Windows Update page is as follows:  Windows update experienced an unknown error, c1900101-30018.

As I normally do when I encounter a problem, I surf the web looking for solutions for the specific information I have.  Namely the two error messages above.  And I must say it is quite heart felt to see all the definitive solutions to my problem, as long I go along with the poster who said, "that didn't work for me."  And let me apologize now for any sarcastic statements I will no doubt make.  Nothing I'm about to relate has fix the UNKNOWN problem which Windows Update is encountering.

I did say I search for solutions when encountering problems, and I did that the first time the upgrade failed.  One post said to run "chkdsk" and "sfc /scannow" which I did.  No problems were found.  One post said to go into Windows -> Software distribution -> Download and delete the contents.  Which I did, still no help.  I even ran several suggested Microsoft Fixit and Troubling shooting programs.  Again, nothing fix the UNKNOWN error.

I've tried tweak after tweak but nothing cured the UNKNOWN error problem.  As a side thought, while doing all this, I decided I better backup my hard drive only to find "Backup and Restore" were no longer working; I also had to buy a larger portable external drive to hold my HD contents--bought a Seagate 2TB portable expansion external drive.  So, now I had another problem to research and try to find an answer.  The possible answer can in a post which suggested running MiniToolKit, which I did.  After running the program I noticed the system was running rather sluggish, and decided to reboot.  Once the task bar appeared I noticed an icon on the Action Center icon which I hadn't seen before.  Imagine my surprise after opening the Action Center to find my system was being backed up.  That was one thing fixed, I think.

On to more posts, another suggesting Windows Updater--I believe it was called, which installed a program HotFix (I think).  Anyway, this didn't fix anything either.  Emeisoft Emergency Kit was suggested in another post, which I tried.  It's a maleware program which ended up finding three PUPs which weren't hurting anything but I got rid of them anyway.  More posts, more suggestions, none of which were use to me or I'd already tried.

Then another post caught my eye for Tweaking.com Window Repair, something I hadn't tried.  Ran it, followed the directions, the program found some problems, let it fix those problems, thought now my system could be upgraded to Windows 10, ran the upgrade, and received the same to error messages I mentioned at the beginning of this post.  Sooo...before the 10th attempt at upgrading to Windows 10, and something I did several times before, I disabled both Avast and Malwarebytes, Windows Defender, and Windows Firewall.  I also disconnected the printer, USB 2.0 hub, the new drive I bought, and started the upgrade.  And for the 10th time windows upgrade failed.  It is nice, I must say, after each fail my system was restored to it's chipper self.  Thank goodness.

Needless to say I'm at a loss what to do to find this UNKNOWN error.  Trying this or that hasn't worked, so more of the same isn't a solution.  Somewhere, someone must have the information which was gathered when the blue screen appeared.  Information which might tell what the error is and maybe provide a clue how to fix it.  Unless someone has any more ideas how to sleuth out this UNKNOWN error, it looks like I'm living with Windows 7 Ultimate 32 bit. 

[Boggin]

How have you been trying to upgrade ?

If it's through Window Update then that could have its own problems, have you tried it from https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows/windows-10-upgrade

When upgrading you should have all peripherals disconnected.

I'm not sure what else to suggest for the Win 10 upgrade failure as you have probably tried them all and you will also have seen what a common problem it is, although you haven't mentioned using the System Update Readiness Tool (SURT).

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows7/what-is-the-system-update-readiness-tool

You can find its log in C:\Windows\Logs\CBS\Checksur and double clicking on it will open it in Notepad.

Was that just a standard blue error screen or a BSOD ?

Did you run the Pre-Scan in Option 2 of the Windows Repair program to see if there were any corrupt Packages etc.

If push comes to shove then you could contact MS but they can leave the computer more in a mess than when they first started - depends upon the quality of tech that you get as they have some right dicks.

[GussNemo]

Hi Boggin,

Yes, I've been trying to upgrade from Windows 7 Ultimate, 32 bit, to Windows 10.  Ten tries and ten fails, all through Windows 7 update windows.

No, I haven't tried updating through any MS web page, specifically the one you provided; that might be something to try.  I've also given consideration to going the ISO route, but worry if something goes foul, will it revert back to my previous version of windows.

Yes, I have installed the System Update Readiness Tool.  But I don't know if it helped.

Windows 10 upgrade installation gets to 30% of installation and 100% of copy files, restarts the computer, then proceeds to installing features and drivers.  At 32% of total installation and 6% or installing features and drivers, the "oops we have a problem" blue screen appears.  That screen tells me my computer has a problem and they are gathering information.  Who they are I haven't a clue--MS I'd guess.  What information that's being gathered, again, I haven't a clue--probably information which would tell me what problem is being encountered.

When this blue screen appears, and the message I mentioned above, there is an error message right below the first one which says, "System Thread Exception Not Handled."  According to MS, a clean boot should be preformed.  And of course, this is something I've already tried--about 3 or 4 upgrade tries ago.

The Checksur log finds 4 corrupt errors dealing with IE.  I have no idea if these would interfere with the upgrade or not.

When I ran the Windows Repair program I followed all the tabs at the top of the screen, except for Pro since I have the free version.  According to the program, 43 problems were found and 43 problems were resolved.

Yeah, I'm not real thrilled with letting MS or another service dealer get into my computer system.  From everything I've read, the problem I'm facing is not specifically known.  Every possible fix is a "try this, if that doesn't work, try that" and that's no way to troubleshoot any complicated system.  Someone, somewhere, should, after all the time Windows 10 has been available, been able to come up with a detailed troubleshooting flow diagram which can walk, walk, the user through fixing the problems they are encountering.  [step off my soap box now]

I'll keep digging and see if someone hasn't found a fix from sometime this year, 2016.

[Boggin]

If the ISO route also fails then it will auto roll back to your previous OS but prior to upgrading, succeed or fail, it's prudent to create a full system image of your current system onto external media.

As MS recommend a clean boot, I'm not sure if the upgrade can be done in Safe Mode with Networking using the MS webpage if the upgrade using that route also fails in normal mode, but it's something else to try.

I don't think MS use IE for Windows Updates any more but see if resetting IE to defaults resolves the errors Checksur reports.

You could also use the cmds in Method #4 in https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/813444 to re-register IE as the faults SURT found could be relevant.

However, the list of .dlls the MS page gives to re-register is a lot shorter than what I've normally seen, such as in this 2013 article - http://downloadsnfix.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/how-to-re-register-dll-files-of.html but create a restore point first.

As you've exhausted Google on that error, then I won't waste my time just to come up with the same suggestions you have already tried to no avail.

[GussNemo]

Hi Boggin,

I'm keeping the ISO upgrade route on the back burner for now, there are a few other things I want to check before trying another upgrade.  Three or four upgrade attempts ago, I did want to back up my HD only to find "Backup and Restore" not working; I also needed a larger external drive, which I now have.  I ran a program called MiniToolKit and after it ran "Backup and Restore" was once again working--the system was making a backup all on its own, thank goodness.

I have tried doing a clean boot but that didn't cure the one error message on the blue screen page, System Thread Exception Not Handled.  But according to MS a clean boot should have solved the problem.  Should have, my personal comments will remain mine.

I will try resetting IE to all defaults, though I had a heck of a time once before getting all the "I don't want it" from running.  Shouldn't things always use the KISS principle?  I will also try to re-register IE as you've suggested, heck it just might be the one reason why upgrading fails.  KISS, remember KISS.

I've been very tempted to leave a post on the MS community, but too many MS replies have been canned replies which didn't help the original poster.  And many of the things those canned replies suggested I've already tried.

On the MS error list, for the error codes I'm seeing, it is suggested to reformat the HD from NTFS to GPT.  Why?  How is this going to fix anything when other machines running the NTFS format upgrade without this step being taken.  Besides, I just want to upgrade the OS, not completely reinstall everything after formatting the HD.  KISS, remember KISS.

I'll keep plugging along, maybe I'll get lucky and a magical fix will appear by accident.

[Boggin]

You only need to change to GPT if you have installed a HDD in excess of 3GB but I know what you mean about some of the responses from people you would expect to know what they are talking about on the MS Community forum.

The clean boot idea may be to isolate your AV program as well, but a lot of AV programs will reinstate themselves as soon as you hit the Apply button, so the only safe way to isolate your 3rd party AV program is to boot up into Safe Mode with Networking.

What were the IE errors that the SURT found ?

[GussNemo]

Hi Boggin,

The format to GPT was one of MS's ideas on their Error table.  As you say it's for if an HDD greater than 3GB was installed, so shouldn't that have been part of the question asked before suggesting the formatting?  Seems to be a good idea to me.

I have done clean boots in the last upgrade attempts to no avail.  I have update some software recently in order to have the necessary components up to date.  For a couple of examples:  I updated the firmware on the motherboard today.  It didn't take to long, but it was the latest update.  Uninstalled the video driver for Nvidia, ran a Display Driver Uninstaller to remove everything associated with the Nvidia driver.  Then reinstalled everything for Nvidia.  All of this was done in Safe Mode.

And then...and then...I tried upgrading again, twice.  And as usual, it failed.

I've read other posts which talked about disabling the Network adapter to remove it during installing.  Some have noticed it is disabled during the first part of Windows 10 installing but comes on during the second part (installing features and drivers).  The person who posted this said once he disabled it after Windows 10 downloaded, but before installing, he had no trouble installing Windows 10.  I don't see I have anything to lose trying this, so next time I will.

External drives was another topic I read about.  As with the Network Adapter, they should be removed before installation of Windows 10.  I have done this in a previous upgrade and it didn't help.

I think what I have is a list of everything I've tried and no list of what else might be the cause.  Usually if a person works through what's been tried, they should be able to come up with what's left which might be causing the problem.  Short of some radical suggestions, removing the memory sticks one at a time to test the RAM being just one example, I've tried just about everything else I've read about.

With as many people having the same problem, Windows 10 stops at 32% total installation and 6% of Installing Features and Drivers, you'd think MS would have found the problem by now.

BTW, I did work on the IE problem, whether it fixed anything I can't say.  I looked at the Cheksur log and it's from 1-23-2016.  I'm including a zip of that log.

[Boggin]

From the Pre-Scan in Option 2 of WR, I know corrupt CAT and MUM files can cause problems with Windows Updates, so perhaps they are the cause of the Win 10 fail.

I would suggest that you run the Pre-Scan to see what that reports and if it is the same, then open a new thread in the CAT and MUM File Requests section and post the log where Julian will upload them for you.

I could move this thread to that section, but a summary of your problem and the log will make for a simpler thread.

I had been wondering if the Win 10 install disk could have been a bad burn or had become damaged and creating a new one may have resolved, but I think you need to get those files sorted first and then see how the upgrade goes.

[GussNemo]

Hi Boggin,

I haven't re-run the WR to see what the results are from option 2, been trying a few other things.

I have yet to create an ISO disk so all upgrading has been done through Windows Updater.  I read a post of a person who had trouble with the ISO files and kept creating one until one finally allowed him to upgrade to Windows 10.  All of this stuff is so squirrelly.

Edit:  I re-ran the WR option 2 but am not sure where the logs are or which log(s) would need to be posted.  I did find logs in the WR program file folder but am unsure if these logs are the ones you are referring too.

[Boggin]

When you ran the pre-Scan in Option 2 did it report any errors ?

If it did, you can right click and Select all - right click again and select Copy to Paste it into the reply box.

Can you run SURT again to see if it still reports errors for IE.

Is your Nvdia Win 10 supported ?

How did you get on using the MS Upgrade now button ?

[Boggin]

I'd just like to make a correction to one of my earlier posts.

GPT is for HDDs greater than 2.1GB and not 3TB.

[GussNemo]

Hi Boggin,

That boo-boo is okay, I wouldn't know the difference anyway.  Plus, reformatting the HD isn't going to happen just to upgrade to Windows 10.  I'd stick with Windows 7 in that case.

I did do another Option 2 on Windows Repair the other day, as you suggested.  It found nothing to fix in the Environmental side but found two in the Reparse--I think it's called--side.  Both of those dealt with Documents so it wasn't anything critical.

I'm coming to the conclusion that Windows Repair has done all it can to fix any problems, and what's been fixed wasn't the initial problem to begin with.  Because of everything else I've tried, per MS posts/support, and other posts, I've basically eliminated a lot of things which might have been the problem.  For example, one suggesting was to unplug all peripherals, that is printer, hubs, external HD, etc.  I did this and still had problems upgrading to Windows 10.  So as far as I can see, the problem isn't with any peripherals.

Chkdsk and sfc /scan now found nothing wrong, so what they check for is not causing problems.  Deleting the contents in the Download folder under Software Distribution, I think it was, as suggested, changing nothing.  Upgrade still failed.  In short, I've followed a lot of suggestions and nothing kept Windows 10 upgrade from failing, so all of those have been eliminated as causes.

The only two I haven't followed is using the Windows Repair on the Windows 7 installation disk, or that's what one post said it would be.  The other is uninstalling any antivirus software I have on the system.  I believe this is what I will do next, but have to wait for a copy of the license I have with the antivirus company I purchased it from.  I've read posts where some had trouble installing an earlier version of windows when the antivirus I use was on their systems.  I've nothing else to lose since if removing the antivirus doesn't allow Windows 10 to upgrade, I won't know anything else to do.  Short of finding a qualified IT tech and pass the buck to them, out of my pocket of course.   

[Boggin]

Rather than uninstalling your AV program, boot up into Safe Mode with Networking which will isolate your AV and then try the Upgrade now button in that mode.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows/windows-10-upgrade

You can now do a clean install using the ISO disk and use the COA sticker key to activate it, whereas before, you had to upgrade through Windows Update from a qualifying Windows version.

Unfortunately with a clean install you would lose everything in C: so as well as creating a system image of your current install to external media, you would also need to back up your personal stuff to reinstall and then reinstall your programs.

http://www.howtogeek.com/224342/how-to-clean-install-windows-10/

It's also best prior to the upgrade, to go into Setup (BIOS) and permanently change the boot order to boot from DVD and USB before the HDD as those functions may not work after the upgrade.

[GussNemo]

Hi Boggin,

I have looked into trying to upgrade using Safe Mode, unfortunately that isn't possible as everything needs to be seen by the Windows 10 upgrade software; or so the posts I read said.  It would be nice if it could happen because it would eliminate one more something which might be the cause of my problems.

As I understand it, there are two choices when using ISO to upgrade.  One, as you said, is a clean install, losing everything on the HD, making it necessary to reload everything that's wanted/needed.  The other is as a regular upgrade, again, from the posts I've read.  Going the clean install route, Windows 10 is then not an upgrade but a new product, and would require buying the registration key, again from posts I've read.  Someone even argued with a MS rep concerning this, but got nowhere.  Needless to say they were hot under the collar.  The other problem, if you want to call it that, is having to reinstall everything wanted or needed.  That would include all browsers, office software, any games, etc.  Going with a clean install goes from a simple install to a massive install once everything is done.  And if MS hasn't figured out by now many have to go the ISO clean install route, and are still requiring payment for the key, just as though you bought the software, then I'd be out the cost of of the key.

No, come Monday, hopefully, I'll uninstall the AV on our system and try to upgrade once again.  And if the upgrade works then I'll reinstall the AV, though I'll have to reinstall it even if the upgrade fails.

This mishmash of providing error messages without details makes it next to impossible to find the problem.  And this mishmash of try this or try that isn't much better.  Especially for the home owner who isn't a computer tech. 

[Boggin]

It was a bit disappointing that the upgrade doesn't work in Safe Mode as that is the safest way to run without an AV program.

Didn't you read the second link I'd posted regarding the clean install which deals with activating using your computer's COA sticker key - and I agree, a clean install is absolutely the last resort.

[GussNemo]

Hi Boggin,

Yes, I read about using the COA to activate Windows 10.  Again, unless that's changed, people have been running into problems going this route; according to what I've read.  It's supposed to work that way, but many have found their COA isn't recognized when imputed.

Upgrade through updater and supposedly everything will work fine.  Use the other ways provided by MS and it doesn't.  If they're offering upgrades for free, and several ways to upgrade, why in the world is only one way problem free--supposedly?  Something tells me the upper tier of managers didn't think this whole upgrade thing through to it's logical conclusion.

But leave it to users to figure out how to get thing to work as they should.  It is, after all, how the whole computer era started.

[Boggin]

I assume that you do have sufficient free space on the HDD - it's reckoned you need at least 20GB free.

[GussNemo]

Hi Boggin,

Ummm, yeah, I think 377 GB is room enough to install Windows 10.

Today I tried again, the 17th, 18th, 19th, and 20th attempts.  And each one failed.  And, the AV was uninstalled each time.  On the 20th attempt I set the upgrade scheduler to 5 PM and let it run, still failed.

I've eliminated all peripherals; eliminated the AV; chkdsk and sfc /scan now found nothing; drivers are up to date; BIOS is up to date; last run of WR found no environmental, just documents links; MiniToolKit fixed Backup and Restore problem; Silverlight was uninstalled and reinstalled--per a post I read; several MS Fixits were run; several MS Troubleshooters were run; I've run Windows Memory Diagnostic Tool which found nothing wrong--though I've read it isn't the best for testing RAM; and after each failed attempt both the error message on the blue screen and on the update window are the same: System Thread Exception Not Handled; Windows update encountered an unknown error: c1900101-30018.

I've not tried using the Media Creation Tool because I haven't researched how to use it and get back to my current version of windows should this also fail.  I've not done a clean install of Windows 7 Ultimate 32 bit, something that will have to be the very last resort.  I've not tested the RAM modules using memsysx86--I think it's called.  But I'd think if one of the RAM modules were having trouble I'd have more system or application problems.  And I'm not.

When the upgrade fails, and the blue screen appears, a message says information is being gathered.  What information would that be and is it being sent to MS or stored on my system in a Windows log?  There is a Windows.log in the SoftwareDistribution folder but it's Greek to me.

I think I'll go to MS forum and leave a message about the problems I'm having, just to see what responses I get.  I'm guessing the responses will be nothing more that what I've already seen for others.

I can also try and find a business nearby who can test my system to see if there are hardware problems not being picked up by the software I've already run.  If I can't find a business, or get a reasonable answer as to why the upgrade is failing, I'll just have to stick with Windows 7 Ultimate.

[Boggin]

You mention that you get the error message on a blue screen - is this a Windows screen or a BSOD ?

If it's a BSOD and created a memory dump file, then BlueScreenView will be able to analyse that for you.

http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/blue_screen_view.html

I don't know if you've come across this article in your previous searches, but it has a link for a MS Hotfix that would be emailed to you, although the error code differs but like the -30018 error code, System Thread Exception can have a number of causes - which is the problem with MS - they have that many errors that they seem to have bundled sections with the same error message.

http://www.deskdecode.com/how-to-fix-system-thread-exception-not-handled-0x0000007e/

[GussNemo]

Hi Boggin,

When Windows 10 upgrade gets to 32% total installation and 6% of installing features and drivers, it stops and a blue screen appears saying my PC has encountered an error and information is being collected.  The error message "System Thread Exception Not Handled" appears right below the above message and then the computer reboots.  The upgrade then tries to recover the installation process and when it can't, a message appears saying "restoring your version of Windows."  From what I've read, this isn't the real BSOD which totally locks up a system.  This blue screen seems to be part of the error handling process of the upgrade.

Throwing out error messages without detailed information is really stupid, IMHO.  It leads to what I'm doing right now, hunting and pecking to try and find out why the Windows 10 upgrade always fails at the same place.  Had I years of experience, and tons of diagnostic programs to fall back on, maybe these generic error message not be so confusing.  As I've said before, I've nothing to lose in trying another diagnostic program.  Who knows, maybe it will be the one which unlocks the problem.

Hotfix is one of those MS programs I have already installed.  I can't remember exactly how I found it but it's installed.  And, as with everything else I tried, it did nothing to fix whatever problem stops Windows 10 from installing.

I looked at the Deskdecode site, and many of the things there I've done or I'm not seeing the errors codes it mentions.  As with one post suggesting to reinstall Windows 7, using the Windows 7 installation is another one of those last resort things to try.  I'll do more research on how to use the installation disk to repair the system before I give it a go.

As I said in a previous post, I've eliminated so many things that it's becoming harder to know what to eliminate next; short of just starting over and reloading everything from a backup file.  For now, I'll go ahead and run the blue screen view and see if it can find the information that's collected before the system reboots and restores my version of windows.

Of course, a baseball bat sitting by the computer might make the Windows 10 upgrade change its mind about stopping. 

[Boggin]

You can use this tutorial to repair install Win 7 - http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/3413-repair-install.html

If you have problems using a Win 7 install disk that doesn't include SP1 then you may have to uninstall SP1 from Installed Updates.

You can back up the drivers folders from C:\Windows\Syystem32

[Julian]

so it's giving the bsod during the driver install... can you list all the hardware in your computer?

[GussNemo]

Hi Boggin,

Yes, I did read your second post about doing a clean install.  But I've read posts which have stated the clean install of Windows 10 will be considered by MS as an INSTALL and will then not be free.  Going this route will require the user to buy the Windows 10 key from MS.  The second option under this method is the upgrade, which is then considered free.

I've stepped back from trying to upgrade my system, for a few days, in order to give my post on the MS community a chance to get results.  A gentleman there has been asking for information, but so far hasn't offered any suggestions how to pin point the main problem.  My next attempt to upgrade my system will be by using an ISO file, I just need to research how one is created and used.  Which I haven't done yet.

[Boggin]

From this article, it would seem you are correct in that there may be activation problems - http://www.thewindowsclub.com/clean-install-or-upgrade-to-windows-10-using-windows-10-iso

Have you considered contacting MS Support for advice on a clean install without using the upgrade option regarding activation using your COA sticker key ?

https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/gp/customer-service-phone-numbers/en-gb#u

[GussNemo]

Hi Boggin,

That first link may come in handy when I get back trying to upgrade my system, that page has useful information.  I've read the notice before about doing an upgrade then clean install, since after the upgrade the product key is stored on the MS server and a clean install would be no problem.

No, I haven't considered contacting MS for help on a clean install without using the upgrade option.  After reading other articles, going this route would be the same as waiting until the free upgrade expires and buying Windows 10.