Missing Windows Servicing Packages files & update problems

[Boggin]

When it reverted from the previous failed install using the first disks, it would have restored your previous install from Windows.old so I don't think any corruption would have occurred from that, but I'm not sure if you should have Windows.old after a failed install.

The error 80070005 generally relates to permissions and access denied but a Google for 80070017 comes up with either a bad CD/DVD or DVD drive.

This results in some of the files not getting to the target HDD either because of corruption of the DVD or the disk player isn't reading the DVD correctly.

Before sending you the disks I booted up with each and performed an offboot sfc /scannow which executed without any errors, so I think the disks would be okay and I specifically put the HP one in between the universal ones to give it added protection - but you could try the reinstall with either of the other disks which I ran the eicfg removal on.

CD/DVD drives can go at any time and to eliminate yours as the cause, if you have a 4GB Flash drive you can create a bootable USB from the DVDs by following the DiskPart steps in http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-USB-Bootable

[Tone111]

Hmm, well the DVD drive seems to be ok, and the disk looked fine, but I tried it again after a reboot and it got stuck "Copying Windows files" at 65% and eventually gave the 80070017 error again, so I presume it's stuck at the same place again and can't copy something from the DVD..  oh well.

Not one to give up, I tried one of the 2nd Universal disks, and this one differs from the 1st (pair) in that it asked me for the version of Win 7 to install, which the first one didn't, so I chose Home Premium and it seems to be running ok  well the first one did as well, right up to the last stage, so who knows! Anyway it's on the second stage right now, gathering files, settings & programs, and hasn't stuck yet, so fingers crossed (Again!)...   

[Boggin]

The reason the universal disk asks which version is because it has all versions on there and doesn't nail it to the original Pro version that it once was after the eicfg file removal.

The HP disk would be the same if the ISO had the eicfg file removed, but I can't understand why that isn't working.

If you get a chance, try using that DiskPart tutorial to create a bootable USB from the HP disk to see if a repair install will work from that after creating a full system image.

[Tone111]

Ah I see. not sure why the HP disk wasn't working but the second Universal disk has failed as well  different error to the first Universal one though (see attached) - no specific error, just a generic "Can't continue, reboot, get updates" message.

Don't have a small USB stick I can use to create a boot ISO from just at the moment, could maybe get one next week some time... Sigh, any more ideas other than just rebooting and trying again (although that's always worth a try)  ?

[Boggin]

So why not do what the message says ?

It may need some of the updates as pre-requisites.

The disks can't have been bad burns as I'd just had a new DVD drive fitted to the laptop that I burned the newer disks on, and at least that error message seems like progress.

[Tone111]

Ha, well, because "doing what the message says" ie. the getting updates bit, is the main reason I'm here in the first place! That and the missing package files from the pre-scan - trying to update just sends me round in a "Windows Update needs to install an update" loop with the 80073701 error, so if installing an update is a pre-requisite of getting the repair install upgrade to work then I appear to be stuffed! 

Gave it a go anyway, got the usual messages as attached. I'll have a go with PortUp, PatchMyPC and APUP (and any others you might know about!  ) and get back to you, but I'm not holding my hopes up as they very seldom manage to get any updates installed, apart from the odd Defender definition update, .NET update, and Very occasionally  an Actual Windows or Windows Security Update!! 

[Boggin]

Perhaps it really is time to consider that factory reset.

[Tone111]

Yeah, I kinda thought you might say that! 

It might come to that, but all is not lost yet, however, as yesterday I managed to install a few updates through both PortUp and Autopatcher, and then tried the 2nd Universal disk again - same error as last time (non-specific, updates required etc). Then today I'm running the second of the second lot of Universal disks, currently on the Gathering files section (no harm in trying them all!), and just happened to look at the Windows Update Control Panel (which earlier was showing the usual red warning and Check for Updates message), and lo and behold it's showing the Download and install updates for your computer message (see attached) - 32 important and 2 optional!! This is the first time I've seen this "working" or at least displaying properly in a loooong time!   

I'm reluctant to press install though as the Upgrade is still running and I want to see how far that gets, but something with the either the duplicate install disk, the alternative update programs or one of the updates installed (I got 4 on yesterday  ) has somehow got the MS WU prog to work again, so I'll carry on checking the progress of the repair and post back, fingers crossed...

[Boggin]

Windows does seem to have a way of repairing itself with a little help, although I wouldn't have expected to get a prompt for WUs in the middle of an OS install, unless it's gotten the main bits in.

If it does baulk again, check to see if the WUs are still there to download as the key may be in those.

Perhaps you should have persevered with the first disk's prompt to reboot, but it's starting to look good.

[Tone111]

? Not sure which reboot prompts I haven't followed - thought I'd rebooted every time I've been told!  maybe we've misunderstood each other, but either way things are definitely improving, although it has bombed out again but right at the end of the upgrade this time, nearly 100% of the way through the last stage of transferring files and settings, dang. 

On restore to original version though, the updates are still showing in Control Panel WU, so that's a positive! Trying to go through some of them now, a few at a time, as I tend to find (in the past!) that asking it to do a heap all at once is often what caused problems, so I'm doing it steadily just to see. If I can get a few more on then maybe one of them will just help the repair upgrade over that final hurdle  , or maybe I won't even need it! 

Quick update (arf!) - 1 of the 3 .NET updates was successful - the most recent, the other 2 error 80073712 (corrupt CBS). Just trying a handful more Windows & Security updates now, see how those go... 4 of 5 have installed! The 1 failed with 80073712 again, time to post, reboot & try a few more..

[Boggin]

When you get a fail error code in WUs do you ever use the Help section for that code to see what it says ?

[Tone111]

Oh yeah, if I don't recognise it, but I've seen 80073712 loads of times and know it's related to the the CBS/registry being corrupt. MS says SURT or SFC to fix the error, but we've tried those unsuccessfully already during this process...

My joy at geting the WU working again was shortlived however, as on reboot I got a BSOD with 9e error, then when it wouldn't boot into Windows I went into the install disk to get to the recovery/repair menu, and on running startup repair I got the message 'Windows Codename "Longhorn" Preinstallation Environment (recovery) Path $WINDOWS.~BT\Windows Partition =E: Copy saved as C:\Boot\BCD.Backup.0002'!!! Like, wth does all that mean??? 

I'm currently running a chkdsk/r on my E:\ drive, which has found some bad clusters to replace, but other than that I'm not sure what to do other than try reboot again once it's finished, and no idea at all on the strange repair message! 

[Boggin]

I haven't a clue what that error is either, but as it says Backup.0002 would suggest it has done it before.

I'm a bit confused as to which drive is your active drive and which you are installing Win 7 on.

A chkdsk /r doesn't repair bad clusters, it repairs what files it can and relocates them to the good areas of the disk and ropes off the bad areas so nothing else can be written to them.

Once you get bad clusters it is only a matter of time before the drive fails completely.

[Tone111]

It's a new one on me as well! If it has happened before then I'm certainly not aware of it or what it means, I've had a look in the C:\Boot directory and there's no files of that name, either .0001 or .0002, unless it's in the offline C: (which isn't visible in Windows, it's the Dell first boot/diagnostic partition I believe).

In Windows my OS is C:\ - is this what you mean by "active drive"? All my progs, settings and OS are there, so I presume that's where the installation is going, and I also have an E:\ partition where I keep all my data and libraries. When booting offline or by CD the C: becomes D:, the hidden one becomes C: and the E: stays as is. In addition to the new folders on my C: drive, there's also a WINDOWS.~BT folder on my E: drive with several folders in, over 12,400 files and taking up 2.3 Gb of space!!  In contrast, the UPGRADE.~OS folder on my C: drive has only 400+ files and 98 Mb of space, not sure why it's put the other on my E: drive... 

Anyway, the chkdsk has repaired some errors on my bitmap volume on E:, if the suspect bit of disk is now marked as "bad" then hopefully it can't cause any further errors? Although I know what you're saying, potentially it could spread and the HD could go at some point..  For now though it's back up and running ok again, so I'm checking out the update situation again with the hope of getting as many as I can on and then giving the upgrade repair another shot! 

[Boggin]

With the time you have spent on this, you could have done a factory reset by now :lol - but with bad sectors that could have had problems of its own had they gone unnoticed.

As for the partition/drive letters changing, even though the OS is in C: - when doing anything outside of Windows, Windows can see the OS in a different partition which is why when executing the offboot sfc, you need to make a note of the location or run the command bcdedit |find "osdevice" - so I suppose if one letter gets changed then the rest will probably move up, but I don't know why.

At least you have everything backed up externally should the drive fail.

[Tone111]

Ha yeah, you're probably right, but I naively thought that the repair install would be quicker, easier and less hassle than a full factory reset or clean install, little did I know 

Anyway it's all moot now as I've managed to get the repair install to (finally!) work! I can barely contain myself!!  I've had a busy week but after the last failed attempt, I got a few updates on using various methods but still no joy with the upgrade. I then decided to re-run the MS SURT, followed by the All In One Repair in safe mode, after this the WU were still working and showing 28 + 3 optional but none of them would install (usual story). I also changed the owner of the CBS registry key back to Trustedinstaller (from Admin) after something I read of yours Boggin which prompted me to check it, as I've done that MSI registry key fix myself in the past and it was all there ok apart from the Ownership.
Then having exhausted my ideas of what to change I thought it might be time to try the upgrade install again, firstly with the Home premium, which again got stuck, so I tried one of the first pair of Universal disks again and let it rip and went right through to the end! Holy *&$£ man!! 

I'm just in the middle of trying to figure out what I need to do now to get everything working normally again and back to how it was - so far I can see my desktop themes are different, appearance is different (I had aero and other effects off before for better performance), Avast has been turned off for some reason and won't start again, either with the shortcut or with the Action center button - it says the side by side configuration is incorrect! Any idea what I need to do to get it going? The Windows Features box is now visible again after a long time not working, woohoo, and WU appears to be still working, but failed on error 8024001B when I first tried it (update needed to update!), so I've rebooted and tried again, currently "Checking for updates........). Also when my Glasswire connected the first time it came up with a big list of about 10 different items which have all been removed! - do these need replacing or are they all redundant? (I can write the list down if needed, network adapters/drivers by the look of it)

Other than those few niggles all looks to be good, hopefully I can ge the AV back on now and get the WU's all up to date and then the job's a good 'un!! 

[Boggin]

If you backed up the Drivers folders from Windows\System32 before the repair install, then you can drop them back in and that should resolve some problems.

If you are able to download Windows Updates then your Internet must be working okay and it can drop some drivers in for you to keep you going.

[Tone111]

Yes the internet seems to be working ok - I've just updated SuperAntiSpyware defninitions without any problems, so I'm now going to try and update using WU - it's found 183 Important and 11 optional updates to install!!!  :cry:jeeez, just going through the list and trying to figure out which ones to install first as I'm out later and can't leave it running/connected, so maybe I can get a few of the smaller/more important ones on before I go...

I did wonder about the drivers I backed up - do I just merge the folders and replace any existing drivers in Windows with the ones from my backup? Not sure of best way to do it. Will this sort my Avast issues out? Tried it again but it gives the same error as before. Also tried running an SFC and it says beginning verification phase then stops after a second or two with Windows Resource Protection could not perform the requested operation! 

[Boggin]

Have a look at the optional ones first as MS is pushing some to ease upgrading to Win 10 and if you have no intention of taking up what looks like a proposed free upgrade, then you can hide them.

The Optional ones I have hidden are -

KB2952664
KB2990214
KB3013531
KB3020369
KB3045645

When you drag & drop the drivers folders back in, you should be able to click on the name System32 and will probably get a prompt to merge.

I wonder if that sfc /scannow error is because of the bad sectors - check to see if the command will run in Safe Mode.

You may have to reinstall Avast.

[Tone111]

Ok thanks for that info, just trying to get all the WU's on first before I put the drivers back on. Unfortunately I seem to have hit a major snag and now my machine looks rather screwed! 

I got about 50 updates or so on, then after a reboot tried to check for updates and it threw up error 80080005 (something to do with corrupted dll's which can be sorted by running SFC) and couldn't check. Tried the SFC and it gave the same error (couldn't perform the requested operation), so I remembered your comment about trying it in Safe Mode and thought I'd try that, after first trying it in Repair/offline mode. Booted into repair mode, Startup repair couldn't find any errors to correct, then tried an offline SFC - said it couldn't scan due to a pending reboot!  Tried a reboot but made no difference. Anyway gave that up and went into Safe Mode and then discovered all the text is missing from Windows! The Users names are missing from the logon screen, the button which says Switch Users is blank, and once I go into Windows all the desktop icons are blank! The Windows orb also doesn't do anything. I've also tried going back into Normal mode to see if it's just Safe mode but it's the same in either. I got task manager up using the hotkeys but there's no menu or options on it, although the tabs all show text on them (programs running, processes running etc)

Any idea what could have caused it or how to get it looking ok again? Literally the only thing I've done is install WU after the Upgrade - I've just tried doing a System Restore to prior to the last set of updates and it's failed with )x8000ffff, so I'm going to try a different one (there's only 3, the Repair/Upgrade and 2 WU restore points, so I'm limited but I'll try them all), unless anyone's got any other ideas on what the hell might be wrong with it....

[Boggin]

Found this possible fix in my toolbox for the pending reboot which you could try.

Boot with either the install disk or into Safe Mode with Cmd Prompt to rename the pending.xml file

takeown /f x:\Windows\winsxs\pending.xml

Ren x:\Windows\winsxs\pending.xml pending.old

exit (to close the command window if booted up with the install disk)

Shutdown /r (if in Safe Mode with Command Prompt which will effect a reboot)

Reboot and try again.

As the Start button isn't working and everything seems to be screwed up, sometimes a cold boot can resolve.

That is where you disconnect the AC and remove the battery then hold the power button in for ~30secs - plug the AC back in and see how that performs, but if you have to boot up with the install disk to get to the command prompt, then run chkdsk c: /r after to see what that reports.

I think you said it gave the partition as C but use whichever partition letter bcdedit |find "osdevice" gave instead of C as required.

I can't find 0x8000ffff in https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/938205 so don't know what that one is for.

[Tone111]

Thanks again Boggin, but the immediate panic is over! 

No idea what happened to the machine, but even though all the restore attempts said they'd failed with that same 8000ffff error code, after the last one I rebooted (back into normal mode) and a pop up message said that the system had been successfully restored! It was the oldest of the points however, the repair install one, so now it looks like it did after the repair with everything in fresh W7 mode again, but of course I'm back to having all 183 important updates to install  so I've bitten the bullet and just kicked it off with them all ticked!  see what that does.

I did also do a cold boot/reset and a chkdsk /r on both C: and E: while I was in repair mode before the system restore, and no errors were found, although it did correct the volume bitmap on one of the drives...

Checked on the updates not long back, it was on 18 of 181 (for some reason not all the 183 were ticked so I left the 2 odd ones off), and there was a message box saying that the .NET framework 4.5 was being repaired and to leave setup running the NetFxRepair until it had finished! I presume one of the WU has kicked this off? Nothing else was running.. It's not the first time I've had .NET framework issues, having run the repair tool in the past to try resolve problems, so whether this was what caused the earlier weird text display problems, or whether it's a "new" update installation issue I don't know.  The repair's completed now and it needs restarting to get the .NET working correctly again, but as the updates are running along nicely (55 now) I think I'll leave it updating for the minute and turn it off when I go to bed, hopefully interrupting the updates won't cause problems, we'll see...

[Boggin]

What did the chkdsk /r report for bad sectors ?

I think I would have just set the laptop to High performance and left on overnight for the WUs as I prefer not to disrupt those.

When you restart it, that will effect the .NET Framework fix and may aid the WUs.....

[Tone111]

It didn't report anything for bad sectors, just said it had made a correction to the bitmap volume.

It's an all-in-one desktop (monitor with contained HDD etc), not a laptop, and I tried to leave it on Sleep mode so I could continue straight on this morning, but when I came down it was still on, and the updates had moved on to 150! Not sure how without my phone and no internet, but there you go - I reconnected my phone, hooked up the net, and it appears to be stuck on 150 (been on 3033929 for about half an hour now!) so I'm probably best stopping the installation and rebooting I guess, and seeing how the restart and continued updates go....

[Boggin]

WUs have to download before they can install, so if they've all downloaded and it's in the install phase then it wouldn't need an Internet connection to continue.