
Windows 10 1803 Update Failure - x0054
http://sdbr.net/windows-10-update-failure/
======
sddfd
I'm running two machines (a recent laptop and an older desktop with Windows
10). I've wiped both drives and did a fresh install of a recent Windows 10 vom
USB Stick.

I haven't had any problems updating and even big updates are fast. This is in
contrast to a Dell laptop I got for work and which regularily took 45min to
update.

If you have problems with your Windows 10, get rid of the crapware that came
with your PC and/or do a fresh install from a clean image from MS (not one of
the OEM rescue partitions/disks).

I with MS would do something about all the preinstalled crapware, because it
has gotten out of hand and is hurting the brand.

~~~
x0054
Best I can tell the Dell image for XPS 9550 is just Windows 10 with minimal
drivers. I think I'll try the fresh Microsoft Windows route, but I want to
mirror the drive first, because I don't want to install windows all over again
and set up all my apps if it doesn't work. What's a good alternative to
something like Carbon Copy Cloner for Windows? I used to use Ghost, but that
was a decade ago.

~~~
jacob019
Live boot linux and use dd

~~~
x0054
I'll give that a shot, that should work, theoretically. I don't really know
all the ins and outs of the new secure boot stuff on windows, would have to
read up on that. But theoretically that should work.

~~~
jacob019
ubuntu works fine with secure boot

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maltalex
I've had a lot of issues with Windows update myself but the author's solution
of "Murdering Windows Update" is not my cup of tea. I like my software
patched.

So while I don't have a good solution for Windows Update issues, re-installs
are a LOT less painful with choco[0]. I have one choco script for my home
machine, one for work, one for the wife, and one for the parents. It makes
things so much easier!

Edit: I am not affiliated with Choco in any way

[0]: [https://chocolatey.org/](https://chocolatey.org/)

~~~
amanzi
I gave up on chocolatey after constant issues with permissions and never being
sure which package to install for a particular app. Not sure if it has
improved recently but it seemed like every app had multiple packages to choose
from, and some features were only available in a paid plan.

~~~
beart
Try scoop.sh

I've had much better luck with it than Choco.

------
robocat
Windows 10 puts Microsoft's needs ahead of the users.

There is no easy way to avoid updates interrupting your work, always when you
need to use your PC for an urgent work issue.

The home screen adverts, and preinstalled junkware are insulting.

It is impossible to interact with the OS for more than a few minutes without
finding another bug you have never seen before.

On Friday I was using a test laptop. The start menu stopped working, so I do a
restart, but Windows decides to do an update (ignoring the configured "don't
update between 8am and 6pm" setting).

I can't believe they don't have a professional version with a yearly
subscription. I want my tools to work, not interrupt me, or fail randomly.

~~~
bsder
> Windows 10 puts Microsoft's needs ahead of the users.

So _stop using Windows_.

It's really that simple. Until people stop buying Windows, this will never
change.

~~~
crispinb
> It's really that simple. Until people stop buying Windows, this will never
> change

As simple as halting climate collapse by 'people' greatly reducing their car &
electricity usage. Then lets stop war by 'people' refusing to fight or
manufacture arms.

Much would be simple if there existed a decision-making unit we could label
'people'.

~~~
bsder
The Microsoft is doing _exactly_ what they should be doing--extracting money
from people who will simply refuse to move.

Look, I do a lot of embedded work. And that's about as Windows-y as it gets
with drivers and tools. And, yes, I have more than a few virtual machines with
Windows.

However, I can minimize the amount I use Windows outside that arena. Linux
with a Windows VM when you absolutely need it is a solid choice. OS X with a
Windows VM when you absolutely need it is also a solid choice.

Funny you should mention climate change. Cutting down on your "Windows
footprint" is like cutting down on your "carbon footprint". 100% is never
achieved in one jump--it is a gradual process. And, quite often, benefits
appear much sooner than you expect. (Less Windows means less ransomware
exposure, for example)

~~~
crispinb
It can be fairly simple for many individual persons to not use Windows, that's
hardly in dispute.

But _any_ sentence starting with "X would be easy if people [or 'everyone']
did Y .. ", directly entails "X is difficult".

------
gerardnll
I may be the only one with zero problems on Windows 10...

Sometimes I think the adjectives to describe some situations are too harsh.

~~~
sakopov
I, too, rarely have major issues with Windows. However, I did come across the
login issue in the article, which was fixed with a restart. When people shit
all over WinOS I'd like to instead give Microsoft credit for creating an OS
that works as good as it does on virtually endless amounts of hardware
configurations.

~~~
ocdtrekkie
It's stunning to me that Microsoft can do this but we tolerate excuses from
other companies about why they can't guarantee all devices running their OS
can get a given software update. Or that each manufacturer's update needs to
be released separately.

That being said, as someone who repairs Windows for a living, I've seen a lot
of major issues with Windows. They take a two steps forward, one step back
approach to everything they do. QA has gone down the toilet of late, but most
of the core product is actually better.

~~~
dabockster
I've heard a rumor going around that Microsoft has either downsized their QA
engineers significantly or laid them off entirely in favor of having devs and
sub/misclassified contractors do it instead. I hope I'm wrong, though.

~~~
fmv_
You aren't wrong. Someone mentioned this to me Thursday right before my
interview at MS. During my interview, testing came up so I asked about it. I
was told there are no more QA engineers. Developers will now be handling
testing/QA themselves.

~~~
dabockster
So the same guy that wrote the code is also testing it? Or are they having
other team members test each other's code?

Either way, I'm not surprised the quality is going down.

------
Zardoz84
I actually try to avoid to boot on Windows 10 on my dual boot computer
(kubuntu 18.04 + windows 10) because the fucking updates of windows.

I got stuck with falling updates like 5 months . Every time that windows try
to update, I lose like 2 hours. And only to see Windows failing to update and
reverting it. And another issue is that Windows really hits hard my hard disk
along like half hour, every time that I boots on Windows. I don't understand
why does it. It's a shot experience, specially compar d against my Linux
experience on the same computer, where everything just works out of the box,
and I don't need to lost like half hour seeing how my hard drive is being
smashed by the OS.

So this article really it's helpful for me.

~~~
jimnotgym
Reinstall Windows 10 from a USB stick (MS provide a tool to create them). You
will jump straight to the latest build with no updates at all.

However I will agree, I dual boot Windows 10 and Ubuntu anad I know I will
have to suffer updates if I boot Windows. On the other hand I am not too happy
with Ubuntu's updates right now...

~~~
Zardoz84
I control when I update my Kubuntu installation. And GNU/Linux updates are far
less intrusive that Windows updates. Not enforces you to reboot the machine to
apply it, and you can work at same time that you updates.

PD: This kind of fix, remember me to the times of Windows 95/98 when a full
reinstall of Windows every few months was a good practice to keep the computer
working nice. I don't have to do this on a Windows 7/8 or on a GNU/Linux. Why
I need to do to this on Windows 10 ?

~~~
jimnotgym
I get the idea that at some point in the Windows 10 project they made a kind
of breaking change, which when compared to Kubuntu is more like moving to a
new release than just a set of patches. There seems to be some cruft attached
to that that the fresh install solves. I genuinely think it is a one time
thing.

My last Ubuntu distro upgrade caused the sound to stop working, a problem with
graphics drivers and an issue with window management. I am no MS fan, but
everyone can get caught up in update problems.

------
pxeboot
Windows Update is in need of a massive overhaul, but these 'feature updates'
are actually an entire new OS that gets installed.

While it normally works great, when it doesn't, it's very difficult to fix in
most cases, as seen here.

~~~
thanksgiving
There is one weird trick to solve at least 20% of the angst again Windows
update.

> It forces them on you, sometimes in the most inopportune time.

Let users reboot when they want. I don't care if you show a bright red bar
warning people to restart but goodness gracious don't reboot computers without
positive consent!

Yes, there are more difficult problems like reducing the number of things that
require a reboot to update (without sacrificing backward compatibility) but
not rebooting the computer without consent is such an easy thing to do. Just
be upfront and tell people to leave their computer connected to a power source
and ask them to press a button when they're ready.

~~~
cjcampbell
Agreed 100%. Always prompt before rebooting a logged in user or updating a
freshly started machine. It boggles my mind that Microsoft can’t figure out
how to use better UX to solve their update problem.

Start with notifications and offering to schedule an update. Don’t reboot
automatically with an active user when the scheduled time rolls around.
Display a prompt and allow the user options to schedule another reminder.

After a couple weeks (security updates only) add a “warning bar” along the top
or side of the screen. Nothing drastic. Just visible enough to be a constant
reminder to update. Eventually, replace the desktop background with a visible
warning.

~~~
jimnotgym
Maybe because they are focused on enterprise users, who get forced silent
updates from their admin? Maybe the UX for home users is an afterthought?

~~~
dabockster
Assuming home users are still buying PCs from Best Buy and the like, they
really can't buy a non-Windows PC (not including Macs unless someone makes
another Pystar). MS has a monopoly there.

------
nickjj
I thought 17.09 allowed you to defer feature updates for 1 year. It's an
advanced setting under the update manager. No fiddling around needed.

Is that not available on Home editions?

~~~
icegreentea2
Doesnt look like it is (I'm on W10 Home 1709).

I managed to defer my update to 1709 by like... 5 months by hitting 'later' on
the nag screen though.

------
LeoPanthera
The author openly admits to jailbreaking their iPhone. These kinds of users
tend to install many types of "tweaks" on their computers, and I would bet
that this is the cause of the update failure.

~~~
x0054
You would bet and loose. I did do a clean install from a Dell recovery USB
image, that's part 2 of the article. Also, I don't "openly admit" to
jailbreaking my iPhone. I nonchalantly mention this :)

------
nwrk
2018 and MS is still heavy. Running Antergos (Arch Linux flavour) with ZFS and
not looking back. Rolling updates, speedy. Everything just works.

Luckily forgot about the long hours spend on reinstalling and reinstalling
Windows back then.

*Is there any form of compensation from MS for fixing computer after broken update ?

Productivity ? Go for Mac or Linux

~~~
tomxor
Frankly they are both super heavy these days, I'd pick mac over windows given
the choice but i'd pick linux or a BSD over either of them for the lightweight
factor and actually having control of my computer in the most basic way.

------
merinowool
Microsoft has become very hostile. Recently I have upgraded my PC and that
tripped the activation. For some reason I was unable to reactivate (I own full
retail licence btw), after wasting time on Google I tried Microsoft support.
For a couple of days and a number of consultants trying to force me to give
them full access to my machine, asking to upload invoices for the new parts,
treating me basically like a thief, they eventually generated me new license
key. Now I am scared to upgrade anything in my PC again and then there is that
update coming. How on earth it is possible to treat customers like this in
2018? Sadly I use some software that only works on Windows so I have no
option, but now I have separate PC only to have those apps and on all other
machines I installed Linux. Fuck you Microsoft!

~~~
iMerNibor
Try the phone based activation next time, it's usually a lot more forgiving
for activations + they have a free number in most countries

~~~
dabockster
Or just buy a gray market key for $10-15 so it's not a big wallet hit if it
gets deactivated.

Like always, piracy is an access problem. And I need to be able to access my
computer's functions without MS locking me out because I decided to overclock
my thermal paste.

------
jimnotgym
I suppose it is worth saying that this is not the same for enterprises as it
is for single users. If you run a domain you can completely control your
updates from WSUS (or a myriad of third party options). You can test the
updates on a subset of users before letting them loose on your whole domain.
MS are supporting a _much_ wider range of hardware than Apple have to, and
there will always be surprises. I can only think of two major update issues on
my domain.

1) Conflict with a driver for an extremely specialized printer

2) A weird update about 4 years ago for W7 which seemed to forget to close the
'Windows is updating' screen. ctrl-al-del resumed normal service!

I believe some of the clunkier updates for Windows 10 (like the forced reboot)
are actually part of a patch to improve the silent update feature! Install
afresh from a USB as sddfd suggested and you wont have to suffer that patch.

------
Jerry2
My dad, who still uses Windows, sent me this pic of his Windows upgrade trials
and tribulations:

[https://i.imgur.com/MwWenDA.png](https://i.imgur.com/MwWenDA.png)

He still hasn't been able to upgrade. I live hundreds of miles away and can't
attempt to help him troubleshoot it in person.

~~~
imtringued
Windows Updates are simply broken. If you're using windows then there is no
way around reinstalling windows regularly. I've had update issues on vista, 7
and 10. I could fix some of them on vista but the time investment has always
been higher than simply reinstalling windows.

------
mnm1
Humorously written, but the situation is no different on OS X these days. I
could not update to high Sierra and the new filesystem and after trying, it
required a complete os x install which takes about six hours after starting
using time machine. The only thing that's better on os x is that Apple finally
seems to have stopped trying to push high Sierra on users, after even
aggressively downloading it without permission. It's really rather depressing
that the state of desktop operating system is thus. That includes all desktop
Linux distros I've tried also unless one gets a lucky combination of hardware
(aka Linux distros run like shit on Apple hardware if they even run at all).

------
sengork
One of my desktops keeps failing to update Windows 10 for 2 years now, the
recent v1803 doesn't fix it either. Too ineffective to do a fresh install and
just about tried everything out there to fix it. Complete waste of time.

On the other hand the desktop which always worked flawlessly now cannot even
get past the initial installation boot screen from a freshly made v1803
DVD/USB (within 5sec of booting) likewise the update from inside Windows
itself fails. Waiting to see if MS address this issue before I waste any more
time trying to fix it myself.

------
0x0
By the way, I've had those top menus that open to left happen when windows
installs a touch/ink/stylus input device. There's a control panel setting
somewhere for input devices like these, where there's a checkbox (that
sometimes magically self-re-enables) for making menus appear to left for the
purpose of accomodating on-screen hand-writing for right-handed writers. It's
a bit weird that it ends up affecting the menus even when you stricly use a
mouse to open them.

~~~
x0054
Thank you! That was driving me crazy. It's in the "Other" tab of the "Tablet
PC Settings" in Control Panel. One problem solved :)

------
vbezhenar
I've found that I avoided most of issues other people often encountering by
reinstalling OS every few monthes. Usually after big updates. Might not work
for everybody, I just like to configure OS from clean state. Works for
anything from macOS to Linux.

------
wcoenen
I also had that problem with my password not working after the 1803 update
(until I rebooted).

By using the password reveal button, I found out that windows was not letting
me enter any digits. I tried both the numpad and the number row.

~~~
maltalex
I wonder whether it's the same issue I had, but with both numbers AND letters.

All I could enter were spaces until I rebooted.

------
crispinb
What I want for Xmas is an OS usable for laptops. Windows? Dealt with by
comments here. Mac? Only runs on a limited range of crippled hardware. Linux?
Life's too short.

2018 is sad, with no light on the visible horizon.

------
wornohaulus
Got my 1803 update installed on a 4.x years old Lenovo g50-45 AMD, low powered
machine in an hour.. no issues at all.. machine restarted few times during the
installation.. and it was done..

------
ThatHNGuy
I've update my VirtualBox VM from Windows 7 to Win10 1703 then 1709 and 1803
without any problem, don't understand where the problem is.

------
locusm
Windows 1803 is causing a lot of havoc for Google Drive users. It has hosed a
lot of working configurations.

------
John_KZ
I literally stopped using windows because of windows 10. I'm lucky enough that
I don't need it for anything work-related. In the rare occasions I do need
something to run in win10, I run it on my old air-gapped laptop running a
vanilla windows 7 installed from it's original DVD. I wouldn't trust windows
on network-connected hardware. Not anymore.

------
cl0ckt0wer
It sounds like this user should spring for the USD$7/month LTSB Windows:
[https://www.howtogeek.com/273824/windows-10-without-the-
cruf...](https://www.howtogeek.com/273824/windows-10-without-the-cruft-
windows-10-ltsb-explained/)

~~~
m-p-3
I wish LTSC was a version normal, licensed users could get access to... I
normally go with LTS versions when using Ubuntu, and ESR for Firefox. Being
able to use that kind of version for Windows 10 right away would be great.

~~~
x0054
That would be perfect! But I am not paying MS $7 a month so they can remove
features. I like my kill updates solution for now. This really should be a
default on business products like Dell 9550.

~~~
AlexeyBrin
If you change the Network to Metered Connection it will only give you updates
for Windows Defender and Security Updates. Doesn't seem to do any download by
itself.

Also, if you are a developer LTSB edition is a non starter. You can't install
Visual Studio 2017 on it :).

~~~
sanlyx
LTSB user here: I had zero trouble installing VS and other software on it.
Relating to the article, it was the most painful install I've ever had to deal
with, precisely because of Windows Update

~~~
AlexeyBrin
Wow, you were right, now it works! Thanks for the heads up.

~~~
sanlyx
However, it is not (officially) supported[1] I still can't understand what's
wrong with Microsoft locking up users and developers to what I consider
inferior ("consumer", as they call it) release of Windows, knowing LTSB is not
that different from Enterprise

[1]: [https://docs.microsoft.com/en-
us/visualstudio/productinfo/vs...](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-
us/visualstudio/productinfo/vs2017-compatibility-vs)

------
epx
Windows must die.

------
gwbas1c
Like all good Windows developer, I do my work in a VM on a Mac!

