Issue with installing updates on Windows 8.1.

quite familiar with pipes and filters.

@ WardAwk

Ah, so is that Awk as in AWK?  <eg>

My output is:

Let's try to summarize the differences.   Look at the X86 (32-bit version first).

I see that we both have  211968 for that but yours is not installed yet.  So, I would hope that the SFC command would do that for you (using whatever syntax that is needed to get that done.)  Unfortunately I don't know what all the 32-bit DISM is good for.  E.g. if it is just as functional as the 64-bit version you could have a workaround with it if that is needed to get things fixed.

It's the AMD64 (64-bit version)  that there are problems.  E.g. somehow it appears that you have an old 32-bit version installed in System32 (188416 which I don't have but which I apparently used to have (same name) but has now been shrunk somehow to 20293).  Similarly the 64-bit version that you have is the same name as the 64-bit version that I used to have.  The only difference there is that again, mine appears to have shrunk somehow from your 245760 to my 25734.   So the only real problem is that you don't appear to have the new 64-bit version anywhere...

Hmm...  No.  That's overstating things a bit, e.g. you do have an AMD64 17031 name-wise but it is one of those strange shrunken ones.  Perhaps really the only problem is again, that it is not installed but in this case also not expanded, however that gets done?

Same files, different locations! What a mess.

Not the same files (length-wise); not different locations (same names).

Did you try using the SFC command to clean it up?

The real mess IMO is that this stuff is so unsupportable!

I really appreciate the information supplied by JW0194. I intend to use that information as soon as I am able to find a Win 8.1 ISO. It makes no difference to most users whether a poster has a badge or title as most of us are looking for answers to problems rather than viewing a poster's profile.

I wouldn't place too much credence on what JW0194 writes Robert. That post of his is just a copy/paste from a couple of other sites. If you look at his profile, he's been around since 2009, but has yet to get his "First Answer" badge even.

Also, /Resetbase will prevent the user from uninstalling all previous updates: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh825265.aspx

Hi Robert

Sorry, I was just being lazy/tired. I used to teach unix shell scripting so I'm quite familiar with pipes and filters.

My output is:

211968 C:\Windows\softwaredistribution.bak\Download\367ea478b6d14d929c45a19dc20a53e5\x86_microsoft-windows-d..ervicing-management_31bf3856ad364e35_6.3.9600.17031_none_f37c59e329204af6\Dism.exe

188416 C:\Windows\System32\Dism.exe                                                                                                                                                             

188416 C:\Windows\SysWOW64\Dism.exe                                                                                                                                                             

245760 C:\Windows\WinSxS\amd64_microsoft-windows-d..ervicing-management_31bf3856ad364e35_6.3.9600.16384_none_4f680322e1a371ba\Dism.exe                                                          

 35983 C:\Windows\WinSxS\amd64_microsoft-windows-d..ervicing-management_31bf3856ad364e35_6.3.9600.17031_none_4f9af566e17dbc2c\Dism.exe                                                          

188416 C:\Windows\WinSxS\x86_microsoft-windows-d..ervicing-management_31bf3856ad364e35_6.3.9600.16384_none_f349679f29460084\Dism.exe                                                            

211968 C:\Windows\WinSxS\x86_microsoft-windows-d..ervicing-management_31bf3856ad364e35_6.3.9600.17031_none_f37c59e329204af6\Dism.exe 

Same files, different locations! What a mess.

Thanks Xircal but I have done both those dozens of times now to no effect at all.

Next...?