Error 0xC1900101 – 0x20017 when installing Windows 8.1

(Updated January 28, 2014)

Hello,

Microsoft is aware some customers are unable to install Windows 8.1 due to error 0xC1900101 -0x20017. 

This error indicates a failure to boot Windows 8.1 occurred during the initial reboot of the update, causing the system to roll back to Windows 8. The most likely cause of this error is an incompatible driver or hardware defect critical for booting the intermediary environment necessary to perform upgrade actions. Unfortunately, due to the timing of this failure, there are often no logs, crash dumps or other diagnostic information available to investigate the issue easily, which makes it difficult to determine which, if any, of the drivers or system components are causing the update to fail.

We are currently working with the companies to help them update their problematic drivers whenever they are identified.  Some of the identified drivers that are known to cause this error are listed here and are the first steps you can try to resolve the issue:

·        Make sure you are not running any drive-encryption software.  If so, you must decrypt your drive before updating to Windows 8.1.

·        Check for and uninstall any desktop utilities you may have running.  For example, uninstalling IOBit or Intel Desktop Utilities (including Extreme Tuning software, but excluding Managed Engine) has been observed to resolve this issue.

·        Older NFORCE drivers may not be supported on Windows 8.1.  If you have an NVIDIA graphics card, make sure they are currently supported and you’ve installed the latest NVIDIA drivers.

·        Please remove any connected USB devices (except the keyboard and mouse) and then try the upgrade.

·        Check that you do not have any SteelSeries products that support the SteelSeries Engine installed on your PC.  The SteelSeries Engine software is currently not supported on Windows 8.1.  Please uninstall the software before attempting to update to Windows 8.1.

 ·        Try disabling or uninstalling your antivirus software and see if the upgrade will succeed.  Problems have been observed updating to Windows 8.1 if ESET or AVAST are installed.  Please see the following links for product further information

•  ESET - http://kb.eset.com/esetkb/index?page=content&id=SOLN3153
•  AVAST -  http://www.avast.com/en-us/faq.php?article=AVKB97#artTitle

Unfortunately, due to the sheer number of drivers constantly being created by other companies all over the world, identifying every problematic driver is a daunting task.  We understand that the inability to easily identify the incompatible driver can be incredibly frustrating and we are sorry for the inconvenience. 

Make sure you’ve installed all the latest Windows Updates and latest drivers from your hardware and software manufacturers, and uninstall any unnecessary hardware or software prior to updating to Windows 8.1.

If your hardware and software manufacturers do not have updated drivers and you are experiencing this error, the best method for upgrading to Windows 8.1 is to clean install Windows 8, and then update to Windows 8.1 before allowing any additional drivers or software to install.  Instructions to do this are provided below.  If you still experience this error after performing a clean install, your hardware is not compatible with Windows 8.1.

To prevent the installation of additional drivers or software during a clean install:

1. Back up all of your personal documents and data to an external drive.
2. Disconnect your computer from the Internet.
3. Perform a clean install of Windows 8 using Windows 8 installation media (DVD or USB).  For help performing a clean install of Windows, see How to perform a clean install of Windows.  Note:  If you do not have media and Windows 8 was pre-installed on your PC, please contact your PC manufacturer for assistance.  Otherwise to get help obtaining installation media, contact Microsoft Support.
4. Once you’ve reinstalled Windows 8, change your hardware settings so that you do not automatically install driver updates.

• From the Start screen, type “System”, and then click on “View advanced system settings” in the search results.  This will open the System Properties dialog.
• Click on the Hardware tab, and then click Device Installation Settings.
• When the Device Installation Settings window appears, click the “No, let me choose what to” button, and then “Never install driver software from Windows Update”.  Click Save Changes to save the setting.

1. Reconnect your computer to the Internet.
2. Install Windows Updates.  Restart the computer when prompted.
3. Open Windows Store and install Windows 8.1.

Afterwards, be sure to restore your hardware settings so that your device drivers once again install automatically.  (Repeat Step 4, but restore this setting to “**Yes, do this automatically (recommended)”**and Save changes.)