I get the "couldn't update to Windows 8.1" error as well and Windows restores the previous version of the operating system. I installed all the updates and even ran the update assistant from the Microsoft web site and installed and updated everything it
recommended.
The error I get is basically the same except the last part of the code:
0xC1900101-0x30018
I've tried most of the things suggested in this thread, but don't have the time to keep guessing at what I should try next and retrying the upgrade.
Microsoft needs to provide a patch so that ANYONE can install this upgrade without having to jump through hoops and spend hours of our precious (and limited) spare time! I'm pissed and frustrated! Microsoft should be ashamed to release 8.1 prematurely
with all of these problems.
EDIT: I plan to try again in a month or so after I've downloaded and installed more patches. I'll check back here later and let people know if I've been able to get it to work. For now, I'm going to let Microsoft get their act together and fix the problem.
For the record, I have the following:
HP 700 Envy
3.7 GHz AMD Elite Quad-Core A10-6700 Accelerated Processor
AMD Radeon HD 86700 Graphics
12 GB DDR3 Memory
2TB HDD
I have all the latest Windows Updates installed.
Other than an HP Deskjet F-380 Printer, there are no other external devices attached. I have Norton installed (out of the box), but I disabled it for the installation of Windows 8.1.