"Couldn't update to Windows 8.1 - 0xC1900101 - 0x40017"

"...Next time I will buy a Mac. "

I am certainly not here to defend Microsoft on this 8.1 upgrade issue. I have been using the 8.1 preview for quite awhile, and have found it stable and a subtle but huge improvement. (I did not dislike Windows 8 and have also been using it for a long time back to its preview -- I found it made old hardware work better and live longer after upgrading from Win 7).  I think that the 8.1 preview did provide a stable launch for those who have successfully upgraded, but something has gone wrong in the upgrade process itself, which largely did NOT get the extensive preview treatment. In fact, the path from 8.1 preview to 8.1 is far different (and seemingly less troublesome?) than from 8 to 8.1. Which means somebody took their eye off the ball or never had it there in the first place. The big market for 8.1 in Microsoft's eyes appears to be new system sales. Makes sense from a pure marketing point-of-view I guess given the relatively slow adoption of Windows 8. But it misses the power that lost loyalty and new detractors can have on a launch -- even if the numbers are fractional. The noise is loud and the tail is long. It is disappointing that Microsoft has not gotten in front of this and is largely absent from this discussion in any meaningfully helpful way, and it will likely hurt the effectiveness of their $400+ million marketing campaign -- from a shear $ and cents perspective, they should be all over this rather than hoping it will pass.

But, having said that, if you think buying a Mac will solve all of your problems, it won't.

I have a new MacBook Air (well, mid-2012) that I got for work. It is a nice machine, but not as nice as Apple fans think it is (relative to a decent ultrabook PC). It has a hairline crack in the aluminum case (considered by Apple to be a cosmetic scratch but is clearly a stress-fracture). Some applications do freeze regularly and are difficult to kill and restart (ask any Mac fan and they'll be able to show you the shortcut to do this, which simply proves the point that it is far from rare). I have had BSOD. Battery life on mine is down to 4-hours or less which is nothing to get excited about 18 months in. It is not replaceable. I can dock to an external monitor with a dongle (nice), I can connect to hard-wired Ethernet with a dongle (nice), but cannot do both simultaneously without some expense. The solid state drive is at risk of losing all of my data (Apple has a repair program). Recent OS updates have included bugs which disable the ability to use the microphone on WebEx sessions and the ability to hear anything from the speakers. Minor bugs, unless you happen to be using the Web to communicate with something other than your eyes and fingers. As for not getting viruses -- well, it is STRONGLY suggested that you run a 3rd party add-on AV and Malware detection app.

Apple has a closed ecosystem to support, only a few models with small variations. Certainly such basic things should have been caught in testing. Compared to the number of configurations running Windows, it is fractional, so any misses like this should be non-existent. As for the Windows machines I have recently upgraded to 8.1 (one with difficulty), Apple's own products that old are NOT eligible for free Mavericks and would not run it if paid for.

This is not meant to bash Apple either. Like I said, the Macbook Air is a nice machine. It's just not a panacea. It will not make all your problems go away. It is a machine made by humans. If you need something that works the day you buy it and will for the life of the warranty, try alternatives and chose the one that suits you. If you want a machine that will flawlessly upgrade ad-infinitum into the future, it is has not been made yet.

Still, Microsoft should be paying close and visible attention to this issue, get in front of it, and realize that disgruntled loyalist former supporters can each negate 10 to 12 supporters. Turn those around, and they are worth their weight in gold. Your choice, Microsoft. Hold the upgrade team accountable to fix this FAST -- it is marring your launch and you are appearing to not care.

Hi

 

     Do a repair of your windows 8 (Inplace Upgrade). Once the upgrade is completed remove all the 3rd party antivirus programs. Install all the updates from store and windows update. Run a disk cleanup and cleanup all the files including the system files from disk clean up and then try to install windows 8.1 this works.

 

Thanks

Rakesh Jain

I thought I'd give this a try, as the inplace upgrade didn't seem like it would be too destructive or take up too much time. As it happens it didn't quite go according to plan and instead of simply repairing the Windows 8 installation while leaving everything else intact, it deleted all applications etc. and did a clean install.

The good news (for me) is that the upgrade to 8.1 now works perfectly well for me. unfortunately, I've no idea whether this is because my Windows 8 installation needed repairing or whether the clean install flushed out some dodgy drivers - I suspect the latter.

Good luck everyone else. Let's hope Microsoft can come up with a more user-friendly solution in the near future - and that future releases don't require a clean install to work.

Hi all,

Apparently this helped me upgrade to 8.1 too. The repair process said there were no repairs so I was skeptical. The next step i did was disk clean up. After that was done checked the windows update. there was one for the windows defender. Installed that update and rebooted the computer. Once that was done i was not able to see the Windows 8.1 update in the Store. so i had to run wsreset.exe. After the reset I was able to see the update in the store. started the update which took 3 hours in total. All in all very frustrating experience with the upgrade. Lets see if it was worth it.

I have downloaded the Windows 8.1 update from the store but cannot get it to install. Each time I try, I get to the point where it is "getting my devices ready", then the PC restarts to a blue screen with error message. It then tries to recover the installation, fails, then restores Windows 8. When the system boots up after this, I get a message saying:

 

"Couldn't update to Windows 8.1

 

Sorry, we couldn't complete the update to Windows 8.1. We've restored your previous version of Windows to this PC.

 

0xC1900101 - 0x40017"

 

There is n o explanation as to why the update could be completed. Any ideas how to resolve this?

I have a custom built system that has been running Windows 8 for some time.  I needed Media Center to get the TV working on the PC with my HD Homerun devices (network HD Streaming tuners).  Nothing I did would allow the 8.1 Update to apply, every time I went through the process it failed.  I ended up restoring windows 8 non-destructively.  

As in, uninstall all programs and save my personal data.  After which the update proceeded smoothly, and I had to re-install some drivers and such.  I allowed all MS updates to hit the system first, prior to loading all my 3rd party apps and such and now its running flawlessly again. It was a PITA.

Other than that, I have noticed that its not so much the applications that break the installation, it appears to be a bug in the windows storefront component.  Not to mention you MUST be registered under an email addy linked to MS prior to doing the upgrade.  It was one of the first hurdles for me since I didn't really care, at that point, to mess with the cloud integration.  It wasn't the Stardock "Start 8" application, as the MS rep though.

PARAGON HFS+ FOR NT (Latest version, 10.2)

I have at last got to the bottom of what was happening on my system. The text below is to Paragon support.  It is self-explanatory.  For those with Paragon HFS+, this will be a solution (albeit a partial one).  For those without HFS+, it will be only relevant inasmuch as it shows there are a host of contributory factors to the upgrade (update) errors that are being experienced.  It suggests that lack of testing by third-party developers (as MS wanted, when it shifted from a true RTM to a rushed job) is behind the problems that many are experiencing.  In other words, MS is now fire fighting on multipl fronts having not given 8.1 sufficient pre-testing before release.  No wonder they are not saying anything.  Big ball dropped on their part.  Sorry to be personal but no wonder Balmer is going.

--- TEXT TO PARAGON FOLLOWS ---

I have spent three weeks on and off trying to install Windows 8.1 as an update to Windows 8.1 (Pro).

I have just (at last) discovered that Paragon HFS+ (for NT) was behind the driver failure BSOD that occurs once the initial install stage is over.  This is the bit after the compatibility checking and when Windows 8.1 is ready to go to the "Setting up X%" stage.  Normally, the system would reboot and go through this stage but with HFS+ installed, a BSOD and a driver error occurs.  The update is then removed and the system returned to the state (windows 8) prior to the install.

I am unclear whether the problem is with Windows or HFS+, but they are clearly incomapatible.  When HFS+ is removed, the update goes fine.

After having updated to Windows 8.1, my next step was to try to reinstall HFS+.  The HFS+ program reinstalled without any problem, and appears to act in a normal way.

This is a pretty clean machine with very little on it.

Could you please advise whether this incompatibility is known to you, and when a fix is likely to be obtainable.

Thanks.

Following my Windows 8.1 update problems I am off to the Apple Store this week to convert to Apple for office & home - life is too short to have to deal with Microsoft's weaknesses and poor customer service.