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

Anonymous
2013-10-17T13:29:23+00:00

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?

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Install and upgrade

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  1. Anonymous
    2014-01-15T04:16:18+00:00

    Please, help us. I have the same problem. I had been upgrating 4 times and I could not go to 8.1, so I am back to w8. ( I don't know why the picture is in the wrong position)

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  2. Anonymous
    2014-01-13T17:31:37+00:00

    when system goes setting up at 25 stuck then restarting. and re installing 8 again.

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  3. Anonymous
    2014-01-13T05:54:03+00:00

    I had this exact code - 0xC1900101 - 0x40017 on a Dell laptop that I upgraded to Win8 and a Surface Pro.  Both had the Barracuda NG VPN Client Ver. 3.4-101 installed.  Barracuda now has HotFix 207 which is compatible with 8.1.  Removing the VPN client worked on both machines.  I re-installed VPN 3.4-101 after the 8.1 upgrade and all is working fine even before I applied the 207 hotfix.

    The error message flashed by at what I believe was the end of the upgrade process where it was trying to start 8.1.  I know I saw at least 3 times where it counted up to 100%.  It basically said that a driver failed to start and your original version of WIndows would be restored (this is a paraphrase, I didn't get the exact wording).  The name of the driver was in parenthesis.

    Thank you.

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  4. Anonymous
    2014-01-13T04:56:16+00:00

    This solution led me to my update problem, but only after 3 painful hours of sitting by the computer as it went through the update twice.  I finally caught an error message that flashed by for a split second telling me a driver (spac.sys in my case) failed to start.  From that clue I was ale to complete the update on both of my computers.

    This type of problem goes way back with Microsoft products.  You wait for a long time to see something fail and get a cryptic hex code that means a thousand things.  Why couldn't the update message come back with the name of the driver?  Furthermore, this driver is a third party non-critical app.  Why couldn't the update ignore the failure and finish, leaving the app disabled?  A perfect time to make a win with the customer and put the third party developer on the line.  Microsoft is not going to make it in the consumer space with update issues like this.  I hope they still have time to figure it out.

    thats interesting, did you have the error code '0x40017' by any chance? and at what stage you spotted this actual filename, would you elaborate a bit more, thanks!

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  5. Anonymous
    2014-01-12T16:05:31+00:00

    This solution led me to my update problem, but only after 3 painful hours of sitting by the computer as it went through the update twice.  I finally caught an error message that flashed by for a split second telling me a driver (spac.sys in my case) failed to start.  From that clue I was ale to complete the update on both of my computers.

    This type of problem goes way back with Microsoft products.  You wait for a long time to see something fail and get a cryptic hex code that means a thousand things.  Why couldn't the update message come back with the name of the driver?  Furthermore, this driver is a third party non-critical app.  Why couldn't the update ignore the failure and finish, leaving the app disabled?  A perfect time to make a win with the customer and put the third party developer on the line.  Microsoft is not going to make it in the consumer space with update issues like this.  I hope they still have time to figure it out.

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