Windows 10 Cumulative Update KB4054517 fails to install error 0x80070643

Can you recall how they reinstalled Windows 10? I have tried to Upgrade using the DVD and it always says it cannot upgrade. My Windows 10 is also tired into my outlook account. So it has only the Remote Account, which does sync back settings, but does not sync back any installed software, It would probably take well over a week to do that based on the 10 or so large games I have installed. 

There never has been a solution to reinstall all of the windows updates.

I was told that it is supposed to automatically reinstall the failed updates, but that also has never happened, as they still show in the full log.

I don't think Windows Update, has every really worked since back when I used Vista. Vista despite all of its other problems, seldom failed to install its updates. I know there are ways to force windows to reinstall all of the updates from like day 1. But I don't seem to ever have any luck with that either.'

I got Microsoft to call me and basically they loaded a Win10 ISO and

reinstalled it.  I kept all the apps and user settings, their was a option for that,

I thought you could keep the user setting only.

Ran fine after that 

Gary

When I had to reinstall, I just used a Win10 ISO I burned to a DVD.  As far as updates, keep in mind, most of the updates are cumulative, so if you miss one because it didn't install, like this one we have been discussing, if the next update installs, whatever updates that you missed from the previous update will get installed.  At least that is how I am to understand the update system.

I make it a practice to reinstall windows every so often.  I am a retired a web developer, so I would install all sorts of development software and snippets of web development code and all sorts of other crap that would eventually bog down my system, since things often do not uninstall properly, or I would just forget they were there because I tried it and thought the software sucked, so I never used it again and just forgot about it.  So I would just reinstall windows to get a nice clean install of the OS.  I keep a separate data drive and program drive (a lot of the software and some of the games I use are java based, so there is no installation process, so I don't have to reinstall it when I reinstall windows.  I just have to recreate the links for shortcuts and add them to the path variable to automatically pick up files.  I wish more programs would use that ...not a fan of the registry...it was a good idea, but it is way too fragile and corrupts to easily.) so I don't lose data when I nuke the OS drive to reinstall it. (though that bit me on the backside when I first upgraded to Win 10...for some unknown reason, Windows took it upon itself, with no warning and it did not ask first, to change the installation drive and it deleted the partitions on my data drive.  I was not a happy camper.  I lost a lot of documents, pictures and other items.  Normally when you install something through a process, Windows asks you and makes you click on a button to confirm that you want to choose before it does anything.  This time it didn't...it was very odd.  Luckily I had most of the pictures and important stuff backed up, but that should have never happened.  I digress…)  So when you reinstall the OS, Microsoft recognizes your computer from your CPU ID, GPU ID and other hardware factors to recognize that you have a legit copy of Windows when it authenticates.  I did find that they do impose a limit to the number of times you can reinstall...which I think is absolute crap.  I should be able to install as often as I like during the lifetime of the OS.  I never had a problem with this until Win 10.  The last time I installed, it didn't want to Authenticate, so I had to call Microsoft.  Anytime I have to call Microsoft means that I am not a happy camper LOL.

Well it is not that I want to reinstall windows 10. I have done that a dozen times.

A few facts.

  Windows looks at your BIOS Serial Number, and it it is an OEM based system, then yes it can reinstall the OEM version of your windows 10 and pick up the Key Number. However, you have to be using the OEM version which was either created from your computer, by burning a DVD recovery media, or is in a hidden partition on your computer, which uses a function key or combination to restore your computer to factory new again during boot process.

 During the install of windows 10 it slipstreams the Product ID (Key Number) into the install. The hidden restore does that. You will lose all installed beyond factory software.

But as you said as long as you had backed up your system. There is no limit on how many times you can install windows 10 on the same machine, but there is a limit to how many times you can install windows 10 on different machines using the same key number.

It depends on the licensing, that you purchased. Microsoft maintains a list of legitimate key numbers, in their database. And they know if it is being used on more than 1 machine. OEM links your COA that is no longer applied to OEM computers.

Used to be but they tend to rub off or people would remove and lose them so they just stopped. A purchased NON OEM windows 10 typically allows 1-3 computers you can install it on.

That is not based on hardware. But the OEM version can only apply to your computer for use on that machine only. If someone stole your key number it would not function, because it is as you say tied to the BIOS Serial number of your computer.

Sadly Windows 7 did come with Backup Software, although it was slow and cumbersome, but it did work. Windows 10 they removed that. So you need to get 3rd party software to get past that. 

2 choices that I use, are Acronis or Macrium Reflect. The latter having a free version, but if you go to Seagate, you can get a free version of Acronis that comes with the Seagate Tools software. In fact the Seagate Tools version, is fully compatible with any computer, and is actually very EASY to use, and runs in the background while your using Windows 10. So you can backup your entire C drive or entire hard drive, to an external drive, or second hard drive, and restore both just files and folders, or the entire computer, using Rescue Media that it will create for you, use either a flash drive or DVD burner to create.

I understand that re-installing windows 10 might fix the problem, but in reality it just means that I get to rebuild my world back up again, and time consuming beyond belief.

Now gettng back to the issue, the real hangup I have with windows update, which has existed since it became integrated into Windows with Windows Vista, is that it does not work as it should. Yes it is stated that if an update fails it is supposed to automatically reinstall it. But the log keeps showing the failed ones, instead of removing the failed ones, and showing you that they got done at a later time.

And it seems I still get failed over and over updates, no matter and so eventually maybe they release a Cumulative that like the SoftPacs, does fix the failed ones.

The biggest reason why you cannot just reinstall software, and have it pick up your old information, is that of the registry. Some programs you can migrate the User folder back and retain from where you left off. But some you cannot.

Again it will vary.

Lastly there is a free program called WSUS which downloads, and gives you an Offline Installer. However Microsoft limits the updates it can gather. It is really useful for Windows 7, but does not give you all of the updates. It does the updating in a much different way. It does use less system resources, and also works by running the update portion to any computer, so it is effective to some degree. And of course it shows you in a log file, what updates it was able to process and seldom fails.

Finally like everyone else I find that Microsoft Support, is actually very poor, in that most responses to a specific problem, are given a pat answer, that seems to be coming from a standard list of responses to everything. It seems to be outsourced, in that regard.

7 hours. That must be a record for the slowest longest update in the history of Windows. Very sad, and just think if your machine rebooted, or accidentally shut down, that you get to spend another 7 hours?

I think the longest update I ever had in Linux might have been on even a slow connection, perhaps 30 minutes tops. That would have been a major kernel upgrade.

Most times my updates in Linux take only a few minutes to complete.

I just feel that in today's modern world, one would think we could move beyond the current Windows Update system and into a completely faster better, less system hogging, and not having to restart your computer, without asking, leaving all your work flushed away. Please DON'T say postpone, because it typically never does.

To be fair to Microsoft, 7 hours is fairly extreme. The same procedure took about 45 minutes on my (admittedly high-spec) PC.