Windows 10 update fails with error about iastora.sys after upgrading to recommended Intel Rapid Storage version

Anonymous
2019-07-26T19:17:02+00:00

I'm attempting to update Windows 10 to 1903. The update failed with the error message "The inbox storage driver iastora.sys doesn't work on these systems and causes stability problems on Windows. Check with your software/driver provider for an updated version that runs on this version of Windows." This error led to a support page at https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4514156/updating-to-windows-10-version-1903-on-devices-with-certain-versions-o recommending that the driver be upgraded to version 15.9.6.1044.

I have upgraded the driver accordingly (see attached screenshot), and rebooted the machine afterwards, but still receive the same error. I have also tried uninstalling and reinstalling the driver, and attempting the upgrade with the driver uninstalled, but receive the same error message no matter what version of this driver is installed, or indeed if it is installed at all.

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Windows update

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Anonymous
2019-07-26T19:22:48+00:00

Hi Todd. I'm Greg, an installation specialist and 10 year Windows MVP here to help you.

That's the buggy Windows Upgrade Advisor which is often wrong and wastes a lot of time. For this reason it's much more stable to Upgrade using the media itself and not buggy Windows Updates or Upgrade Advisor.

Install the Media Creation Tool from this link http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-10/m..., choosing Download Tool Now, install the tool, open it and choose Upgrade this PC Now. . This will save your files and apps while bringing you up to the latest version by the most stable method. It will also bring all of your Updates current and solve most problems since it reinstalls Windows.

If any problems report back the verbatim error and number, then continue with these steps for overcoming Version Upgrade problems: http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wiki...

I hope this helps. Feel free to ask back any questions and keep me posted. I will keep working with you until it's resolved.

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  1. Anonymous
    2019-07-29T09:10:39+00:00

    Hi Todd.

    I had the same problem.

    The solution is to go to C:\Windows\System32\drivers\iastora.sys and rename it something like iastora_obselete.sys and restart and try windows update again, but dont do this until you make certain this file is unused... read on.

    This is not complicated.

    Windows update is finding the old unused iastora.sys file out of date in the folder C:\Windows\System32\drivers\iastora.sys.

    You have version 17, like me but the installer did not remove the old unused iastora.sys file. From versions 16 and higher I think the file they use is iastorac.sys (note the 'c' letter at the end), but installers leave the old unused file that windows is encountering. Double check the driver used is iastorac.sys in Device Manager -> IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers -> Intel... -> Driver Details. If it is using iastora.sys and the version is not your versions 17 then something is up.

    So again, my solution is to go to C:\Windows\System32\drivers\iastora.sys and rename it something like iastora_obselete.sys and restart and try windows update again.

    Good luck.

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  2. Anonymous
    2019-07-26T21:44:44+00:00

    Thanks very much! That didn't quite get it through, but the logs from that tool were much more helpful and let me find the problem.

    I did have the same issue the first time running the media tool. In case anyone else is having this issue, what I had to do after that was run grepWin (or any file search utility), and I found that even after uninstalling the Intel Rapid Storage service, several copies of iastora.sys were hanging around in System32 and some other locations. I suspect one of those was an old version that was triggering the failure in the install process, even though the service wasn't running at all. I saved copies of those and got rid of them, and with that the install went through. I then reinstalled the Intel Rapid Storage drivers after that, and everything's working just fine.

    Thanks again, that was really driving me crazy.

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  3. Anonymous
    2019-07-29T18:18:28+00:00

    You don't need to go into Device Manager. Run Intel Rapid Storage Technology (you should have an icon in the right corner of your task bar - show hidden icons), click on Help and About, and make sure it's version number 17.5.1.1021. You can safely delete the file C:\Windows\System32\drivers\iastora.sys.

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  4. Anonymous
    2019-07-28T20:48:39+00:00

    So, what I had to do was first uninstall the Intel Rapid Storage drivers (so that the files would not be in use) via the regular Add and Remove Programs utility, and then used grepWin on the entire C: drive to find any remaining copies of the file called "iastora.sys". There were three; two were in System32 or a subdirectory, and I'm afraid I don't recall where the third was. If you have access to the system directories, you should be able to find them if you run it on the whole system

    One was owned by SYSTEM and wouldn't even let me delete it with admin permissions, so I had to do a few backflips to get it deleted (change owner to admins, add full control to admins, then delete it). I first saved copies of all of them to a flash drive, then deleted those three copies of it and reran the upgrade. After doing that, the upgrade ran, and once the upgrade was complete I was able to reinstall the Rapid Storage drivers without any trouble.

    As with anything, be very careful messing around in system file areas, and have someone help you if you're not certain of what you should or shouldn't do. I would also strongly recommend backing up any important files before you proceed, just in case something does get broken and you need to do a clean install.

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