Update KB5034441 fails to install

Anonymous
2024-01-14T12:58:19+00:00

So the other topic about this was lokced for who knows what reason, why lock a topic / problem that has not been resolved yet?

I keep getting notification every day about this update and as you know we cannot install it because of some problem. What I read in the other locked topic is that the update is something for bitlocker, I dont use bitlocker so do I need it? Also is there a way to set windows to ignore this update and stop reminding me about it ?

MS needs to fix this and not have people doing all kinds of risky steps in order to fix it. Most people wont know what to do when they see that the update can't be installed, many are not that good with technical windows stuff. So if anyone can tell me a way to tell windows to ignore this update thx.

EDIT: I just saw a video where they explained how to hide it using a tool from MS called WUShowHide, isnt there a way to hide it directly in windows without the need of downloading this tool?

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Windows update

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Ramesh 181.2K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
2024-01-14T13:15:28+00:00

Hi Salvida,

From Windows 10, version 22H2 | Microsoft Learn

Issue details January 2024

The January 2024 Windows RE update might fail to install

Status Originating update History

Resolved N/A

KB5034441

2024-01-09 Resolved: 2024-04-30, 14:07 PT

Opened: 2024-01-12, 14:10 PT

Devices attempting to install the January 2024 Windows Recovery Environment update (KB5034441) might display an error related to the size of the Recovery Environment's partition. The Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) is used to repair or recover from issues affecting Windows.

Resulting from this error, the following message might be displayed.

"0x80070643 - ERROR_INSTALL_FAILURE"

Important: If your Windows device does not have a recovery environment configured, you do not need this update (KB5034441). In this case, the error can be ignored.

To determine whether your device has a recovery environment configured, inspect the WinRE status by following these steps:

Open a Command Prompt window (cmd) as admin.

To check the WinRE status, run reagentc /info. If the WinRE is configured, a "Windows RE status" field will appear in the output, with value "Enabled". If WinRE is not configured, this field will have the value "Disabled".

Resolution: Automatic resolution of this issue won't be available in a future Windows update. Manual steps are necessary to complete the installation of this update on devices which are experiencing this error.

The WinRE partition requires 250 megabytes of free space. Devices which do not have sufficient free space will need to increase the size of the partition via manual action. For guidance on making this change, review the following resources:

A code script can be used to extend the partition size. A sample script has been provided in the documentation for adding an update package to WinRE. See Extend the Windows RE Partition.

Guidance to manually change the WinRE partition size can additionally be found in KB5028997: Instructions to manually resize your partition to install the WinRE update.

Completion of these manual steps will allow the installation of this update to succeed.

Affected platforms:

Client: Windows 11, version 21H2; Windows 10, version 22H2; Windows 10, version 21H2

Server: Windows Server 2022

******************************************************************************************************

If you don't have WinRE enabled and don't plan to use it, you may simply hide the KB5034441 update using the WUShowHide.diagcab tool.

The tool can be downloaded from the following link:

https://download.microsoft.com/download/f/2/2/f22d5fdb-59cd-4275-8c95-1be17bf70b21/wushowhide.diagcab

Select the KB5034441 update and hide it.

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  1. Anonymous
    2024-03-04T13:27:21+00:00

    Thanks for the info, really appreciate the detailed reply and well done for persevering with it all.

    I was planning on buying a new laptop next year so I'm just going to do that and this update and any subsequent ones that require this much effort I will just ignore :)

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  2. Anonymous
    2024-03-04T13:34:36+00:00

    Thanks for the reply. I have had a Windows malicious software removal tool Feb update and cumulative update in Feb too

    I am not going to try to increase the size of a partition on my laptop, currently I can neither afford a laptop or repairs (planning in buying a new laptop next year but that is dependent on funds!)

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  3. Anonymous
    2024-03-04T13:57:02+00:00

    No, the bug just got more complicated by the minute.

    1. So Microsoft started working on this in December for the January patch Tuesday release.
    2. Christmas got in the way of testing things. The top guys have extended holidays.
    3. Bug reports came and they released the cmd line fix
    4. cmd line fix is overly complicated so they went back to the drawing board
    5. they released a "script" fix for the general public for easier deployment without telling people how to lower the security gate to run the script
    6. their fixes don't work if the winre partition is in the front of the drive
    7. They got a bunch of zero day vulnerabilities they need to patch in the meantime. So the bug fix was in the back burner.
    8. They released those zero day vulnerabilities patches but the February patch Tuesday fixes were blocked for some computers with the kb50344441 error. So now they have to release another work around.

    So it is just a cascading series of problems starting with the top people having extending Christmas holidays.

    For what I have read, W11 had the same vulnerability, they also had this patch and worked fine there, so it's done for W11, But since a very tiny minority uses BitLocker in W10 too, they decided to make a rushed and lazy port forcing the irrelevant update on everyone /facepalm

    The problem is that in W10 as you have noted partitions works very different, some PCs don’t even have a WinRE partition (in such case the update is not needed but still pushed); so for these lazy nerds in their bubble was easy “they just need to resize their partition” /facepalm

    I would suggest you just to use the tool to hide it and forget about it, most surely you don’t need it, is irrelevant (is not that a hacker in X country online is going to take control of your system, it requires BitLocker and physical access to your PC)l

    For the people wanting to jump to W11 o buy a new PC, for what I see in forums also W11 is plagued with annoying bugs and I see people also complaining now and then for faulty updates, you may jump from the bad to the worse.

    Besides: Good Windows-Bad Windows-Good Windows- Bad Windows. W11 is a flop and W12 is going to arrive soon, perhaps at the end of the year, if you want to spend money in a new PC, wait and see the requirements for W12. I don’t see the point wasting money to jump to the “bad windows” for a screw up in an update when MS is doing that all time in both Windows versions

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  4. Anonymous
    2024-03-04T13:59:36+00:00

    How did you get rid of the Recovery partition in front of the (C) partition?

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