Windows 10 will not update anymore; stuck in 1909

Anonymous
2021-05-17T01:54:45+00:00

TLDR: Update page shows "Your device is missing important security and quality fixes." for the last one week. It is still in Version 1909 Build 18363.1556.

Long story: It has been promising Feature update 2004 for quite a long time but did not really deliver. However, I had been getting regular security and quality minor updates. Around a month ago, when I started getting the end of service notifications for 1909 I tried to force updates by hitting "Check for updates" and it tried doing a huge download for 20H2. I think after a long installation process it aborted around 45% and rolled back. Tried a couple of times and the same result.

Now, I did a few methods suggested in various forums and Microsoft support sites like running update troubleshooter, a scan, running commands as administrator, setting right a few registry entries etc. I even rolled the last cumulative update for 1909 KB5003169 and it got reinstalled on the next reboot but the "Your device is missing important security and quality fixes." returned.

I am worried because I will be missing out important security updates given that 1909 has reached the end of service.

UPDATE: The error code against the update 20H2 update is given as 0xC1900101

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Windows update

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  1. Anonymous
    2021-06-05T21:19:41+00:00

    Sumit and other Volunteers who helped me through this,

    This method worked after about 100 hours of trying out so many methods. But there are some catches though.

    I did not intend to a clean install but Windows showed some message to the effect that the Windows installation location is not proper and hence will only do a clean install. Having fought this problem for so long and also because I had backed up my data I clicked ok.

    The installation went ok and I am left with a clean install of Windows now that is quite snappy though the Disk shows 100% in Task Manager.!

    I did find my old files in Windows.old folder. It requires an Administrator access, which I gave but it does not open at all. I would prefer to copy the 100 GB something files from the existing hard disk rather than external hard disk. Is there a trick to do this?

    Despite these two nuisances, I am happy overall. Thank you all again.

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  2. Sumit 44,436 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2021-05-29T07:50:12+00:00

    No, that is unrelated. These are WU folders that you renamed, and they are created automatically. A reset failure due to Media is a common problem, most likely when the Recovery Image is corrupt.

    How about trying this?

    Start fresh with a clean installation of Windows 10 (microsoft.com)

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  3. Anonymous
    2021-05-29T05:41:21+00:00

    I mean, I wonder if this is making Windows not do fresh start.

    net stop bits
    net stop wuauserv
    ren %systemroot%\softwaredistribution softwaredistribution.bak
    ren %systemroot%\system32\catroot2 catroot2.bak
    net start bits
    net start wuauserv

    If so, how to get the names back.?

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  4. Anonymous
    2021-05-29T05:29:26+00:00

    I just tried the fresh restart method. Unfortunately, I had renamed my distribution files, I think with the ren command, one of the many methods suggested for this problem and windows says it cannot find the installation media.

    Would you know how I can reset to the old path?

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  5. Sumit 44,436 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2021-05-29T05:09:36+00:00

    >>1. Can I not get these issues resolved by using the Reset method within Windows Settings?

    You can try Reset for sure, but chances are it may fail too. Also, a clean install gives minimal problems in the future compared to a reset hence suggested.

    >>2. Do I need to do a clean install removing all files? Wouldn't reinstall with retaining files but not applications work?

    You can move the files to a different drive and do a clean install. It is always recommended to format OS drive for maximum benefits.

    I have another thing to suggest to you - a fresh start, which is available for 1909. This should keep the files and reinstall Windows from the cloud. If that doesn't work, do a clean install.

    Give your PC a Fresh Start (microsoft.com)

    https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-windows_install/clean-install-windows-10/1c426bdf-79b1-4d42-be93-17378d93e587

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