[Solved]Unable to update or reinstall Windows... again

Anonymous
2025-01-14T02:57:56+00:00

I had a very similar problem about 8 months ago ([Solved]Unable to update or reinstall Windows - Microsoft Community) and I'm having essentially the same problem right now after a reboot.

I know I'm using a different Microsoft account now, but this is actually the same computer as in the above post.

I receive the following error code when trying to update Windows:

0x800070002 (Win11 23H2 Update12, KB5048685)

Same as last time, I tried:

DISM - says it can't find the source, 0x800f081f

SFC - says windows can't launch the repairing service

Reinstall win11 using iso - If I use the latest iso from the Microsoft website it says "A driver or service on your computer isn't ready for this version of Windows" and won't let me reinstall. If I use an older iso I already have, it will just tell me "install failed" at around ~60-70%.

Because this is very similar to last time's issue (or at least I think so...), I will upload the same log file that I was asked to upload last time.

Logs

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Install and upgrade

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Ramesh 181.4K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
2025-01-17T03:37:33+00:00

If you don't delete the partitions, the old data will be stored in Windows.old.

How to: Perform a Custom Installation of Windows 11 and Windows 10 or - Microsoft Community: https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/how-to-perform-a-custom-installation-of-windows-11/38adfa8c-32f8-4354-8c53-13b5f2cf7e44

// If I reinstall the system, what data will I lose and what can I recover? For example settings? Installed apps? History in Edge browser? Personal files? Etc.//

You may be able to recover Appdata folders for individual apps. Store apps will be gone. Though you can recover personal files from Windows.old, it's advisable to backup those folders to external drive before doing the clean install.

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  1. Ramesh 181.4K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2025-01-17T09:50:06+00:00

    Please try these commands from PowerShell.

    Get-AppXPackage Microsoft.Windows.StartMenuExperienceHost | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"} 

Get-AppxPackage Microsoft.Windows.StartMenuExperienceHost | Reset-AppxPackage

    If that doesn't help, create a new local admin account and see if that helps.  To create a new local admin account, open admin Command Prompt and run these commands:

    net user USERNAME PASSWORD /add

net localgroup administrators USERNAME /add

    (Note: Replace the placeholder text "USERNAME" and "PASSWORD" with the new user name and password, respectively.)

    If it works fine, you can switch it to a Microsoft account if needed.

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  2. Anonymous
    2025-01-20T01:40:30+00:00

    Unfortunately, I still can't use the menu.

    I read that I should see "SearchUI.exe" running in Task Manager, but I can't find it, maybe that's the problem (as far as the search bar doesn't work)? How can I fix this?

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  3. Anonymous
    2025-01-20T03:10:37+00:00

    Since this was more of a "common" problem, I was able to fix it using existing online resources.

    While I must say reinstalling Windows was a huge pain, I also want to let you know how much I appreciate everything you did for me.

    It was a long troubleshooting process, but you were very professional and patient throughout the whole process.

    So, despite that, thank you for your help, because it could have been a lot worse without the support.

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  4. Ramesh 181.4K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2025-01-20T03:13:50+00:00

    You're most welcome, TianzhuMIC. I'm glad it's resolved though unfortunately, a clean installation couldn't be avoided.

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