Can't install KB5014668

Anonymous
2022-06-25T18:53:37+00:00

I've been running Windows 11 since Nov 2021. This is the first update failure I've encountered. I was trying to install KB5014668. It stopped at 25% install and showed error 0x80000ffff. I ran troubleshooter (multiple times) to no avail. Upon a restart, it showed installing an update, in the middle it rebooted and then on the subsequent restart it showed install to 48% then said something went wrong, not to worry as it was restoring. It rebooted again, showing the same message, on the next restart it booted into windows. I've run sfc /scannow and dism restorehealth. Neither showed an error or helped. I use Macrium and also tried mounting an image taken before I tried the update and copied the Software Distribution folder and pasted it over the current folder. No help there either. I am able to download Windows Defender definition updates okay at this point.

I could just restore the whole drive to a point before I tried the install but would like to use that as a last resort. Right now I can perform multiple restarts with it booting straight into Windows. So I'm not sure if I should just wait until the July cumulative is available to see what happens or is there something I can or should try at this point, like try to download and install it straight from the update catalog?

Thanks for any help with this.

Update... I did try to use the Windows Catalog to do a manual install. It seemed to download ok but when I hit install it failed immediately with an error code of 0x80070002 (I got this from the reliability monitor)

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Windows update

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  1. Anonymous
    2022-06-27T13:03:47+00:00

    FYI, this problem is happening on both of my Win11 desktops located in different homes with different ISPs. I also think it is a problem with the update.

    I can create the zip file but do not see how to share it here. Sorry.,

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  3. Anonymous
    2022-06-26T19:26:20+00:00

    Thanks for the replies on this. Unfortunately, I did do the repair install of Win11. It went okay but when I tried to do the updates that were showing, minus the bad KB5014668, some updates installed but the cumulative updates errored just like that KB did. I literally spent 3 hours running troubleshooter, multiple retries at installing them to no avail.

    I rolled back to the previous version which took about 5 minutes and all looks good. I followed the advice of copying the sofwaredistribution folder from a Jun 23 marcrium image which was before I tried the preview KB install. When I went to settings and checked updates, the message of the failed KB update was still there. So I guess that's stored elsewhere.

    I can either leave it like it is until the next update on July 12 or do a full Marcrium restore from my June 23 image. So except for a miserable 3 hours I'm right back where I started. I'm not sure why the repair install gave me the same install glitches, but now for more than just KB5014668. Is something else broken? Should I just restore the Macrium backup? I assume it will work as I can boot into the rescue USB stick and see all my backups.

    I'm thinking the copy and paste of the old sofwaredistribution folder may not have really worked as I didn't stop bits and update in services before I pasted???

    Added later: OK. I went back into my Backups and copied the SoftwareDistribution folder from June 22. That's before KB5014668 came out. I replaced the current folder with that one and restarted. I checked for updates and I didn't see KB5014668 there this time. The error about installing it wasn't there and checking updates didn't offer me that as a normal update. When I checked under optional updates it was there. I left it alone. When I checked install history, it's there with failed installs on the 24th, 25th and 26th. All times I tried to install it. This was slightly different from the first time I tried to install it. At that time it was offered on my front install page and it didn't say Preview or Optional but it did have a prompt to download and install.

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  4. Anonymous
    2022-06-26T18:36:26+00:00

    I "misspoke". Following the information provided by John DeV did fix my husband's computer. No other special upgrade to Windows was required. He first put back from a nightly image C:/Windows/SoftwareDistribution/ he took out following the suggestions in https://helpdeskgeek.com/windows-10/how-to-force-windows-10-to-install-an-update/ .

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  5. Anonymous
    2022-06-26T16:39:48+00:00

    Thanks for replying I see this problem all over the internet a lot of people are having this issue. I ran DISM and SFC as well.

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