Off Topic Discussions

[BigAl01]

Microsoft fix isn't coming, you're on your own.   Microsoft tells users hit by flawed January security update that there's no fix coming in a future update, and they must manually work around the issue.  It's hardly unusual for a Windows update to introduce a bug, but most of the time, Microsoft provides a solution in a reasonable timeframe - not always, mind, and not ever in this more recent case.

Yes, this is a bit of an odd one, and it concerns the unlucky Windows 10 users who, when installing an update back in January 2024, encountered a Windows Recovery Environment error.  That installation failure error (stop code: 0x80070643) is related to the recovery partition not being large enough for the mentioned January security update (KB5034441).

As Microsoft explained, the WinRE partition needs 250MB of free space, and devices which don't have that need to increase the partition size.  Windows Latest spotted that on April 30, Microsoft updated its release health dashboard notes on this issue to say that it won't be providing any automatically delivered fix for this problem.

Microsoft stated:

"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."

There are possible workarounds, including a PowerShell script as Microsoft mentions in the above dashboard notes, but the trouble is they're manually implemented and on the fiddly side - hardly ideal, really.

As Windows Latest observes, if you don't want the hassle of manually navigating these WinRE partition waters yourself, then your options are limited to either ignoring the update (by hiding it), and leaving yourself without its security fix, or taking the drastic action of starting with a clean Windows 10 state, and reinstalling the OS from scratch. Ouch....

While this is not a bug that'll affect every Windows 10 user, by any means, it's been widely enough reported, and Windows Latest estimates thousands of folks are hit.

Maybe it's time for Linux?

[ardankyaosen · Accepted solution]

The main Microsoft Feedback Hub item on this:

https://aka.ms/AAojsz5 

refers to the 9 January 2024 Microsoft document to fix this:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/kb5034441-windows-recovery-environment-update-for-windows-... 

Right near the top, that document says:

"This update requires 250 MB of free space in the recovery partition to install successfully."

and points to a document to resize the partition:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/kb5028997-instructions-to-manually-resize-your-partition-t... 

Upon closer reading of those instructions, I do see that it goes about changing the partition size by reducing the OS partition by 250MB with:

shrink desired=250 minimum=250

, deleting the old WinRE partition and then creating a new on in the now 250MB greater available space.

The problem is that I've seen comments in that Feedback item saying people have increased their Recovery partition to over 1GB and the update still fails to complete.  Also, according to this:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/windows-client/windows-security/disk-partition-requir... 

"

• For Windows operating systems prior to Windows 10, version 2004 or Windows Server 2022:

  • If the partition is smaller than 500 MB, it must have at least 50 MB of free space.
  • If the partition is 500 MB or larger, it must have at least 320 MB of free space.
  • If the partition is larger than 1 gigabyte (GB), it must have at least 1 GB of free space.

• For Windows operating systems later than Windows 10, version 2004 or Windows Server 2022, the partition must have at least 200 MB of free space."

So, AFAICT, I should be good with a 530MB WinRE partition completely empty.

But, I guess I'll girdle my loins, rejigger all my partitions (Microsoft's assumption of a single OS partition followed by the WinRE partition is ridiculous) and increase the size of my WinRE partition to 750MB.

I wonder if my 93 year old mother-in-law will be doing this for herself.

EDIT:  The first referenced Microsoft document also points to a script to resize the partition:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/manufacture/desktop/add-update-to-winre?view=wind... 

 About halfway down, it says:

"If WinRE partition already have >=250MB free space, no need to do repartition"

and checks for that condition.  So, that script agrees with the first document that all that's needed is 250MB of free space in WinRE.  Not 250MB more than currently exists.  Plus, if EVERY computer needed the partition size increased by 250MB, EVERY computer would have failed the update.  And, not every one did.

[ajlueke]

They probably just want you to switch to Windows 11.

[cpurpe91]

This seems the most likely. "Sorry we broke Windows 10, but look. Windows 11 is better." Kind of thing.

[ardankyaosen]

Besides the "fix" being at neck-beard level, the problem is that Microsoft claims the issue arises because the Recovery partition has less than 250MB free.  Well, both computers here have Recovery partitions that have 530MB free and both are getting this error.  So, obviously, Microsoft is blowing smoke.

[hawkeye]

I think something was lost in translation or whoever reported on this didn't care that much to understand what the Microsoft dev was saying.

250MB must be added on the standard 500MB recovery partition in order for that patch to successfully install. So if you have a 500MB recovery partition you must make it to have at least 750MB free space. Hope that clears things up.

[ardankyaosen · Accepted solution]

The main Microsoft Feedback Hub item on this:

https://aka.ms/AAojsz5 

refers to the 9 January 2024 Microsoft document to fix this:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/kb5034441-windows-recovery-environment-update-for-windows-... 

Right near the top, that document says:

"This update requires 250 MB of free space in the recovery partition to install successfully."

and points to a document to resize the partition:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/kb5028997-instructions-to-manually-resize-your-partition-t... 

Upon closer reading of those instructions, I do see that it goes about changing the partition size by reducing the OS partition by 250MB with:

shrink desired=250 minimum=250

, deleting the old WinRE partition and then creating a new on in the now 250MB greater available space.

The problem is that I've seen comments in that Feedback item saying people have increased their Recovery partition to over 1GB and the update still fails to complete.  Also, according to this:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/windows-client/windows-security/disk-partition-requir... 

"

• For Windows operating systems prior to Windows 10, version 2004 or Windows Server 2022:

  • If the partition is smaller than 500 MB, it must have at least 50 MB of free space.
  • If the partition is 500 MB or larger, it must have at least 320 MB of free space.
  • If the partition is larger than 1 gigabyte (GB), it must have at least 1 GB of free space.

• For Windows operating systems later than Windows 10, version 2004 or Windows Server 2022, the partition must have at least 200 MB of free space."

So, AFAICT, I should be good with a 530MB WinRE partition completely empty.

But, I guess I'll girdle my loins, rejigger all my partitions (Microsoft's assumption of a single OS partition followed by the WinRE partition is ridiculous) and increase the size of my WinRE partition to 750MB.

I wonder if my 93 year old mother-in-law will be doing this for herself.

EDIT:  The first referenced Microsoft document also points to a script to resize the partition:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/manufacture/desktop/add-update-to-winre?view=wind... 

 About halfway down, it says:

"If WinRE partition already have >=250MB free space, no need to do repartition"

and checks for that condition.  So, that script agrees with the first document that all that's needed is 250MB of free space in WinRE.  Not 250MB more than currently exists.  Plus, if EVERY computer needed the partition size increased by 250MB, EVERY computer would have failed the update.  And, not every one did.

[elstaci]

You can use AOMEI Partition Assistant (Free version) to increase the Windows 10 Partitions to the amount you need.

When I did a clean Windows 11 install it created a too small Windows 11 partition.  Because of this I was unable to do a System Backup after installing. After many hours of troubleshooting and googling I found out that one of my Windows 11 Partition should have been 100MB large but instead it was only 75MB large which is good for Windows 10 but not for Windows 11.

Couldn't do it with MiniTools free partition software but with AOMEI partition software. Increased 2 of my 4 Windows 11 partitions to double the size. Afterwards I had no more issues with creating any System Backups.

By the way the error I was getting was that the destination HDD didn't have enough space for the System Backup.

[FunkZ]

I encountered something similar when upgrading from Windows 10 to Windows 11. I had upgraded from Windows 7 to Windows 10 originally and on a 256GB SSD deleted the "recovery" partition because why? I have the original media, why do I need a partition for this? Well Windows 11 "needs" it and failed to upgrade without it and even after using diskpart to add it back in, the upgrade failed and I ended up having to wipe and reinstall.

And oh BTW, if you try to upgrade now to Windows 11 it will require you to purchase a new license, because the "free" upgrade from Windows 7 or 8 to Windows 10 offer has "expired". Never mind if you had originally upgraded to Windows 10 years ago.

[ardankyaosen]

Just following up on my comment, above.  Even though I theoretically had more than enough free space in WinRE (at least according to 2 out of 3 Microsoft documents), I ran through their steps and increased it by another 250MB (to a total of 781MB).  The update finally installed.

But, Microsoft is still a jerk company for forcing normal human beings to go through this.

[Axxemann]

All the more reason for me to pray to the Gaming gods that GabeN sees the light and develops a full blown SteamOS for PCs. Not just some clone hack from a SteamDeck.

[BigAl01]

I have two computers still running Windows 10 and they both have one update that fails to install.  I'm not sure it's the same one (I need to check that), but I'm not going to mess around with them and possibly disable the machines prior to my upcoming Memorial Day LAN party.  

So, my question to you guys is, "How do you tell your Windows 10 computer to ignore an update that fails to install?".

[elstaci]

Use Microsoft own Hide/Unhide Tool.

This tool will hide any Windows Updates from installing in the future. You can use the same tool to unhide the update if you need to: Microsoft Hide/Unhide App from Major Geeks 

[BigAl01]

Thanks for the link.  So, it's not built into Windows, but Microsoft makes it available for download to fix their problems.  

[elstaci]

I believe like most of the past MS Tools has been put on legacy status and unable to download from Microsoft website anymore.

But seems like most still work in both Windows 10 and 11. They are quite useful tools for troubleshooting Windows issues like Windows Install/Uninstall Tool as an example.

In the link at Major Geeks website it does mention it only hides it until the next Windows Update and that there were better 3rd party apps that does the same thing.

You can see if it hides the hidden Windows Update after the next Windows Update occurs. If it does then it is a good chance it hides it permanently. just guessing though.

[ajlueke]

The issue is one that is tied to Windows shift to UEFI installs instead of the legacy BIOS install.  When installed in UEFI mode, Windows will create a recovery partition on the drive.  The issue now, that some computers have been up and running for a while is that the recovery partition created by certain versions of Windows is not recognized correctly by the versions released now.  Sort of the price of the additional overhead created by UEFI vs BIOS.  Windows 11 even requires UEFI installs as they are needed to use the required secure boot features, so I'm sure these issues will crop up in that OS as well.

The best way to fix these issues, would probably be to download the latest Windows image, back everything up and reinstall the OS from scratch.

[ardankyaosen]

The partitions on my computer are pretty close to what Microsoft expects (an EFI System partition, OS partition (i.e., C drive), Recovery partition, and then a Data partition (i.e., D drive)).  So, their instructions applied fairly closely.  Unfortunately, my wife's partitions are a different kettle of fish.  Her layout is:  Recovery partition, EFI System partition, OS partition and then Data partition (I'm assuming this layout is because her system's been upgraded from OS version to OS version for a very long time, while I've done many a clean install.  So, Microsoft's instructions are pretty much useless here.  Fixing her system will involve moving partitions as well as shrinking them, and diskpart doesn't do moving.  I have no desire to use third party tools.

So, as ajlueke says, above, the solution for her machine is a backup and clean install.  And, I'd rather nail my own head to the floor than mess with her computer.  I can't imagine the grief I'd get.

Plus, of course, none of this is doable by "normal" people who probably still have CD drives built in where they rest their water glasses.

[BigAl01]

Those hide-away coasters were all the rage in the 1990's.  

[BigAl01]

I don't see how I can hide the update.  I am giving a particular Windows 10 machine away at my upcoming LAN party (01 September 2024), and I would rather just pass on that update in totality.  Tell me how to hide the Windows 10 security update please.

[elstaci]

Why did you add the SPAM Link to your reply especially since it is a SPAM service in England.

[BigAl01]

I removed the post, marking it as SPAM.

[mcgroup00]

If you're having trouble installing Windows 10's January update, try running the Windows Update Troubleshooter, which can resolve common issues. Ensure your system has enough storage space and that you're connected to a stable internet connection. If the problem persists, manually download and install the update from the Microsoft Update Catalogue or perform a clean boot to avoid software conflicts during the installation.

[BigAl01]

The Windows Update troubleshooter is more trouble than it's worth in my opinion.  Sounds like an AI response.

[ardankyaosen · Accepted solution]

Microsoft did mitigate this a bit, though.  According to:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/kb5042320-windows-recovery-environment-update-for-windows-... 

(the document is been updated though the date in the link didn't change), they now say:

"IMPORTANT This update will not be offered if your Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) meets any of the following conditions:

• If the WinRE recovery partition does not have sufficient free space, see the NOTE in the "Summary" section. The note provides instructions about how to increase the available free space in the WinRE recovery partition.

• If the WinRE recovery partition was manually updated by using the procedure in Add an update package to Windows RE and is already up to date.

• If the WinRE image has a version greater than or equal to version 10.0.19041.3920. To determine the version of your WinRE image, check the WinREVersion registry value at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion.

• If your running PC does not have a WinRE recovery partition. To verify if you have WinRE enabled, run the following command in an elevated command prompt: reagentc /info. If WinRE is enabled, you will see Windows RE status in the output with a value of Enabled. In this scenario, this update might be needed."

On our one remaining computer whose partitions were too "unique" for me to fix without a lot of work, that update has stopped showing up and nagging us.  Yes, that computer won't get the update.  But, it doesn't run Bitlocker and the whole point of the update was to fix a problem with Bitlocker.  So, that update shouldn't have been pushed to that computer in the first place.

[BigAl01]

That's good news.