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Installing the Windows 10 Anniversary Update

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57 comments on “Installing the Windows 10 Anniversary Update”

  1. If the C: drive is encrypted with BitLocker will the Recovery Key code be needed during the reboot sequences when the anniversary version of Windows 10 is installed?

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  2. i have tried to install the windows 10 anniversary upgrade but although it says my pc is acceptable for it i keep geting a error code 0x80070057

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  3. Just another perspective…
    I’m running Windows 10 Professional and have opted to delay the new upgrade (Start>Settings>Update and security>Advanced options>check Defer upgrades). The reasons are two-fold: First, it’s my understanding Cortana (which I have turned off) is turned back on via the upgrade, cannot be turned off after the upgrade is completed, and permanently becomes the search medium. Second, I’m not much of a risk taker and prefer to wait to see how successful Microsoft has been in developing and pushing out a thoroughly stable upgrade. The Defer upgrades setting doesn’t last forever (just a few months). But that may be long enough for any unforeseen upgrade quirks to be identified and remedied.

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  4. I’ve given up! I know the system does update, since the last installed update was 15/07/16, but six attempts to install anniversary update have resulted in as many different error codes – oh why doesn’t Microsoft use different error code systems for different OS? Each one took me to information about every other OS from XP on. So I am now going to have to use system restore or a back-up to revert to the functioning system I had before I started this fiasco. This comes under the heading of Another Microsoft Update CockUp.

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    • Update: I decided to reset pc to original brand new windows 10 install, and using a USB created with MS Media Creation Tool try and get the update.. 4 hours later, it decided to restore to existing windows 10. That is the last time I will try anything from Micros**t*. I believe there is a registry tweak to prevent automatic updates; I shall be exploring and implementing it tomorrow. Microsoft stinks. I am so annoyed. I hope this fiasco brings the the firm down. It deserves to be trodden in the dust.
      I am now looking for a Linux distribution that works with UEFI so I can have dual boot, and wean myself away from Micro****.

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      • As a P.S. After I had cooled down a bit, I posted a question on Microsoft Support. The thread has been interesting with contributions from a user much more knowledgeable than I who has encountered the same error code and a Microsoft Support Engineer. To date the problem has proven insoluble, despite the variety of approaches tried. If you’re interested the thread is: Windows 10 Anniversary Update Error Code 0x8007042B-0x4000D
        To say this failed update has been annoying and incredibly time-consuming is an understatement. For now at least I have done with it; finding Windows 10 had apparently deactivated was the last straw, not to mention nerve-racking. Looking for a solution to deactivation of Windows 10 before it righted, I find it’s far from unheard of as a problem – perhaps an idea for an article.

        Reply
        • Richard:
          The reason MS uses the same error codes for multiple versions is because IT IS THE SAME ERROR (most of the time)! Change in MS, Windows or Office (and most other programs!), is “evolutionary” rather than “revolutionary”. That is, most changes are built on top of existing code, so the error codes remain the same. Fixes that worked for older versions, VISTA or even XP!, can still work in Win 10. So don’t ignore “old” fixes, especially if you don’t find anything specifically for your version.

          Unfortunately, MS does a rotten job of providing support for their error codes. It is simply not possible to find MS documentation for all error codes (even Official MS Support can’t find it!). Programmers write error codes, but are not required to write mitigation documentation. Many of their KB articles were written for older versions of the software and MS is too lazy (or incompetent!) to update KB articles to show they still apply to newer versions.

          At least you are dealing with Windows. It seems Windows error codes are at least a little more user friendly than the “new & improved” error codes in Office 365. Many of them have text that effectively says “oops”, ie “something went wrong …” , with absolutely no useful diagnostic information beyond the error code (which doesn’t have publicly available documentation).

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          • Yeah, documentation seems to have become increasingly poor over the years. Some “Lean more” links in Windows 10 simply initiate a Bing search, which really seems quite bizarre.

        • Success! At last! After upgrading to Windows 10 in the first place, and promptly fresh installing (after activation) I relied on Windows Defender, since I had no intention of paying McAfee’s full price. However, Windows Defender mysteriously stopped working and I used a free AV app from elsewhere.
          A contributor to the Microsoft Answers thread I started (see above) suggested that disabling AV apps could still lead to problems, but fully uninstalling did the trick. So I wondered if McAfee had somehow infiltrated my system and caused both the WD and Anniversary upgrade problems, since I had uninstalled Avast before each attempt at the update. I downloaded their Consumer Products Removal Tool and , lo and behold, it spent 20 minutes or so removing components that should not have been there. I went to bed leaving partner using the laptop, and in the morning found that the Anniversary Upgrade had automatically installed! Avast free edition was installed, and was running since I was not prepared for another attempt at the update overnight.
          The moral seems to be that such errors can be caused by remnants of redundant AV installations.

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  5. Hi Leo, I installed this update the other day but have rolled back to previous Windows 10 already, my laptop became very sluggish after updating and some freezing up of programs and Apps including Edge, I did some searching around and found I was not the only one, I tried some things like disabling certain settings with Cortana and whatnot, nothing helped.
    Willy

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  6. I’ve tried installing the Anniversary update, first through Windows update and failing that I used the Microsoft installation program. My desktop machine always fails with a BSOD saying: “Page Fault in Nonpaged Area.” I’m then reverted back to my previous version. I’m currently running Win 10 Pro build 10586. Note: I first updated my laptop using windows update and was successful.

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  7. Two things I’ve noticed about the Anniversary edition, Slightly improved tile menu. I like it better than Classic Shell, and therefore more than Windows 7. UAC has become a less dire warning. It’s more straight forward and friendly. I guess more little “Easter eggs” will appear as I use it.

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  8. I’m having issues with disk drive space. I had to clear a lot of things out of my cloud-based systems to make room for this. Now that it is installed, can I delete the C:\Windows10Upgrade folder?

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    • I believe so. (I did.) Make sure you never want to revert to the prior version before doing so, just in case. (Or take a system image before doing so.)

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    • See my comment/tip below about cleaning disc space using the Windows “Disc Cleanup” Desktop App as Administrator.

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  9. I used this technique in this excellent video a couple of days ago. It ran TWICE, took over FOUR hours, and downloaded over 6GB of files.

    I ran Windows10Upgrade28084.exe and it initially downloaded about 3GB of files and took about two hours to run. The “upgrade” process then automatically ran again for a second time and took another two hours and downloaded another 3GB of downloaded files. I wonder if this Windows10Upgrade28084.exe process has a bug?

    I did not see a warning notice about the “upgrade” process using up over 3GB of my monthly internet download allowance, assuming it works normally of course. Many users in Australia do not have large amounts of monthly internet download capacity. I’m lucky as I have a 120GB monthly allowance, however it is not unusual for someone in Australia to have a 3GB to 6GB monthly limit. I think Microsoft is very remiss in that it does not warn end users of how much download is required to do these Windows 10 “upgrades”. I don’t see these as “upgrades”, they seem to be entire operating system re-installations.

    After my negative experience with Windows10Upgrade28084.exe I then used the Microsoft Windows 10 MediaCreationTool.exe to make myself a DVD to install Windows 10 (v1607) on my other PC. I used the MediaCreationTool.exe to download a 3.4GB (64-bit) .iso file from which I made a DVD. The DVD worked well, took about two hours and only ran once. I also downloaded a 2.7GB (32-bit) .iso file for a friend so my total Microsoft downloads for that day amounted to over 12GB!!!

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  10. A TIP – Cleaning up after the “upgrade” to recover space. Run the Windows “Disc Cleanup” Desktop App as Administrator.

    Click the Start button and type Disc cleanup. The search will find/list the App. Right click on icon and run as Administrator. It takes a while to run. There are boxes for cleaning up previous versions of Windows and Windows installation files, as well as other things. Note; running “Disc Cleanup” normally (not the Administrator) shows fewer cleanup options. Warning – if you clean up the previous version of Windows then obviously you can’t roll your installation back again.

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    • I ran a system image backup prior to updating. It’s a more sure way to roll back, and I was able to safely run the disk cleanup right after installation.

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  11. I like Windows 10 for the most part. However I feel like I’m slowly but surely, with every update and new OS, losing control of my devices to forced apps, settings which are becoming less settable and the updates themselves which are becoming uncontrollable. Apps which can’t be changed, turned off or deleted. Its my machine, I decide what suits my needs or what I’m comfortable with. Not Microsoft or anyone else. I do not need Cortana to help me, remind me, guide me, search for me or entertain me. Period. I’ve been around the block a time or two since Windows 1.0 and I decide how, when, where, what my machine does. I’ve gone over all the tips, tricks, add-on’s and new features of the Anniversary update and don’t honestly have a problem with any of them. Just let ME control them or I will hack them away.

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  12. An overnight Windows 10 update reverted many settings back to their Microsoft defaults, deleted all my Windows 7 games, and changed the appearance of windows. I assume I’ll need to go through all my security and privacy settings again and change them back to the way I’d set them. Am I going to have to go through this hassle every time Windows 10 updates?

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  13. Great stuff, as always Leo. Just a quick question in case we’re on a different updates timeline here in the UK from you chaps in the US.
    Are there any other known updates which may have to have been installed before the Anniversary Update is installed please?

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    • Not that I’m aware of. I recommend running Windows Update first and explicitly making sure you have all available updates, but my sense is that’s not completely required.

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  14. I thought Windows 10 was going to download and install all updates that I need automatically? I thought that’s what the big hulla-balloo was before Windows 10 came out. Why then would I need to take this step? Shouldn’t I just be waiting for Microsoft to decide that now is the time to download it?

    The “Windows 10 Update History” link in the “Read More” section says that Microsoft will do this “when it becomes available for your device.” Maybe all the problems that other commenters are making are because the Anniversary Update is not fully compatible with their device yet and by installing it early it’s causing problems?

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    • This article, and these steps, exist specifically for people who don’t want to wait for the update. Do nothing and you will get it eventually. They’re just taking a while to roll it out to everyone.

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    • As I understand how upgrades are rolled out, it would put too much of a strain on Microsoft’s servers to upgrade every Windows 10 installation in one day or even a few days. Followers of tech sites like Ask Leo! and others get an extra heads up on getting early upgrades.

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  15. I’ve successfully upgraded to the Anniversary edition of Windows 10 on three of my computers, just two more to go and I’m done.

    The 1st two happened automatically and completed without any problems at all. My 10 year old HP Laptop would not even recognize that there was an update to be downloaded when I clicked on the usual “Check for Updates” button, it just said “Your device is up to date”. Found the link to force the download on the Microsoft site, it went through its pre-check and then told me the install could not be completed as the active partition was compressed. Strange but OK i can deal with that. Uncompressed my C drive and after a couple of hours hit Retry on the update. All ran well and the HP Laptop is now up to date!

    The update seems to work just fine on all three machines, Th old Laptop actual responds a bit better now than it did before, so time to Grab the other two newer laptops and update them for my wife and Sister-in-Law…

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  16. Hello,
    I have been trying to update to the Windows 10 Anniversary version and keep getting the error code 0xc1900107.

    I have looked where Microsoft Support sent me, but there is help there that I have tried, but it still fails to update.

    Any help appreciated

    Reply
  17. Just a quick note. The hard drive on my HP Laptop died after the computer was only 2 years old. I purchased a new hard drive after my local computer store did a diagnostic on my laptop and confirmed that the hard drive did fail. They installed a new hard drive for a reasonable price for the new drive and a charge for the installation time. They then informed me that there would be a $200 charge to install an operating system on the new hard drive. I felt that although it would take some time to install a new OS, it is a matter of starting the installation and then leaving the computer alone to complete the installation at its own without a anyone’s help. I declined their offer to install the OS, feeling that the charge was unreasonably high.

    I went to the HP Support site and went to the section on downloads. HP offers what they call a Recovery kit to install the OS that was originally installed on the model laptop I own, you are asked to input the model number of the laptop to get the correct kit. They sold me the kit for $25 and it arrived, on five disks, within a week. The install went smoothly without a problem, it installed the original OS which was 8.1. I called Microsoft and explained what happened and they waived the fee for the upgrade to Windows 10 and e-mailed me a link that allowed me to do the upgrade at no cost.

    So instead of paying $200 to my local Computer Store (other computer stores in the area quoted similar prices for an OS install), HP gave me the necessary disks to do the OS install myself, geared toward my particular HP model for only $25 and some of my time. I thought you might want to pass this information on to your readers, it’s a real money saver.

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  18. Somewhat off this topic, but I’ve put off for now upgrading from Windows 8.1 to Win 10.
    I’ve burned to a DVD the Win 10 ISO upgrade before the July 29th Deadline.
    I’m wondering if there is any time frame in my using this DVD to upgrade
    to Win 10. I did get the all clear to do this from Microsoft, but was
    concerned about some programs even though.
    I’m very happy with 8.1, and it wouldn’t be a total loss if I could not,
    as I understand Microsoft has extended support until 2018 for 8.1,
    and continues support until 2023 with security updates, etc.
    Any thoughts regarding this much appreciated.
    As always, many thanks Leo.
    Jerry

    Reply
    • The free offer was contingent upon you installing and authenticating prior to the deadline. After that you must purchase 10.

      Many were totally surprised to find their installation or downloads in progress just quitting ‘at midnight’.

      Those people were being directed to consult Chat support, with a lot of disappointing results mainly.

      So you have a PUMPKIN again. You have to either buy a license from Microsoft or start over with a new paid version.

      I have no idea if you have to go through all the updates again in the paid version or if it’s actually a better version, as I fought tooth and nail to keep my Windows 7 (and apparently won). For me, sanity prevailed.

      Too many procrastinators waited until the last day and it was computer hell for them.

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      • Thanks Steven, but I do believe my situation is different, but I could be wrong. If this question could be clarified further, I would greatly appreciate it.
        I used the Windows 10 Media Creation Tool :
        https://www.microsoft.com/en-in/software-download/windows10
        From it, it downloaded a 3.4gb Win 10 upgrade in ISO format.
        I then burned it onto a DVD.
        I therefore have a complete Win 10 upgrade, with what I understand from ASK LEO, will do the upgrade EVEN after the July 29th Deadline.
        So I’m not talking about using that icon and what you are describing, I already have the DVD Win 10 install

        My question is does this DVD have a time frame regarding the installation process

        Thanks again for all your help.

        Jerry

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        • To qualify for the no-cost upgrade, you’d have had to install and activate Windows 10 prior to the 29th. Whether the ISO was created before or after the 29th is, unfortunately, irrelevant.

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    • It’s already too late. It’s not the download that had the time limit on it, it’s the actual installation of Windows 10. Should you use your ISO my guess is a new product key (and purchase, therefore) will be required.

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  19. For what it’s worth to someone out there, the anniversary update failed on two of my four computers. Based on information I found online, I tried running the update after setting up for a clean boot. This worked. On my laptop, things stalled at one point, with the little balls running round and round in the middle of the screen. Oh, well, I thought. I left the computer as was and went to bed. Next morning, they were still at it. I shut the computer down and restarted, whereupon I got a message that an attempt was being made to recover the installation. The installation resumed and went to a successful conclusion in short order. I like very much what Microsoft did with the Start screen and access to the apps. Comparing Windows 10 to Windows 8, I find myself wondering what Microsoft was thinking with Windows 8. Now, happy, happy, happy!

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  20. I continue to be appalled at Microsoft’s incompetence. I have a Win 7 computer, have Win 10 on my laptop and don’t like it, so installed Classic Shell, but when Leo recommended getting the update, I thought “What the hey; if they’ll upgrade me to Win 10 along with this update, I’ll put Win 10 on my PC.” So I clicked the link. Before it starts the update, IT CHECKS TO SEE IF YOUR SYSTEM WILL TAKE THE UPDATE. But. . . BUT. . . the most important check — that your OS is Win 10 — is NOT one of the checks. So it goes thru the process of downloading the update, then after a few machinations, tells you that you have to enter the Win 10 verification key.

    I don’t know what’s wrong with the Redmond staff. The need to check for lead in the water.

    Reply
    • If I understand correctly, you are trying to upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 10, and they are asking for a key? If that’s the case, that is the way it is supposed to work. The deadline for the free upgrade ended July 29. Microsoft has been saying this for a little over a year. Apparently it’s possible to upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 10 Anniversary edition directly (according to the message you got), but now it is necessary to purchase a license to do the upgrade.

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  21. My first attempt to upgrade was unsuccessful receiving error 0x80070057. Researched the error and decided to try the Media Creation Tool (MCT) download to a flash drive. The MCT download took 30 minutes. Opened the flash via File Explorer > This PC > Clicking on flash drive > Clicking “setup.exe” BINGO, the installation began taking one hour. Many are saying the MCT to a flash drive is the way to go! Good Luck in your endeavors.

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  22. I upgraded my laptop to the W10AU automatically yesterday with no problem so far. However, when I let the automatic upgrade run on my HP Envy860, it updated very quickly (SSD), but after 3 hours of running after it went to BSOD. It kept restarting, trying to fix it, and giving about 10 different errors, the most common of which was “System Thread exception not handled.” I couldn’t boot into anything as the BSOD came up almost instantly. I tried putting in my Reflect rescue disk, but it also gives the BSOD. I don’t have the original OS disks, but have ordered them now. HP says they have been having a lot of problems with this AU. Their fix is for me is to reinstall the original W10 it came with (from the disks I ordered), then I should be able to run the Reflect disk to recover from my image backups (last one done before the AU).

    While I thought I had all the backups I needed, I feel very helpless when the rescue disk won’t boot due to changes made by W10AU.

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    • Well, Macrium Reflect was trying to do its job. Turns out when I tried booting with the HP original disks, it still wouldn’t boot. So HP had me send the computer back to them. They found the CPU defective, replaced it, and returned the computer to me. I then booted with Reflect boot disk, reloaded the last image I had, and was up and running just fine!!!

      But now I am more paranoid than ever about not having a late enough image or having only one image that might not work. So I am now doing a daily GFS image backup protocol on a 3rd drive inside my computer, as well as a several day a week image backup to a networked RAID drive, as well as doing a periodic image to a drive I plug in, backup, and remove so any hostage malware can’t get to it. Oh, and I backup my data to Carbonite also. So data is backed up 4 places and images are backed up 3 places. Whew!

      Oh, and W10AU is working fine.

      Reply
  23. Hi Leo,
    I had no problem downloading and installing the Windows 10 update/upgrade that you mentioned in this video. It took just short of an hour. However, once installed I’m now asked at every start up what app I want to use to open a file listed as .4a6f3.
    I Googled the file to find out very little. I’d sure like to get this straightened out. I’d appreciate any help.

    I must say that I don’t mind the new O.S., but then again I didn’t see anything wrong with Windows 7.

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  24. The update went through without a hitch. But Macrium Reflect, scheduled daily, does not fire, and cannot be run manually either. Others have the same problem, and all of the suggested fixes have not worked for me.

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  25. Let me add that the Macrium folks talked of shutdown machines and such. The failure is instant. Try it manually and the ‘last’ date changes in front of your eyes and gives you the 0x40010004 error.

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  26. I updated two machines(one more to go ) ; one basically self installed- it took about 2 hours, but that included an hour to download the update file. The older machine(Dell ) took 4 or 5 attempts, as it would hang up during the file installation, just sit there with the little loading indicator going round and round forever-I mean hours. I finally would press the power button and the first time it would try to resume the installation; the second time it would revert. The final time I tried to install the update it did the same thing , but again after an inordinately long time (2 hours+) I gave up and pressed the power button again. This time it tried to resume at 75% so I left it alone and went bed. It was installed and working correctly the next morning. I’ts an older laptop and I’m sure that had something to do with the difficult update. Judging from other posts I have read my advice is don’t give up too soon, give your machine plenty of time, don’t be surprised if it actually takes a couple or three hours to get installed as this is a massive update. I also wonder if it was not able to do a restart for some reason and when I pushed the power button it got it there but I guess I’ll never know. Been using it for a couple days now and everything works great.

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  27. Downloaded the win 10 anniversary update and started getting stopcode screen. (three times) After which I lost control of computer. Tried several alternatives. Rebooted and went to Linux Ubuntu 15.4 and it worked flawlessly. That told me I don’t have a hard drive problem. I finally did a reset of windows and everything is fine now. I have not redone the update and I turned of automatic updates.

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  28. Hi Leo,
    I did the Anniversary update, all seemed well at first, until I went into my email account in outlook and all my emails had disappered and all my contats likewise GONE, I was told by Microsoft to revert back to my previous version which I did, still no contacts or emails, they seem to have completley disappeared, I have tried searching for them with no luck, so I have now lost a lot of important folders and addresses. I feel Microsoft are getting like Apple and trying to take over our machines. I am really upset about all this.
    Sheila

    Reply
  29. i heard there is going to be a talking installer for the blind for windows 10 anaversory. have you found anything for this?
    it would be nice if i could install windows from scratch when needed by myself.
    i haven’t been able to do this since windows 3.1

    Reply
  30. In case you are unfamiliar with this folder, it stores some data from the previous system versions and in some cases, the data might cause a problem during the upgrading process.

    Follow the steps to delete this folder:

    First open File Explorer > and go to This PC > Local Disk (C:) (or any your system hard drive is)
    Click View > check the box that says Hidden Files
    Locate the folder named $WINDOWS. ~ BT
    And rename it or delete it
    Other methods found here on this website
    https://www.errorsolutions.tech/error/error-code-0xc1900107/

    Reply

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