Error on updating to v2004

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I’ve been trying to update Win 10 v1909, 32 bit Home edition, to v2004. I haven’t received the update to v2004 through Windows update yet, so I downloaded the iso file and burned it to a DVD and ran setup from the DVD. The update process went smoothly until after the first reboot. At about 30% in I received the following error message: ‘The system registry contains invalid file paths. Installation cannot proceed. This system image was applied without guaranteeing that drive-letter assignments would match across computers.’ It then rolled back to v1909. A Google search brought up a number of similar cases when upgrading from Win 7 to Win 10. The recommendation was to delete the drive letter of the system reserved partition. However, there is no system reserved partition showing in disk management. My boot drive is a Samsung SSD, divided into a 232 Gb system drive and a 483 Mb recovery partition. Other suggestions included deleting most of the entries in the path environment variable, which had no effect.

I did a repair reinstall of 1909, then tried to update again, with the same result. I thought maybe the problem was unique to 2004, so I tried updating directly to 20H2 using the Update Assistant. However, it seems that this process first updates to 2004 then applies the updates for 20H2, so the same error came up. At this point I can’t see a route to updating to any version higher than 1909. I really don’t want to do a clean install. Is there anything else I can try?

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You should wait until v2004 is offered to you by Windows Update.
Microsoft still has blocks on many drivers. And there are other problems. v20H2has the same core as v2004, so many of the same problems. See the Known and Resolved Issues under the version you are on and the later ones..

Also there are problems using an ISO if you have Sept updates or later installed. See this thread.

V1909 is good until May 2021. I would recommend you wait a while longer.

1 user thanked author for this post.

Coldheart9020

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In general, most people are better off waiting until the update is offered via WU. If you wish to try something else, first make a complete backup of your system. Then try downloading the portable version of Ccleaner from CCleaner Portable 5.74.8134. It has a conservative registry cleaner. Run it to analyze your registry first. Then examine what it reports and decide if you need to remove anything. Remember to be very careful about messing with the registry. If you decide to run a scan and are unsure about something in the results, post back here and ask.

--Joe

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Thanks for the info. I was trying not to fall too far behind in updates, after reading a couple of weeks ago that it was OK to do the 2004 update. Otherwise I’m in no hurry, so I’ll do as you suggest and wait until it’s offered by WU.

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RobertG wrote:

Otherwise I’m in no hurry, so I’ll do as you suggest and wait until it’s offered by WU.

You can check if Microsoft “thinks” 2004 is compatible with your current setting by setting ‘Target Release Version‘ to 2004 via registry hack (take full backup of the registry first)
You can leave the setting even after the upgrade to 2004 until you are ready to 20H2.

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We found a simple (depends on physical access to battery) solution that has worked on at least 4 (Dell Latitude E5450) laptops, that failed upgrading from W10 20H2 to 21H2. (Registry contains invalid file paths error.)

Remove AC power from the laptop.
Access the battery and disconnect it or remove it.
Hold down the power button for >=11 seconds. (May not be necessary but the time to do this allows for circuits to drain.)
Reassemble.
Run your upgrade (update).

As near as we can tell, something (BIOS) preserves some info (like drive letter assignments) that gets reset by removing power.

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Drive letter assignments are stored in Windows (registry) on the boot drive, not the BIOS.

Maybe the machines were not fully shutting down (Fast Start) and the power down resets them. The alternative method is to tell Windows to Restart instead of Shut down.

cheers, Paul

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