[SOLVED] Unable to update my system or drivers due to ERROR 0x800703f1

[Lariko]

Greetings,


For quite a while, my C:/ drive was running with about 1% space left, later i've found out that the whatsapp desktop app was taking arround 35GB from my storage and deleted it right away, lol.
Meanwhile, everytime i've wanted to install a GPU driver update or anything that would require the C:/ , i've messed around with the %temp%, %appdata% and %programdata% folders, hoping to delete some useless files and get some storage space out of it.

I'm afraid that i might have screwed something up. Since yesterday, i've been trying to install the Nvidia app, to no sucess at all, it just give me a message in the lines of "unable to install due to error 0x800703f1".
Searching, i've found out that this error code is related to the windows update feature, that indeed, isn't working as intended. Everytime i try to install the Nvidia thing or the "2025-03 cumulative update Windows 10 Version 22H2 for operational systems based on x64 (KB5053606)" (roughly translated from PTBR) it just gives me the same error.



I've tried to use the problemshooting function, been running sfc /scannow and the DISM commands all day, to no avail.
I have tried to use the quickfix from the Auslogic Troubleshooter, no sucess to be found there

I've also tried the commands to stop the windows update from running, deleting the contents inside the SoftwareDistribution folder, renaming the folder with .old at the end (alongside with another one which is inside system 32) and nothing seems to work.

Everytime i try to use the windows update feature, it downloads the updates and put they on "pending" state, waiting for me to restart the PC.
When i restart the machine, it just says "unable to apply update, restoring changes" and starts up "normal", with the problem persisting.

I've also used the w10 media tool to create one w10 iso to do an inplace upgrade, but i can't mount the ISO, and the machine won't let me install WinCDEmu due to some driver issue.

i don't know if that's related, but i've read in a microsoft help thread that when doing these fixes, you should unplug every device from your pc, with the exception of mouse and keyboard.
I've disconnected my keyboard by accident, thinking that i was unplugging some speakers. When i plugged the keyboard back, the pc gave me a driver error message and the damn thing stopped working until i've plugged it on a different USB port.

I would be immensely grateful if somene could help me out here

My regards,
Lariko.

 

[Lariko]

the files i got from using the Farbar Recovery Tool Scan

 

[Maxstar]

Hi and welcome to Sysnative,

Upload your DRIVERS Hive

• Navigate to C:\Windows\System32\config and locate the DRIVERS file.
• Please copy this file to your desktop.
• Note: If you receive an error that this file is in-use, simply reboot your computer and try again.
• Right-click on this file on your desktop and select Send To > Compressed (zipped) folder. This will create a file named DRIVERS.ZIP on your desktop.
• If the file is too large to upload here, upload the file to www.wetransfer.com and post the link in your next reply.

 

[Lariko]

here's the drivers.zip

 

[Maxstar]

Replace Drivers Hive Manually

Warning: this fix is specific to the user in this thread. No one else should follow these instructions as it may cause more harm than good. If you are after assistance, please start a thread of your own.

1. Download DRIVERS.ZIP and save to your desktop.
2. Right-click on it and select Extract all.... Make sure the "Show extracted files when complete" is checked and click Extract.
3. Now we have the DRIVERS file that we will be using to replace your current one.
4. Navigate to C:\Windows\System32\config
5. Right-click on the current DRIVERS file and select rename. Rename it to DRIVERS.bad.
   Note: If you get an error that the file is in use, reboot your computer and then try again.
6. Take the file from the Drivers folder on your desktop and paste it into C:\Windows\System32\config

Afterwards reboot the system and attempt to update. If it fails attach the latest CBS logs and the following logfile.

Upload the setupapi.dev.log file

• Open Windows Explorer and browse to the C:\Windows\INF folder.
• Right-click on the file setupapi.dev.log and choose Send to > Compressed (zipped) folder.
• Now the message will appear, "Windows cannot create the Compressed (zipped) Folder here. Do you want it to be placed on the desktop instead?"
• Click on the Yes button here.

• Attach the file setupapi.dev.zip in your next reply.

 

[Lariko]

Tried to update, restarted the pc and some progress was made, the update rolled up to 7% and restarted, instead of just restarting right away.
Sadly, it still doesn't work, but now it gives me a different error code, which is " Error 0x80070003 "
Tried to use the windows troubleshooter, but it didn't find anything

 

[Maxstar]

Please do the following.

Warning: This fix was written specifically for this system. Do not run this fix on another system.

• Save any work you have open, and close all programs.
• Download the attachment SFCFix.zip and save it to your desktop.
• Drag the SFCFix.zip file over the SFCFix.exe executable and release it.

• SFCFix will launch, let it complete.
• Once done, a file will appear on your desktop, called SFCFix.txt.
• Post the logfile (SFCFix.txt) as attachment in your next reply.

Afterwards attempt to update again. If it fails attach a new copy of the CBS logs and the Setupapi.dev.log.

 

[Lariko]

Thanks a lot, it worked.

Im really grateful, most certainly will be doing a donation to the forum in the near future, really appreciate the work done here!

 

[Maxstar]

You're welcome. Glad to hear the issue has been resolved and thanks for considering a donation to Sysnative.