[SOLVED] Windows 10 21H2 update failure (0x80070246)

[rickatnight11]

My Windows 10 Pro (21H1) machine is failing to update to 21H2.

SFCFix does not detect anything:

SFCFix version 3.0.2.1 by niemiro.
Start time: 2022-01-02 17:03:27.372
Microsoft Windows 10 Build 19043 - amd64
Not using a script file.


AutoAnalysis::
SUMMARY: No corruptions were detected.
AutoAnalysis:: directive completed successfully.

Successfully processed all directives.

Failed to generate a complete zip file. Upload aborted.

SFCFix version 3.0.2.1 by niemiro has completed.
Currently storing 0 datablocks.
Finish time: 2022-01-02 17:10:05.626
----------------------EOF-----------------------

Attaching CBS.zip, as instructed. Thanks in advance for any assistance!

 

[bruce1270]

Hi, welcome to sysnative

Please do the following.

Retrieve Components Hive
1. Navigate to C:\Windows\System32\Config and locate the COMPONENTS file.
2. 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.
3. Right-click on this file on your desktop and select Send To...Compressed (zipped) folder. This will create a file named COMPONENTS.ZIP on your desktop.
4. The file will likely be too large to upload here so please upload to a file sharing service. Examples of services to upload to are Dropbox or OneDrive or SendSpace and then just provide the link in your reply.

 

[rickatnight11]

Thanks for the quick response! Please find the compressed COMPONENTS file here:

COMPONENTS.zip

 

[bruce1270]

Hi

Please do the following.

Step 1 - Replace Components 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 COMPONENTS.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 COMPONENTS file that we will be using to replace your current one.
4. Navigate to C:\Windows\System32\config
5. Right-click on the current COMPONENTS file and select rename. Rename it to COMPONENTS.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 Components folder on your desktop and paste it into C:\Windows\System32\config

Once this has been done retry windows update and attach CBS log if it fails.

 

[rickatnight11]

That worked! The updates applied after replacing the *COMPONENTS* file! Thanks so much for the help. Out of interest, what was the problem, and how did you solve it?

 

[bruce1270]

That’s great news and glad we could help.

There was a registry key which was corrupt and needed replaced.

If no further issues I’ll mark the thread as solved.

Thanks

 

[rickatnight11]

Gotcha! How could I have detected and fixed this, myself? How does this sort of thing happen?

 

[bruce1270]

Hi

Were trained here to check logs for errors and use our knowledge and tools provided to help us identify and fix the issue.

This from your log identified that there was a corrupt registry key(s) that needed tracking down.

2022-01-02 17:13:38, Info                  CBS    Exec: Processing complete.  Session: 30933029_3527563880, Package: Package_for_KB5003791~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~~19041.1237.1.3, Identifier: KB5003791 [HRESULT = 0x80070246 - ERROR_ILLEGAL_CHARACTER]
2022-01-02 17:13:38, Error                 CBS    Failed to perform operation.  [HRESULT = 0x80070246 - ERROR_ILLEGAL_CHARACTER]

This was the offending key that contained the corrupt value and required fixing.

==== Corrupt Value Data ====
Key:    ROOT\CanonicalData\Deployments\dual_mdmpp.inf_31bf3856ad364e35_10.0.19041.1_60331e09278c587f
Value:    i!CBS_microsoft-windows-client-desktop-required-package0110~31bf38_9681b0d111f062d8
Type:    RegBinary
Data:    �       Micr�"�t-WIndows-Client-Desktop-Required-Package0110~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~~10.0.19041.1320.D2B05CF626CE10B10F42D2EED39E43F3962512EE9D01CB82805BEC73356A7E59

As to how it happens - it could be a number of factors - hardware failing/issue; memory/RAM issues; power outage or simply a borked update to name a few.

 

[rickatnight11]

That totally makes sense. The log was so long with so many repeating values, I gave up trying to sift signal from the noise. I should have thought to search for that error code specifically.

Thanks again!