A few days ago, I attempted to install my Windows updates, but one failed. After complaining about the update not being accepted, it would ask you to restart your computer, where it would proudly proclaim that you have an update pending… ad infinitum. It apparently did the same for many others, including Paul Thurrott (who voiced his concerns on Twitter).

Some day (of silence) later, and a workaround has been voiced. As far as I can tell, it was originally discovered by a member of the community, but an Engineering General Manager at Microsoft suggested that Paul Thurrott try it, even though the GM's official workaround was slightly different.

Long story short, here are the steps:

  1. Go to Add or Remove Programs.
  2. Go to View installed updates.
  3. Search for KB3019269 and uninstall it. Do not restart.
  4. Search for KB3018943 and uninstall it. Do not restart.
  5. Search for KB3016725 and uninstall it. Do not restart.
  6. Search for KB3016656 and uninstall it. Restart your computer.
  7. Run Windows Update and install whatever it tells you to.
  8. I needed to do Step 7 twice.
  9. Reboot a second time.

When I did this procedure, Windows Update complained about a failed update. Retrying it, without rebooting, was successful however. If you experienced this problem, be prepared for a potential false error – the fix might have still been successful.

This was actually the second update to fail in the exact same way, the first being a Windows Defender patch from the initial Technical Preview release. That time, the problem went away when Microsoft released a new build and I updated to it. The same probably would be true when Microsoft replaces Build 9879 with whatever they have upcoming, albeit that is at least a month away. As far as I can tell, not a whole lot has changed.

Again, this is pre-release software. I will not knock Microsoft for it, especially since the update procedure is one of the key points of focus for the entire Technical Preview. The occasional failure is to be somewhat expected.