Feature update to windows 10 version 21H2 stuck at preparing to install

Finally, Microsoft has started the Automatic rollout process of Windows 10 version 21H2 for everyone. And all Devices automatically upgrade to Recent windows 10 November 2021 Update via windows update. The company says Windows 10 21H2 is a minor feature update, delivered by way of an enablement package and quicker to install for windows 10 version 2004 and 20H2. Well for older devices running 1909 or 1903 it’s a full package take time to download and install. Overall the upgrade process is pretty smooth But a few number users experience, windows 10 version 21H2 stuck download or preparing to install.

Windows 10 version 21H2 stuck

There are several things, Which cause the installation to Stuck, hang or fail. It may be corrupted system files, Security software, Not enough Disk Space, corrupted update cache files, pending updates, the speed of your internet connection etc. If you are to upgrade to windows 10 version 21H2, but you find yourself stuck in the middle of the process. Here we have 5 Effective solutions to help to fix windows 10 Upgrade Problems.

Windows 10 feature update 21H2 stuck downloading

• Before performing any solution first Make sure you have Enough free Disk space to download and install the upgrade (32 GB free space For 32 bit and 32 GB free space for 64-bit windows).
• Install the latest updated antivirus software and Perform A full system Scan, To make sure there is any virus, malware not causing the issue. Again Try to Disable the Security Software and perform the Upgrade process.
• If there are any USB devices (like printers, USB flash drives, etc.) connected to your PC, you can try removing it from your PC.
• Make sure you have a stable internet connection, and it does not disconnect while downloading the updates.
• Start windows clean boot state and check for updates, which fix the problem if any third-party service conflict causing the update installation problem.

Run Windows Update Troubleshooter

To Fix Most Of the Windows update Related problems, Microsoft Has an official Windows Update Troubleshooting Tool Which helps to find and fix the problems which cause to installation and upgrade of windows. Also this tool can be helpful to fix some commonly seen windows update error codes: 0x80073712, 0x800705B4, 0x80004005, 0x8024402F, 0x80070002, 0x80070643, 0x80070003, 0x8024200B, 0x80070422, 0x80070020, and others. Before performing any other solutions we recommend Run the tool and let windows to fix the problem itself.

First, download the Tool from the given link, And run this as administrator.

1. Or you can use the inbuilt tool from Settings Update And Security, click on Troubleshooting
2. select option Windows update and click Run the troubleshooter.
3. This will scan for the problems prevent windows update to install properly And try to fix them itself.
4. Restart Windows after completing the troubleshooting process.
5. And again check for updates from settings, update & Security and check for updates.

Reset Update Components

If Windows Update Troubleshooting Tool fails to fix the issue Then Try to Clear the update components. This is the most applicable solution Fix update installation, Windows upgrade stuck, Fail with Different Errors etc.

Note: Updates Store on Software Distribution and Catroot2 Folder. Due to any reason if any files on these folders get corrupted, missing you may face update installation / Upgrade stuck or fails with different error codes. 

To clear the update component first we need to stop some windows update related services.

• Press Windows + R, type services.msc and hit the enter key.
• On Windows Services Scroll down and look for windows update service Right-click on it and select stop.
• Again Look for Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS) Right-click and select Stop.

Following steps clear windows update cache

• Open file explorer using Windows key + E  and navigate C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\download.
• Delete all files and folders inside the download folder (Don’t delete the download folder itself) To do this by press the ctrl key + A to select all and hit the del key on the keyboard.
• Note: Don’t worry about these files, these are update cache files. When you next time check for windows updates this will download a fresh copy from the Microsoft server.

Again Open Windows Services and Start Services Which you stopped before. Simply Right-click on Windows Update service and select Start again Right click on Background Intelligent Transfer Service select start.

Now Check for updates, hope this time you get Upgrade to windows 10 1809 successfully.

Run DISM command to fix frozen Windows Update

Corrupted system files, damaged OS files also can cause Different problems while Upgrade to a new Windows version. If after reset update components still windows 10 upgrade stuck for you then you need to run System File Checker (SFC) combined with the Deployment Servicing and Management (DISM) tool in Command Prompt to repair damaged system files,

Repair image files with DISM

• Open the command prompt as administrator,
• type command DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth and press enter key,
• DISM will connect to the Windows Update servers to download and replace any damaged files in the local image for Windows 10

Run system file checker

• Open the command prompt as administrator,
• Type command sfc /scannow and press enter key
• This will scan your device and repair any system files using the good files from the local image to restore the health of Windows 10

You only have to wait until 100% complete the scanning process.

If you still notice feature update to Windows 10 version 21H2 stuck downloading Try to Upgrade Windows 10 November 2021 update using the Media Creation Tool.

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