Since the original version of Windows 11 (21H2) became available in late 2021, and especially since my post on how to do so on\u00a0unsupported hardware<\/a>, I\u2019ve received numerous requests for help overcoming a wide range of Windows 11 upgrade errors, particularly those with cryptic messages.<\/p>\n This post offers easy-to-follow tips to help you handle those annoying situations.<\/p>\n Dong\u2019s note:<\/strong> I first published this piece on August 13, 2024, and updated it on December 16, 2025, to add additional tips.<\/em><\/p>\n Related Stories on Microsoft Windows<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Some error messages encountered during the upgrade from Windows 10 to Windows 11, or from a previous OS release (e.g., from build 21H2 to 23H2), can be frustratingly vague. Here are some notorious examples:<\/p>\n Sometimes, these messages are accompanied by an error code; other times, they are not. In most cases, none of them provides an indication of what to do, and you may blame the Setup program itself or suspect that the ISO image you downloaded is faulty or corrupted.<\/p>\n Rest assured, more often than not, it\u2019s your computer that has\u00a0unknown<\/em>\u00a0software issues preventing<\/span> the Windows 11 upgrade process from functioning as intended.<\/p>\n Below are some solutions I\u2019ve used, including the simple (A) and advanced (B) tricks. They will likely rectify the situation.<\/p>\n \u201cLikely\u201d because there\u2019s a chance none of them will work. In that case, your only option is to go nuclear, which is the last resort option (C) mentioned below.<\/p>\n Before we continue, make sure you back up your computer. I\u2019d recommend creating an image of the entire system<\/a>. However, the rule is that any backup is better than no backup at all, and it never hurts to make multiple backups of different types.<\/p>\n Make sure you\u2019ve made backups before continuing<\/strong>. Some methods below can cause you to lose data currently stored on your computer. Consider yourself warned!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n These are tips you can do without making intrusive changes to your computer.<\/p>\n Windows 11 requires 64-bit hardware. If your computer is running Windows 10 32-bit (which is rare), you first need to convert it to 64-bit. To do that, back up your data and install Windows 10 from scratch. This post on the topic<\/a> will help.<\/p>\n Next, make sure the computer\u2019s operating system (the Windows<\/strong> folder) is on the C:<\/strong> drive. If you have used another drive letter, that can be an issue in itself. In this case, go nuclear<\/a> instead. This drive also requires at least 30GB of free space. If it\u2019s low, clean up your drive or move your data to another location first. Or\u00a0if you need a new, larger drive, here\u2019s the guide to\u00a0upgrading<\/a><\/span> it<\/a>.<\/p>\n If you choose to use the ISOs for unsupported hardware<\/a> and<\/em> want to retain your current data, settings, and software, the computer must use English (US) as its display language. Here are the steps to convert a non-English (US) machine to English (US) and vice versa:<\/p>\n (*)<\/sup> To ensure the system is perceived as using English (US), check Windows\u2019 registry and, if necessary, manually change some particular values, then restart your computer. Specifically, run Registry Editor<\/strong> (search for it in the Start Menu), then copy the registry keys shown below and paste them, one after another, in the editor\u2019s address bar (below the menu bar) as shown in the screenshots.<\/p>\n Here are the following software programs you should remove\/disable:<\/p>\n Once you\u2019ve removed these software applications, restart the computer and try the Windows 11 upgrade again.<\/p>\n Some third-party services may prevent the upgrade from running successfully. To eliminate that possibility, you can boot the system using only Microsoft services during the Windows 11 upgrade process. Here are the steps:<\/p>\n Now, restart <\/em>your computer and try the Windows 11 upgrade process again. You can repeat the steps above, but use the \u201cEnable all\u201d button at step #4 to restore all these services after <\/em>the Windows 11 upgrade process or whenever you want.<\/p>\n Run Windows Update and update your system to the latest patches, including all optional updates, which can be accessed in the \u201cAdvanced options\u201d.<\/p>\n Additionally, run the Windows Update troubleshooters to ensure there are no issues. Here\u2019s how:<\/p>\n After that, run Windows Update one more time. Once there are no more updates, it\u2019s time to try the Windows 11 upgrade process again.<\/p>\n These tips require you to remove data or make significant changes to the system. Most of these changes are safe to do. Still, note that you\u2019re here because you have already backed up your computer, as mentioned above.<\/p>\n Often, the computer has erroneous update information that prevents the upgrade from working correctly. In this case, removing all existing Windows Update-related data will fix the issue. To do that, you need to remove the content of the two following folders on the computer:<\/p>\n Unfortunately, that\u2019s not as easy as removing any other folder since these two are protected system folders.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s how:<\/p>\n How to open an elevated Command Prompt<\/p>\n<\/summary>\n Steps to open an elevated (or admin) Command Prompt:<\/p>\n If you do that correctly, you\u2019ll see what\u2019s shown in the screenshot below.<\/p>\n That\u2019s it. You can start the Windows 11 upgrade process now, without needing to restart your computer.<\/p>\n These are additional items that can be removed or repaired to make sure the computer is free of errors.<\/p>\n Run the following command using an elevated command prompt window (mentioned above). You can copy and paste each command into the window and press Enter after each:<\/p>\n And that\u2019s it. Now, restart your computer and try the upgrade process again. It should work.<\/p>\n Oftentimes, upgrading to Windows 11 using a domain-connected account can cause issues. In this case, sign in with a non-domain admin account to perform the upgrade.<\/p>\n Additionally, if the computer has dormant or user accounts with errors, that can also stall the upgrade process. In this case, it\u2019s best to clean up the user account settings and the registry. Here are the steps (as shown in the screenshot above):<\/p>\n![\"Windows](\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/dongknows.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/We-cant-tell-if-you-PC-is-ready-to-continue-installing-Windows-11.-Try-restarting-Setup.png?ssl=1\" "\\"Windows")
![\"Sorry,](\"https:\/\/dongknows.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Sorry-were-having-trouble-determining-if-your-PC-can-run-Windows-11.-Please-close-Setup-and-try-again-error.jpg\" "\\"Windows")
<\/div>Upgrading to Windows 11 fails: The cryptic error messages and possible solutions<\/h2>\n
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A. Windows 11 Upgrade fails: The simple housekeeping tips<\/h3>\n
I. Make sure the computer runs Windows 64-bit, and its main drive has enough free space<\/h4>\n
II. Consider the English (US) language for unsupported hardware<\/h4>\n
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Computer\\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\SYSTEM\\CurrentControlSet\\Control\\Nls\\Language<\/code><\/pre>\n\n
Computer\\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\SYSTEM\\CurrentControlSet\\Control\\Nls\\Locale<\/code><\/pre>\n![\"Windows](\"https:\/\/dongknows.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Windows-11-upgrade-language-default.jpg\" "\\"Windows")
![\"Windows](\"https:\/\/dongknows.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Windows-11-upgrade-locale-registry-default.jpg\" "\\"Windows")
<\/div>III. Remove specific third-party software<\/h4>\n
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IV. Turn off non-Microsoft services<\/h4>\n
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msconfig<\/code><\/pre>\n\n
![\"Steps](\"https:\/\/dongknows.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Steps-to-disable-all-non-Microsoft-services-in-Windows.png\" "\\"Windows")
V. Make Windows Update up to snuff<\/h4>\n
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Troubleshot settings<\/code><\/pre>\n\n
![\"Windows](\"https:\/\/dongknows.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Windows-troubleshoot.jpg\" "\\"Windows")
![\"Windows](\"https:\/\/dongknows.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Windows-Update-troubleshooter.jpg\" "\\"Windows")
<\/div>\n<\/figure>\nB. Windows 11 Upgrade fails: The advanced tips<\/h3>\n
VI. Completely remove Windows Update\u2019s existing data<\/h4>\n
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cmd<\/code><\/pre>\n\n
![\"How](\"https:\/\/dongknows.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/How-to-run-Elevated-Command-Prompt-in-Windows-768x1024.jpg\" "\\"Windows")
\n
net stop bits\nnet stop wuauserv\nnet stop appidsvc\nnet stop cryptsvc\nrmdir C:\\Windows\\SoftwareDistribution \/s \/q\nrmdir C:\\Windows\\System32\\catroot2 \/s \/q\nnet start bits\nnet start wuauserv\nnet start appidsvc<\/code><\/pre>\n![\"Commands](\"https:\/\/dongknows.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Commands-to-remove-Windows-Update-data.png\" "\\"Windows")
VII. Remove or repair problematic registry settings and files<\/h4>\n
reg delete \"HKLM\\SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Windows NT\\CurrentVersion\\Image File Execution Options\\vdsldr.exe\" \/f<\/code><\/pre>\nreg delete \"HKLM\\SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Windows NT\\CurrentVersion\\Image File Execution Options\\setuphost.exe\" \/f<\/code><\/pre>\nsfc \/scanfile=C:\\Windows\\System32\\vdsldr.exe<\/code><\/pre>\nreg delete \"HKLM\\SOFTWARE\\Policies\\Microsoft\\Windows\\WindowsUpdate\" \/v \"DisableWUfBSafeguards\" \/f<\/code><\/pre>\nrmdir C:\\$WINDOWS.~BT \/s \/q<\/code><\/pre>\nVIII: Fix user account-related issues<\/h4>\n
![\"Windows](\"https:\/\/dongknows.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Windows-11-upgrade-user-accounts.jpg\" "\\"Windows")
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Computer\\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Windows NT\\CurrentVersion\\ProfileList<\/code><\/pre>\n
![\"Steps](\"https:\/\/dongknows.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Steps-to-reset-the-PC-981x1024.jpg\" "\\"Windows")