1. Can't update from Win10 1909 to 20H2 / 2.Can't boot from a Win10 20H2 x64 bootable USB

[connda]

I'm stumped.

Problem 1:

My initial issue was that my Windows 10 Home version 1903 would not update.  Cut to the chase.  After a week of troubleshooting I finally reset the laptop with Windows 10 Recovery option "Reset my PC" with the "keep my files" option.

<Caveat.  I have an Acer Aspire 315-21 with an Insyde Corp version 1.02 Bios with dual core 2.5 ghz CPUs, 4 GB RAM, and an SATA hard-drive.  Updates take anywhere from 6 to 8 hours to complete so it has been a slow process.>

I "Reset my PC" and when it finally finished I had Windows 10 Home version 1909.  The first screen I saw after logging on was a splash screen prompting to upgrade to  Windows 10 Home version 20H2.  I selected the update which took 8 hours to load.  When it completed I logged on and check System Info and I still have Windows 10 Home version 1909 (10,0,18363 build 18363).
I received another prompt to update to 20H2 and did it again.  It took about 6 hours and at the end it was still at  Windows 10 Home version 1909.
I then went to Windows Update.  The 20H2 update was listed in the Featured Updates.  For a third time I tried and this time the Update to Windows 10 20H2 option simply disappeared when I clicked "Update."  That option is no longer listed in Windows Update.  

Problem 2:

While fighting the problem above I also attempted to create a bootable Windows 10 20H2 USB from a Win10_20H2_v2_English_x64.iso.  I've done this using:
Rufus
UUI
Unetbootin
Windows Media Creator
 

Long story short.  
The Acer's Insyde V1.02 Bios in UEFI does not recognize the  Win10_20H2_v2_English_x64 bootable EFI USB.  And I know why: The Bios will not recognize a bootable NTFS partition on the USB.
(according to my reading the UEFI standard only supports booting FAT partitions.  So I'm at a loss how other people can create a bootable NTFS formatted USB from a Win10_20H2_v2_English_x64.iso and get it to successfully boot with their BIOS set to UEFI mode).
Ok - so "You should format with FAT.", you'll say.  
It does not work, and here's why.  FAT has a 4GB limit to file sizes and with the Win10_20H2_v2_English_x64.iso, I get an "Out of disk space" error - because - the "/sources/install.wim" file is 5.0 GB in size and can not be copied to a FAT partition.

However - my original Windows 10 Home version USB that I bought is FAT formatted and contains a total of 7 GB of files, but no file is larger than 3.0 GB.  Hence it works and boots fine.

Summary:
1) Insyde V1.02 will not boot an NTFS partition in UEFI mode
2) Win10_20H2_v2_English_x64.iso can not be extracted to a FAT formatted USB.

If I could get  Win10_20H2_v2_English_x64 installed on a bootable FAT formatted USB which could be booted by the Insyde Bios in UEFI mode, then I could update from that media and fix my original problem by updating to 20H2 (maybe) as I'm also stumped as to why an 20H2 update fails but without any error message???

Tonight I'm going to try extracting the Win10_20H2_v2_English_x64.iso and running the setup.exe in an attempt to update the computer.  Given my lack of success over the last week I'm not optimistic.

* I would download the 20H2 update from Windows Download but I literally con not find the Win10_20H2_v2_English_x64 or the Knowledge Base number for the update - and - it is no longer offered to me in Windows Update as a Featured Update.  If anyone know of a link I'd appreciate it.

This c**p is beyond frustrating. 
 

What I need right now is a workaround because I'm out of ideas.

[Bruno123]

A full model number is more useful than your vague description.  That way we can check for the latest BIOS for your model. If you know it, what is it?

Did you actually try creating the installation drive utilising RUFUS and GPT/UEFI or did you just decide that it would not work?

 

Is Secure Boot available in your BIOS Setup or is it greyed out?

[Eindhoven]

If you are simply running an upgrade install, there is no need to create installation media at all.

 

You can simply download the image and then 'Mount' it and run it directly.

 

https://pureinfotech.com/upgrade-windows-10-mounting-iso-file/

 

Installation media is if you are running a true clean install, deleting partitions or if there is no OS at all.

[Eindhoven]

I strongly suggest, before running any further upgrades to the device, to fix an SSD. Six to eight hours is patently ridiculous.

 

Takes five to ten minutes to swap:

 

 

 

You may even have the option to fit an M.2 2280 SSD additionally. Though I think you don't care about that.

 

 

[Eindhoven]

Cheap stuff: 

https://shopee.co.th/Silicon-Power-128GB-256GB-512GB-เอสเอสดี-A55-SSD-3D-TLC-NAND-SATA-III-2.5-Internal-Solid-State-Drive-3-Years-Warranty-i.219846402.7131212222

HikVision  E100

Crucial BX500

 

Good stuff:

Crucial MX500

https://shopee.co.th/-กรุงเทพฯ-ส่งด่วน-1-ชั่วโมง-Samsung-870-EVO-(-250GB-500GB-)-2.5-นิ้ว-SATA-III-Internal-SSD-i.378878455.8017733746

[connda]

On 4/20/2021 at 5:11 AM, Eindhoven said:

I strongly suggest, before running any further upgrades to the device, to fix an SSD. Six to eight hours is patently ridiculous.

 

Takes five to ten minutes to swap:

 

 

 

You may even have the option to fit an M.2 2280 SSD additionally. Though I think you don't care about that.

 

 

I'll need a tool kit.  Anyone got a recommendation.  I watch a guy at my tech shop remove my SATA drive and it wasn't simple.  The sucker was wedged into the enclosure.  I'm surprised he got it out without damaging it.  He used a small plactic wedge to pry it out. 

[Eindhoven]

4 hours ago, connda said:

I'll need a tool kit.  Anyone got a recommendation.  I watch a guy at my tech shop remove my SATA drive and it wasn't simple.  The sucker was wedged into the enclosure.  I'm surprised he got it out without damaging it.  He used a small plactic wedge to pry it out. 

 

Toolkit? You need a screwdriver or two. 20 baht shop jewellery tool set. No plastic wedge necessary, but it shows that he didn't want to scratch your laptop. The video shows exactly what needs to be done.  It is simple if it's the same model as shown in the video. Likely is.

[bobbin]

My Intel I5 6th gen with 8GB ram failed to upgrade to 20H1 5 times! I had given up and was waiting for a suitable time for the shop to do a clean install.... It would black screen and roll back during the restart after supposedly installing.. The 5th time the prompt to upgrade disappeared. Windows had finally understand that I had a problem (that telemetry thingy that everybody hated about Windows 10 when introduced..)

 

Then one fine morning I had a prompt..20H1 had installed and needed a restart..what the heck..With nothing to lose i pushed restart. And watched in wonder as the percentage got higher and higher. Culminating in a successful install..

 

There is a tech barrier to move from 1909 to 20H1. Drivers. The upgrade to 20H2 was easy and quick because it just activates files already downloaded with 20H1..

 

I actually looking forward to the new one, though apparently a minor one.

 

It upgraded when it installed the files I needed.

 

 

[chrisinth]

Hi Connda, just reading the comments on your thread, here is my tuppence worth (for what it's worth).

 

Comment from @eindhoven: "If you are simply running an upgrade install, there is no need to create installation media at all".

Correct, but an easier path to an upgrade is to go to https://www.microsoft.com/th-th/software-download/windows10 (translate this to English) and download the Update Wizard/Assistant from this link:

This will download Windows10Upgrade9252.exe (run this as Administrator)

 

Comment from @eindhoven: "I strongly suggest, before running any further upgrades to the device, to fix an SSD".

IMO, absolutely correct. There should be no reason to endure any sort of upgrade/install lasting as long as you are experiencing in 2021! With an SSD installed, it will take a fraction of this time for this task and all other tasks you perform.

 

My suggestions would be as follows:

1/ Make sure that you have backed up any data you want to keep (on all partitions). This should include your bookmarks in your browsers, etc if you aren't using a cloud sync system.

2/ Upgrade: as suggested above.

 

3/ Changing from HDD to SSD: You have the choice here to clone your HDD to your new SSD, or to just do a straight changeout and do a clean install to the SSD. If you are cloning, I would suggest using either Macrium Reflect or EaseUS software as these are fairly straigh forward. Just remember to resize your partitions if using different size drives!

 

4/Format and clean install: Go to the same Microsoft site, https://www.microsoft.com/th-th/software-download/windows10 but this time download the creation tool (this will be MediaCreationTool20H2.exe) from this link: 

When the tool has downloaded, run this as Administrator and follow the below snaps to let Microsoft write the USB according to your system. You also have the choice of downloading the ISO file if you wish and make your own USB using Rufus or similar software if you want to modify the ISO or slipstream updates drivers or additional software.

 

Couple of final points Connda on your machine, assuming it is an Aspire 3 A315-31-COA7 (or similar)

 

a/ The BIOS shouldn't be a problem, however it is advisable to update to the latest release if you can.

 

b/ Shortcut keys should be F2 for the BIOS and F12 for the boot menu when you need them.

 

c/ With your laptop shutdown, If you are planning to do a clean install and want to get the boot order correct, plug in the "install USB" you have created, start your laptop and repeatedly press F2 on boot to get into the BIOS. Once the BIOS opens, navigate to the Boot tab and make sure the USB is showing. Using the F5/F6 keys, move the USB to the No.1 position, Save & Exit.

 

d/ If the USB is not showing, make sure secure boot is disabled.

 

e/ If the secure boot option is greyed out, you may have to password protect the BIOS; this is done through the Security tab. Once the BIOS is password protected, this will give you full control of the BIOS. This may not be necessary, but it is a nice tip if ever you have trouble making changes in the future....????   

 

[DPGumbypgh]

You could also just select the first option to Upgrade this PC now and it will install a new version of 20H2 without having to use a usb drive or Iso file. 
i just did this yesterday. Took about 3 hours to complete but worked fine. 

Edited April 26, 2021 by DPGumbypgh

[connda]

On 4/25/2021 at 7:41 PM, chrisinth said:

Couple of final points Connda on your machine, assuming it is an Aspire 3 A315-31-COA7 (or similar)

 

a/ The BIOS shouldn't be a problem, however it is advisable to update to the latest release if you can.

 

b/ Shortcut keys should be F2 for the BIOS and F12 for the boot menu when you need them.

 

c/ With your laptop shutdown, If you are planning to do a clean install and want to get the boot order correct, plug in the "install USB" you have created, start your laptop and repeatedly press F2 on boot to get into the BIOS. Once the BIOS opens, navigate to the Boot tab and make sure the USB is showing. Using the F5/F6 keys, move the USB to the No.1 position, Save & Exit.

 

d/ If the USB is not showing, make sure secure boot is disabled.

 

e/ If the secure boot option is greyed out, you may have to password protect the BIOS; this is done through the Security tab. Once the BIOS is password protected, this will give you full control of the BIOS. This may not be necessary, but it is a nice tip if ever you have trouble making changes in the future....????   

Thanks much for the detailed instructions.  Just as an FYI, I was a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer and technical lead for a Window server farm for a company with about 4000 employees before I retired.  I have 24 years in IT - 16 year of that working on Microsoft products.  I actually have a clue as to what I'm doing.  And in the last month I've done everything that everyone has mentioned plus more.

Being Ex-IT I like a Lessons Learned session for anyone who may have a similar problem in the future:
Epilogue:
I did get WIndows 10 20H2 installed.  On my Linux laptop running a VirtualBox VM. 
And, I'm pretty sure I now know what the primary issue was now too.  It always boiled down to failures during the reboot/restart/power-ups - just like the inability to boot to a USB containing Windows 10 20H2 whether on a FAT partition (Windows 10 Media Creator) or an NFTS partition (Rufus).  But I have about 15 other bootable efi USB that all boot without a problem.  So my SWAG (Scientific Wild-a**ed Guess) is that the Acer/InsydeH20/AMD combination isn't compatible with Windows 10 20H2, as I could upgrade to Win10 Feature upgrade 1909, but 20H2 was a feature too far.  However - with the hardware abstraction that can be accomplished with a VM managers (VirtualBox) it's a different story.  To make a long story short, the InsydeH20 is pre-set for VM optimization.
Ohhhh....s**t!
And stop.  I've just had an epiphany.  I've haven't been able to find much about the configuration setting in the Insyde Bios.  But I just stumbled across a clue.  I could get Win10_20H2 installed in a VM by disabling VM optimization.  In Intel the Bios has a switch like VTx/VTm/IVT or something like that.  In AMD it's VT-x/AMD-V - and the BIOS switch is "SVM" enabled/disabled (Found that clue in a BIOS configuration web-page that didn't even talk about the InsydeH20 v1.2 but a comment about virtualization in an AMD CPU).
So I reboot the Acer and looked at the BIOS.  Sure enough: SVM enabled.
So, disabled it, saved changes, and suddenly I can see all my Win10 20H2 efi USB that were not showing up before in the InsydeH20 Setup Utility under boot order.  I move the USB to the top and rebooted.  The USB is the one created using Windows Media Creator.  That one fits on a FAT (I believe) formatted USB as the installation for the various installations (Home/Pro - x32/x64 reside in the "install.esd" file which is "just" 4GB.  To do a DISM /RestoreHealth that doesn't work /Online, then you need to extract your versions/architecture from the "install.esd" file.  The USB booted, got some text indicating it was firing up the bootx64.efi bootloader but is now displaying the ACER splash-screen.  I kissed it good-night and I'm letting it grind.  If it's extracting the install.esd file it's gonna take awhile.  I'll check it in the morning.

I'm mildly optimistic.  This is more info than I've been working with in the last month of troubleshooting this problem.  I'll try a few more things and write them up, like another update from 1607 to 20H0 (I'll have to check if that's possible).  Gonna call it a night.

[frantick]

Too much noise in this thread, so I'll just throw this out there. May help or may be unrelated. 

 

I couldn't update my laptop successfully until I found an article about incompatible sound card drivers. I disabled the sound card, deleted the drivers, and install succeeded.

 

Good luck whatever your issue.

[chrisinth]

On 5/3/2021 at 11:27 PM, connda said:

Thanks much for the detailed instructions.  Just as an FYI, I was a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer and technical lead for a Window server farm for a company with about 4000 employees before I retired.  I have 24 years in IT - 16 year of that working on Microsoft products.  I actually have a clue as to what I'm doing.  And in the last month I've done everything that everyone has mentioned plus more.

Being Ex-IT I like a Lessons Learned session for anyone who may have a similar problem in the future:
Epilogue:
I did get WIndows 10 20H2 installed.  On my Linux laptop running a VirtualBox VM. 
And, I'm pretty sure I now know what the primary issue was now too.  It always boiled down to failures during the reboot/restart/power-ups - just like the inability to boot to a USB containing Windows 10 20H2 whether on a FAT partition (Windows 10 Media Creator) or an NFTS partition (Rufus).  But I have about 15 other bootable efi USB that all boot without a problem.  So my SWAG (Scientific Wild-a**ed Guess) is that the Acer/InsydeH20/AMD combination isn't compatible with Windows 10 20H2, as I could upgrade to Win10 Feature upgrade 1909, but 20H2 was a feature too far.  However - with the hardware abstraction that can be accomplished with a VM managers (VirtualBox) it's a different story.  To make a long story short, the InsydeH20 is pre-set for VM optimization.
Ohhhh....s**t!
And stop.  I've just had an epiphany.  I've haven't been able to find much about the configuration setting in the Insyde Bios.  But I just stumbled across a clue.  I could get Win10_20H2 installed in a VM by disabling VM optimization.  In Intel the Bios has a switch like VTx/VTm/IVT or something like that.  In AMD it's VT-x/AMD-V - and the BIOS switch is "SVM" enabled/disabled (Found that clue in a BIOS configuration web-page that didn't even talk about the InsydeH20 v1.2 but a comment about virtualization in an AMD CPU).
So I reboot the Acer and looked at the BIOS.  Sure enough: SVM enabled.
So, disabled it, saved changes, and suddenly I can see all my Win10 20H2 efi USB that were not showing up before in the InsydeH20 Setup Utility under boot order.  I move the USB to the top and rebooted.  The USB is the one created using Windows Media Creator.  That one fits on a FAT (I believe) formatted USB as the installation for the various installations (Home/Pro - x32/x64 reside in the "install.esd" file which is "just" 4GB.  To do a DISM /RestoreHealth that doesn't work /Online, then you need to extract your versions/architecture from the "install.esd" file.  The USB booted, got some text indicating it was firing up the bootx64.efi bootloader but is now displaying the ACER splash-screen.  I kissed it good-night and I'm letting it grind.  If it's extracting the install.esd file it's gonna take awhile.  I'll check it in the morning.

I'm mildly optimistic.  This is more info than I've been working with in the last month of troubleshooting this problem.  I'll try a few more things and write them up, like another update from 1607 to 20H0 (I'll have to check if that's possible).  Gonna call it a night.

Glad to see you are making some progress with this. I assume you are doing (or at least trying to) a clean install?

One other thing you could try is to convert your install.esd to install.wim from your installation media and try it that way. Get rid of the versions you don't need as well. DISM is your go-to command path for the convert (or any numerous third party tools if you want to go that way). Whereas I haven't had an Intel/AMD issue (that I recognized) when doing a clean install, I have found that going back to .wim sometimes works. Another adventure you could try.

Edited May 6, 2021 by chrisinth

[Bruno123]

2 hours ago, chrisinth said:

Glad to see you are making some progress with this. I assume you are doing (or at least trying to) a clean install?

One other thing you could try is to convert your install.esd to install.wim from your installation media and try it that way. Get rid of the versions you don't need as well. DISM is your go-to command path for the convert (or any numerous third party tools if you want to go that way). Whereas I haven't had an Intel/AMD issue (that I recognized) when doing a clean install, I have found that going back to .wim sometimes works. Another adventure you could try.

 

All waaay too complicated for a relatively simple issue. It's what happens when you decide to cherry pick advice according to the person you dislike the least.

 

No need to convert anything when it's quicker to download(if one has a fast connection) and to create suitable media without taking the long way around converting using DISM and creating.

 

The other will insist that they are doing a clean install when they clearly are not. 

Birds of a feather..

These are jobs that are normally completed in a day. There is clearly no understanding that the size of the image is immaterial when choosing the correct options with Rufus. 

 

Either way, now that he has figured out how to see his installation media, it should be plain sailing for now on.....but you never know...