How to Fix: Windows 10 Upgrade Failed Error C1900208

Infopackets Reader Paul S. writes:

" Dear Dennis,

I tried to install Windows 10, but it failed with error code C1900208 (I did it through the 'get windows 10' app). I tried again a few times, and it still gives me error C1900208, 'Installation Status: failed'. I checked my Windows Update history for error C1900208, and see that it failed 3 times in a row. I have no idea why this is happening but I'd really like to upgrade to Windows 10. I have Norton 360 and I read that antivirus may be conflicting with the Windows 10 install. Any ideas? "

My response:

From what I've read online, the Windows 10 Upgrade failed error code C1900208 has to do with a corrupt Windows Update service, and most likely nothing to do with antivirus settings. If you believe it is your antivirus that is causing the error, you can temporarily disable the antivirus program before you attempt the Windows 10 install, then re-enable it afterward. That said, based on what I've read, antivirus (for the most part) should not be an issue.

As for how to fix error C1900208, you have two options:

1. You can attempt to fix the Windows Update service and essentially force Windows 10 to reinitiate the download, or
    
2. You can bypass the Windows Update service altogether and use the Windows 10 Media Creation Tool.

For all intents and purposes, I believe option #2 is the easiest method as the Windows Update service should effectively correct itself with a Windows 10 install. Important: you will need to run the Windows 10 upgrade from within an existing Windows environment in order to get the free upgrade to Windows 10, otherwise you won't get the free upgrade. In other words, don't create install media, reboot, and then do a 'clean install', because this will NOT get you a free upgrade to Windows 10. After your in-place install is completed, your system will be registered with Microsoft permanently and you can perform a clean install if you wish.

How to Fix: Windows 10 Upgrade Failed Error C1900208

With that said, here's how to fix Windows Update error C1900208 using the Media Creation Tool.

Please note that there are two ways you can use this tool: either you can download the Windows 10 install files directly to the hard drive (assuming you have enough space; roughly 8GB required), or you can download the install files onto a USB thumb drive or DVD if you plan on installing Windows 10 on more than 1 PC in the home.

In either case, you will need to collect some information about your computer so you download the correct Media Tool program and install media (if you're downloading onto USB or DVD).

To do so:

1. Open up an Administrative Command prompt: click Start and type in "cmd" (no quotes) without pressing Enter on the keyboard; wait for CMD.EXE or "Command Prompt" to appear in the list and then right click it and "Run as Administrator".
    
2. Using your mouse, highlight all the text below:
   
   systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"System Locale" /C:"System Type"
    
3. Now, right click over top of the highlighted text above, and select Copy from the dialogue menu.
    
4. Go back to the command prompt you opened in Step #1 and right click on an empty area of the window. A dialogue menu should appear; select Paste, then press Enter on the keyboard to execute. You will see something similar to the following output:
   
   OS Name: Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate
   System Type: x64-based PC
   System Locale: en-us;English (United States)
    
5. Now it's time to download the Windows 10 Media Creation Tool. Depending on your "System Type" as identified in the previous step, you will want either the 32-bit Media Tool or the 64-bit Media tool.
    
6. Run the windows 10 Media Creation Tool you downloaded and a purple window will appear with two options: "Upgrade this PC Now" or "Create installation media for another PC".
   
   If you choose "Upgrade this PC Now," it will download the installation files directly to your hard drive and begin the Windows 10 installation. If you choose "Create installation media for another PC," it will allow you create either a USB thumb drive or DVD with install media.
   
   On the proceeding page, ensure that you select the SAME language as your System Locale (as output in Step #4), otherwise you may encounter the dreaded "Something happened" error message and it will abort. For the "Edition" option, choose either Windows 10 Home or Pro*, and for "Architecture" select "both", then click next.
   
   On the proceeding page, select USB flash drive (if you have at least an 8GB flash drive), or ISO if you want to burn it to DVD; an 8GB DVD will be required if you are burning both 32-bit and 64-bit architectures; otherwise choose one or the other and use a 4.7GB DVD which are more common.
   
   * You can choose Windows 10 Home or Pro depending on which version of Windows you are upgrading from; please refer to this article as it explains the upgrade paths. If you are upgrading to both Home and Pro on different systems, then you will need to create two different install media as there is no option to create "Home and Pro" - only one or the other.
    
7. If you did not choose USB in the previous step, then you will be downloading an .ISO file; you will need to then burn the .ISO to DVD or USB if you desire. Note that you cannot burn the .ISO file as a data disc; it must be burned as an ISO disc.
   
   For this, please download CD Burner XP and refer to this document which explains how to burn an ISO. If you want to write the .ISO to USB, use Rufus.
    
8. IMPORTANT: once the install media has been created, run the setup.exe from the USB drive or DVD disc. This will perform an in-place install of Windows 10 within your existing Windows environment. This method will ensure that you receive and retain your free Windows 10 license. After that you can perform a clean install if you wish.

If all of this is over your head and you need help, you can contact me for remote desktop support and I will connect to your system and do it for you.

Hope that helps!

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About the author: Dennis Faas is the owner and operator of Infopackets.com. With over 30 years of computing experience, Dennis' areas of expertise are a broad range and include PC hardware, Microsoft Windows, Linux, network administration, and virtualization. Dennis holds a Bachelors degree in Computer Science (1999) and has authored 6 books on the topics of MS Windows and PC Security. If you like the advice you received on this page, please up-vote / Like this page and share it with friends. For technical support inquiries, Dennis can be reached via Live chat online this site using the Zopim Chat service (currently located at the bottom left of the screen); optionally, you can contact Dennis through the website contact form.