Windows

Windows Update error 0x80246017 continues to plague users

Windows Update error 0x80246017 continues to plague users

If you have set up a test system with a preview build of Microsoft's Windows 10 operating system, you may have encountered the update error 0x80246017 before.

I encountered the error yesterday when I tried to to download the newest build on Fast Ring, 10122. Instead of downloading and installing the build, Windows Update would display the error message fbl_impressive Professional 10122 - Error 0x80246017 instead.

While there are lots of suggestions on how to resolve the error, none worked in my case. I did modify Registry keys for instance, used Disk Cleanup to delete old Windows installation files, deleted the Windows Update cache and tried various other options like switching from automatic updates to update notifications.

The Registry solution suggests to delete the keys ThresholdInternal and ThresholdOptedIn under Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WindowsSelfHost\Applicability and make sure that the key ThresholdRiskLevel  is set to low.

It seems to be a wider issue, as it has been confirmed by Gabriel Aul, Microsoft General Manager OSG Data and Fundamentals team, on Twitter.

None worked. To make matters worse, even a refresh or reset of the system did not resolve the update issue

The only thing that did work was to download an ISO image of the latest build and use it to install it on the computer.

Issues like this one may not be uncommon in pre-release software but it could become highly problematic if not resolved before Windows 10 hits RTM.

Microsoft announced some time ago how it plans to deliver updates for the various editions of Windows 10. Updates are likely enforced in some editions which could become a huge issue if errors block systems from receiving those updates especially if Microsoft will make it difficult to obtain those updates elsewhere.

This is for instance the case right now. If Microsoft would have released an ISO image of the Windows 10 Preview build 10122 to the public, it could be used by testers who run into the issue. Since it is not available officially, testers either have to wait for Microsoft to release a patch to fix the update issue, or download the ISO from a third-party source instead to use it to update the system to the latest build.

There is not really a lot you can do right now if you are affected by the update error other than download an ISO image or wait for Microsoft to fix the issue on their end.

Now You: Did you run into updating issues on Windows 10 before?

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