Windows – Update to Windows 10 version 1709 is stuck, how can I fix it

anti-viruswindowswindows 10windows update

I have a Windows 10 Pro laptop that has been trying to download Win10 version 1709 for days and it's stuck at the same point… no amount of rebooting, tweaking or waiting has helped.

The first thing I did to solve the problem was running Windows update troubleshooter and let it repair all the problems it found. However, that didn't help.

Windows update troubleshooter output

Before I ask my question, let me review the history of how I installed Windows 10 Pro in case it helps resolving this issue.

Background

After I installed Windows 10 Pro from OEI DVD, I immediately installed Symantec Endpoint Protection version 14 before I let Windows 10 download all updates. In retrospect, that might have been a mistake.

During all the subsequent Windows updates, Windows 10 version 1709 kept complaining that it's incompatible with SEP. I thought to myself, "no problem I'll just uninstall SEP". This seems to be a known problem with SEP and Win10 version 1709.

Following the instructions from the aforementioned link, I uninstalled Symantec Endpoint Protection AV and ran Symantec cleanwipe. I also went through the registry with regedit and removed anything that mentioned Symantec. Nevertheless, Windows 10 update to 1709 still complains about SEP blocking the installation.

"uninstalled" SEP still blocks Win10 version 1709

Questions:

As far as I can tell, SEP is gone, but Win10 still thinks it's there. I know I could completely blow away my existing Window10 pro install and start from scratch, but…

  • Is there any way I can repair this situation such that the M$ update to Win10 Pro version 1709 installs completely without reformatting my disk and reinstalling Windows 10 from DVD?

  • Can anyone explain how Win10 detects that SEP is installed?

Final Resolution

Using harrymc's answer, I found the following "compatibility" entry in C:\$WINDOWS.~BT\Sources\Panther\setupact.log:

  • 2018-02-03 09:13:00, Info CONX Compatibility scan data is saved to C:\$WINDOWS.~BT\Sources\Panther\CompatData_2018_02_03_09_13_00_3_006f0018.xml.

Then, I looked in C:\$WINDOWS.~BT\Sources\Panther\CompatData_2018_02_03_09_13_00_3_006f0018.xml and found it complaining about ccsvchst.exe and smc.exe with a status of "UpgradeBlockUntilUpdate":

-<Programs>
-<Program IconId="ccsvchst.exe|377a807e1c2e3158" Id="" Name="Symantec Endpoint Protection">
<CompatibilityInfo BlockingType="Hard" StatusDetail="UpgradeBlockUntilUpdate"/>
<Action Name="ManualUninstall" ResolveState="NotRun" DisplayStyle="Text"/>
</Program>


-<Program IconId="ccsvchst.exe|b7034d2fb095d417" Id="" Name="Symantec Endpoint Protection">
<CompatibilityInfo BlockingType="Hard" StatusDetail="UpgradeBlockUntilUpdate"/>
<Action Name="ManualUninstall" ResolveState="NotRun" DisplayStyle="Text"/>
</Program>
-<Program IconId="smc.exe|81dfa2be67368af5" Id="" Name="Symantec Endpoint Protection">
<CompatibilityInfo BlockingType="Hard" StatusDetail="UpgradeBlockUntilUpdate"/>

<Action Name="ManualUninstall" ResolveState="NotRun" DisplayStyle="Text"/>

</Program>

Those files were in one of my download folders where I extracted my SEP installer. After deleting that folder, Win 10 version 1709 installed correctly

Best Answer

Windows 10 setup for build 1709 has a built-in file compatibility scanner that scans all local drives.

It is entirely capable of driving you nuts by finding some remnant file of SEP somewhere on some drive, even though you have truly, really, deleted it from Windows itself.

To find out which files are blocking the installation, have a look at the following two files:

  • C:\$WINDOWS.~BT\Sources\Panther\setupact.log
    Lists the files which triggered the application compatibility error

  • :\$WINDOWS.~BT\Sources\Panther\_APPRAISER_HumanReadable.xml
    Lists the locations where the files were found.

Delete the problematic folders and the problem should be solved.

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