Windows 11 upgrade failed? These are my 4 most powerful troubleshooting secrets

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When Windows decides that it is not interested in fulfilling an upgrade, it can be unhealthy from madness, spitting error code and cryptic messages that experts can also scratch their heads.

Also: How to upgrade your ‘inconsistent’ Windows 10 PC to Windows 11 – for free

This can be with a routine Windows 11 feature update, but it is particularly disappointing when you are trying to install Windows 11 on an old PC before the Windows 10 support ends.

Over the years, I have practiced a lot with such things, including hundreds of email sessions with readers, trying to find out why their upgrade is not working. The troubleshooting process can sometimes be tiring, but usually an answer.

1. Check for missing updates, especially firmware

I have heard from many readers who faced issues with upgrading, which were solved after tracking some important drivers and firmware/BIOS updates.

Also: Microsoft said that these 400 readers cannot upgrade to Windows 11. They did it anyway

This is particularly useful advice if you are working with an old PC. They can often solve all types of problems – large and small.

2. Look at known issues

Doing this is always a good idea First You start the upgrade. But if you forget that step, the second best time is when you participate in an error message while upgrading.

Microsoft holds a list of issues known for each of its major updates Windows release information dashboardExpand each entry on the left to see the list of issues known and solved for the supported release of Windows.

Also: Can’t upgrade your Windows 10 PC? You have 5 options – and only weeks to work

The issues known in the first few months after the release of a new feature update is likely to appear the most. Inconsistency with software and hardware can lead the microsoft to impose temporary compatibility blocks for the system with those special configurations (known as “security holds).

You may be able to bypass any one of these blocks by uninstalling an update or inconsistent program, or you want to avoid that update until the blocked problem is solved. You will find an outstanding discussion of issues involved with security this pageAlthough it is about a distinctive security personnel hold as nominal, it suggests four options that it is universal.

3. Try again!

It dangerly “Have you tried to reboot?” But this trick has worked many times that it cannot be ignored.

First, check the Windows update for your currently established version of Windows. If an update is pending, install them and restart before continuing.

Also: How to get free Windows 10 security updates through October 2026: Two methods

Next, temporarily uninstall any unnecessary software that may be on the way. Pay special attention to low-level system tools such as antivirus software, disc management equipment, and so on. In the case of antivirus software, you may need to download a device from the developer to completely remove the program.

Discise all non-essential peripheral devices, especially exterior hard drives and USB flash drives, which you are not to use to run the setup.

After doing all that, restart your PC and try to upgrade again. On the initial page, click “How to change the setup update,”, then “Click” not now. ,

If it does not go to shake things, it is time to break big guns.

4. Use SetupdiG tool to track an error

Windows makes detailed log files every time an upgrade attempt. Those logs are not designed to be decoded only by the mortal, which is why Microsoft created a clinical utility for you to do that work.

Setupdiag detects those log files and inspects them, then uses a set of rules to create a readable report that flags the most potential cause of failure. To get that report you will need to run some commands from the terminal window, but the process is not difficult and the result is worth the effort. Here is how to use it.

1. Download the program from here: https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=870142,

2. C: Create a folder called \ Setupdiag and copy the setupdiag.

3. Next, open an elevated command prompt window. Start, Click Type Chairman and managing directorAnd then click the run as an administrator. In that command prompt window, type CD C: \ Setupdiag And press Enter to switch to the folder you make

4. Run command Setupdiag.exe /output: c: \ setupdag_results.logThe output of that command is a plain text file that is saved in the same folder as the program file. As your final stage, the app opens the result file in the notepad, allowing you to check its output and find out what to do next.

Do not expect plain-English advice, but the result, especially any error code, should be useful input for any discovery to identify others, which had only one issue.

Here is a sample from a setupdiag log. A reader has recently sent me.

The final item on that page usually identifies the error. In this case, it is a “sudden down-level failure”, which means that something went wrong in the source OS, the target OS got even before the setup. Error code, 0XC1900209, listed in, This detailed support document: “The user has chosen to cancel because the system does not pass the compat scan to install the update.”

The fix setup was to update and tell drivers not to download; After making that change, the upgrade was completed without error. Once the Windows 11 was established, necessary updates were installed without any problem.

You will get full instructions to use Setupdiag this page,

Note: This article was originally published in 2020 and the Windows 10 upgrade issues were covered. It was fully written to cover the Windows 11 upgrade scenarios and was reinstated in September 2025.