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Error installing Windows because Users or Program Files folder redirected to another partition

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Symptoms

When you try to install Windows 10, you get one of the following errors, and the installation rolls back to your previous version of Windows:

Windows 10 installation failed

Error code 0x80070004

When you download and install Windows 8.1, you receive one of the following error messages:

Something happened and the Windows 8.1 couldn't be installed. Please try again. Error Code: 0xc1900102


Can't update to Windows 8.1

Sorry, it looks like this PC can't run Windows 8.1. This might be because the Users or Program Files folder is being redirected to another partition.

Something happened and the Windows 8.1 couldn't be installed. Please try again. Error code: 0x80070004

You may also observe the following error in the Event Viewer:

Installation Failure: Windows failed install the following update with error 0x80070004: %language% ESD Bundle Parent.

In the previous error, "%language%" represents the language of the update, such as "English ESD Bundle Parent."


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Cause

This issue may occur if one or more of the following conditions are true:

In Windows 10 and Windows 8 or 8.1:
  • The "Users" directory was relocated from the default location on the "%systemdrive%" drive (the drive that contains the Windows directory). 
  • User profiles are not located in the default location.
In Windows 8 or 8.1:

  • The "Program Files" directory is not located on the system drive.
  • The "Program Files (x86)" directory is not located on the system drive.
  • The "ProgramData" directory was relocated from the default location on the "%systemdrive%" drive (the drive that contains the Windows directory).         
Note If you have relocated the ProgramData or Program Files and upgrade to Windows 10, install will succeed, but you will not have any of your apps. For more information on that issue, see Knowledge Base article 3086105.

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Resolution

To upgrade your version of Windows, you can make a backup of your files, and then reset or re-install Windows. Relocation of the "Users," "ProgramData," or "Program Files" directory is not supported in Windows.

Backup information:

Reset and Restore information:



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More Information

When installing Windows 10, you can also receive error code 0x80070004 if you’re trying to upgrade and your computer has a reserved name. For more information about that issue, see Knowledge Base article 3086101.For more information about the Microsoft policy on relocating the "Users" and "ProgramData" directories, see Knowledge Base article: 

949977 Relocation of the Users directory and the ProgramData directory to a disk drive other than the disk drive that contains the Windows directory in Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, and later operating systems

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Keywords: kbprb, kbexpertiseinter, kbsurveynew, kb

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Article Info
Article ID : 2876597
Revision : 1
Created on : 1/7/2017
Published on : 8/4/2015
Exists online : False
Views : 324