Windows 10 Home - can't update the OS

[hikerguy]

Hello,

I'm wanting to upgrade from Win10 Home to Pro, so I went to the start area and entered Update, then clicked "Check for updates". The screen that popped up had a few icons in the upper right-hand corner, one being Windows Update. Below those words I see Attention needed. When I click this icon, NOTHING happens.

I remembered several months ago I was constantly getting nagged to upgrade to Win11. At that time, I had made several recommended registry changes to avoid a forced upgrade, so I went back and deleted all of those registry changes, rebooted, but still have the same issue.

Next, I went to Settings, then searched for "troubleshoot settings". This displayed the Troubleshoot window.

Near the bottom of that page I clicked "Additional troubleshooters". The next window (titled Additional troubleshooter) had a section named Get up and running. Under that section, I click Windows update, then "Run the troubleshooter".

The first time I did this, it said it fixed a problem. I decided to see if things changed on the Windows update window. No change there (i.e. it still showed "Action needed" on the update window), so I rebooted. Still not able to click the Windows Update icon.

Any ideas what else I can look at to fix this problem? I want to make sure my Win10 Home OS is update-to-date before I upgrade to Win10 Pro.

Thanks,

Andy

 

[davehc]

Guessing! From home to pro, money payment is involved. I suspect you are being wrongly directed, but should be on something a little more advanced, referring to how you wish to purchase. Etc..

 

[hikerguy]

I decided to upgrade to Win10 Pro at the suggestion of another post I made. The upgrade went smoother than any upgrade I've ever down (literally 5 minutes and one reboot). HOWEVER, my problem persists. I tried running sfc /scannow and it did find and fixed some issues. The second time I ran sfc, it ran clean. Rebooted, but problem persists. Any other ideas?

Thanks,

Andy

 

[hikerguy]

I ended up downloading, installing and running Windows Update Assistant:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/soft...load/windows10

After it downloaded and applied the updates, I rebooted, but the problem persisted. I then remembered a program I had named "Windows Update Manger (wumgr). I ran that and found two more updates that could be applied (I probably could have seen the same updates using the Update Assistant noted above but I thought I'd try another program at the time). After those two updates were installed and the PC rebooted, I now see things as they should be and can click to Check for Updates. So, I have no idea what really fixed it unless some of the updates made changes to the registry that cleared up some issues.
Thanks for all of your suggestions and advice.

 

[davehc]

As I said, there is no upgrade from home to pro, unless you purchase pro. (maybe you have?)
The action needed probably refers to the activation of pro. Go to settings - accounts and see if that is confirmed.

 

[hikerguy]

Hello, I did purchase Win10 Pro from the Microsoft store, but the problem persisted. Only after applying the updates mentioned above did the problem resolve. Thanks for you input. I appreciate it.

 

[Bighorn]

I have upgraded from Home to Pro by using the Pro keys from Win7 and Win8 that I had gotten when in the Microsoft Partners program. I didn't have to do a re-install, just went to System and changed the Product Key and mostly Windows just activated features that hadn't been in Home.

I won't be doing it again since Microsoft has announced that Win10 Version 22H2 is the last, no more new features and will be only monthly security updates until end of support on Oct. 14, 2025.

 

[OldBit67]

I have Windows 10 Pro 1909 OS Build 18363.1556: I too turned off the automatic "forced" updates. I have to check my notes, but I am confident that I downloaded a handful of KB######### from the Microsoft Catalog. I engaged the Windows Update several instances and I stay in "Windows Update Loop" because then I remembered there is no support for my Win10 Pro OS build, so I stopped my attempts. I found other resources that mentioned Command Mode. After a few attempts, I kept getting "denied because I finally realized that the "Local Administrator" is not the same as "Run as Administrator" in Command Mode. Once I entered Command Mode correctly, I verified that my system image is clean.

Windows Update error (Your device is missing important security and quality fixes) | Microsoft Community Hub

Cant update- Cumulative update preview for windows 10 version 20H2 for x64 - based systems (KB5004296)Any solution?

techcommunity.microsoft.com

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/windows-server/deployment/fix-windows-update-errors

Windows 10 - release information

Learn release information for Windows 10 releases

learn.microsoft.com

Now I am I am trying to discern how to map a path forward to get the Win10 Version 22H2, but I do not think it is possible because they removed the standalone software.

 

[Bighorn]

The download should still be available using the MCT/Media Creation Tool to start the download process. I did just a week ago but there usually is a couple three updates to do after the install.
There's 2 choices here, I use the second to get the downloads:

Download Windows 10

Because I never know which will be needed I get the .iso to use for burning the DVD disc and also let the process create the bootable USB drive.

 

[hikerguy]

My problem resolved on its own somehow. Wish I knew what happened. I haven't had this issue for months now. I did finally upgrade to Win10 Pro, but that was AFTER my problem resolved. I'm currently on V10.0.19045 build 19045

 

[Bighorn]

There's more to the Build number, mine is 19045.3693.

Press the WinKey + R and type winver. Use the whole line that mentions Version.