We couldn't update the system reserved partition

[JohnH]

I have tried several times to install the trial version and now the RTM version of Windows 10 Pro and keep getting the following message:
"We couldn't update the system reserved partition"

I have Windows 7 installed on a 500 GB SSD (Samsung 840 EVO) on a custom built computer.
Disk Management shows as follows for the disk partitioning:

Disk 3
Data, 100 MB NTFS Healthy (System, Active, Primary Partition)
C: 456.25 GB NTFS Healthy (Boot, Page File, Crash Dump, Primary Partition)
H: System Reserved: 9.41GB NTFS Healthy (Primary Partition)

My data is on a separate conventional HDD. My preference would be to wipe the SSD clean and start from scratch with Windows 10 Pro, having the OS install as it would on an initial installation on a new SSD on a new computer.

One last wrinkle:
My copy of Windows 7 was a free copy downloaded from MSDN Academic Alliance. It appears that such copies of Windows do not qualify for a free upgrade to Windows 10. (Strange that pirated copies apparently get free upgrades but not genuine copies from MSDN Academic Alliance). I do have a Windows Insider Product Key. Will that work to install Windows 10 Release Version, or do I need to buy Windows 10?

 

[Robert Nelson]

I have the same problem and going from windows 7 to 10 . Is the solution to format and start fresh?

 

[Diablo2122]

have you guys tried http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

 

[JohnH]

have you guys tried http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

Yes. That was the first thing I tried.

 

[rudyk2evy]

Pretty much same problem. Automatic download/install indicates Win10 not yet ready for my PC and that I will be advised when it is ready. Manual attempt to install ends with "couldn't update system reserved partition." I assigned a drive letter to the reserved partition and looked inside. Seems to be empty. Tried to install Win10 again but with the drive letter assigned in order to make the partition accessible. No joy! (Samsung 840, 500Gig SSD, Intel board & chip, Lots of ram & new Win10 driver for graphics card installed)

 

[rudyk2evy]

Turns out the problem can be resolved by changing the attributes of the Reserved System Partition which appears on Samsung SSD's. The solution is posted on Reddit. I can't post a link because I don't have an account yet but I've gone through the routine on my machine using the manual Win10 install option. Remarkably thorough transfer of settings.

 

[Henry Minute]

I had this problem and it was caused by the system reserved partition having insufficient free space. In my case this was because the NTFS log file had grown enormous. I reduced it's size using ChkDsk by following the relevant parts from this post ( http://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/1...-system-reserved-partition-error/?p=595944605 ). It is a bit complicated and some parts didn't work as stated on my system but the chkdsk bits resolved the issue.

Of course, once I had solved that one I got a different error, although the downloading and install worked up until the first restart, but that's life in the wonderful world of Windows.

BTW My HD is a Samsung SSD too so I suspect that this procedure will work for previous poster too.

 

[rudyk2evy]

I guess I wasn't clear in my earlier post. Plenty of room in my system reserved partition. Problem was in the attributes for the partition. They can be changed (attrib -h -s -r bootmgr). The full, detailed procedure is quite long but is clearly posted on Reddit. I've registered but still don't see any way to post a direct link to the solution. A quick search for the poster Mister Kurtz should do it.