Windows 10 Setup thinks it's booted from installation media

[MathuSum Mut]

This has been happening for all Windows 10 Setup builds. Windows Setup will not let me upgrade my build (currently 11082) without losing my apps. I always get this message right after I click "Upgrade":

The computer started using the Windows installation media. Remove the installation media and restart your computer so that Windows starts normally. Then, insert the installation media and restart the upgrade. (Do not select "Custom (advanced)" to perform an upgrade. "Custom (advanced)" installs a new copy of Windows and deletes your programs and settings.)

I have tried opening setup from flash drives, tried in C:\, you name it I tried it, but every time I open setup (I even tried the setup.exe found in the sources folder), it refuses to upgrade due to it thinking "the computer started using the Windows installation media".

Note: The same installation files from the same flash drive worked to upgrade my laptop's Windows 10 build (which was also at build 11082), so I know the files in the installation folder are legit.

Here are some screenshots:

1. I get this when I open setup.exe only on my PC:
   
   
   
   
2. It then asks me for a key:
   
   
   
   
3. Then after agreeing to the Windows license policy and clicking on "Upgrade", I get the error which I wrote above.
   
   
   
   
   

I have fixed the partitioning to match the Microsoft recommended specification, and I have even tried booting the installation from another PC, but to no avail.

Here is my setupact.log: http://pastebin.com/2WMe30Kn

SetupErr.log: http://pastebin.com/bZAHMvJg

Closely related: Bootrec.exe can't find the Windows installation even though Windows boots fine every time, System Restore can't find the installation either, and Windows Setup won't upgrade because it thinks it booted from installation media, as shown below:

(Disk Manager is open to show that partitioning is UEFI and Microsoft-specification compliant).

Due to the fact that all of the above operations are not working as intended due to a similar error (ie. missing Windows installation), one would logically assume that the root of the setup problem and all these problems is a common ground that needs to be addressed:

How would I go about convincing Windows that it is installed hence being able to upgrade my version?

 

[Regedit32]

Hi MathuSum,

The images you posted are splash screens you'd expect to see were you attempting to do a Clean Install of the Windows 10 OS. However, your question is pertaining to simply upgrading the existing Windows 10 OS to the current build.

As Windows 10 all ready exists on your system you can do an in-Place upgrade which will either:

• reinstall Windows 10 over the top of current version if you all ready have latest build, or
• upgrade current Windows 10 build to the latest build, that being Version 1511, Build 10586.318

To do this you first need to download the Windows 10 ISO. This can be obtained from Microsoft's Techbench website: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/techbench

• On this page scroll down and do the following:
  • Select the edition you want, then click Confirm.
    Note: Based on information you have supplied I'd recommend you choose the first option in drop down menu: Windows 10

• Next select the product language you want, then click Confirm.
  Note: This will become your main language for System upon installation of Windows 10, and can be changed later or modified later by installing additional language packs.

• Finally, click on the correct architecture download for your System. Either 32-bit or 64-bit.
  Note: If you are not sure simply click Start > Settings > System > in left pane click About. This will display information about your System including the System type which will say whether your System type is 32 or 64-bit.

• Once you have downloaded the ISO file, open the folder you saved this to and locate your download.
  • If you have a lot of downloads in folder use the search box to locate by typing 1511 into the search field.
• Right-click on the ISO and select Mount
  • After a few seconds the image will mount and display its contents.
  • Click on the setup.exe to begin an in-Place upgrade
    
    For a guide of splash screens you will see during this process and what to click go here:
    
    https://neosmart.net/wiki/windows-10-repair-installation/
    
    Scroll down page to the article: Windows 10 repair installation

Note: To download the ISO then do an in-Place upgrade will take a minimum of 45 minutes, and up to 1 hour, 45 minutes depending on your download speeds and the number of windows updates you require during the installation process.

The ISO download is in excess of 3GB's so make sure you won't exceed your ISP's data cap before downloading.

During the installation you will be downloading windows updates also. Subject to how many you need this will also require a fair amount of data usage.

Make sure you have plenty of free space on your computer as this process requires creating a temporary directory which will be used during the in-Place install and that could grow to 2GB+ in size. If you have insufficient space on your System you will end up with a corrupt install.

Make sure you do this at a time you are certain your ISP will not disconnect you, and obviously at a time you can commit to sitting at machine doing the install.

Do not turn off computer part way through the in-Place upgrade.

Do not avoid checking for Windows update during the in-Place upgrade process. It is an option but I recommend you commit do doing this during the install. Trying to save time now will only cause you grief later.

Regards,

Regedit32

 

[MathuSum Mut]

I do not blame you for thinking that I am unknowledgeable enough to click the "Custom" button instead of the big "Upgrade" button. Those screenshots indeed appear when I click "Upgrade", and it is unique to my PC, I have never seen any Windows 10 installation behaving like so before, I presume you never have either.

 

[Trouble]

I presume you never have either.

I certainly haven't.
The only thing I can think of that might possibly be behaving in this manner is if you are trying to perform an upgrade of a different bit version.
A 32 bit install with 64 bit media or a 64 bit install with 32 bit media, although I would think that the messages would be slightly different.

 

[MathuSum Mut]

64-bit to 64-bit, happens when I try to upgrade to any build.

New stuff:

C:\Windows\system32>dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth

Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool
Version: 10.0.11082.1000


Error: 50

DISM does not support servicing Windows PE with the /Online option.

The DISM log file can be found at C:\Windows\Logs\DISM\dism.log

It thinks it's in Windows PE mode smh...

 

[Trouble]

will not let me upgrade my build (currently 11082)

That build number looks like a very early Redstone Preview build, if not the first.
Do you currently have your setting configured to continue to receive insider builds?
IF so have you tried upgrading your install through Windows Update.
IF not have you "stopped" receiving insider builds.

 

[MathuSum Mut]

Windows Update has no hope of working at all, and signing in simply crashes any metro app including settings...

The only reason I have not done a clean install is to try to understand what is the cause of these very interesting errors and attempt to fix them as practice.

 

[Saltgrass]

I have been following this to see if I could pick anything up that might help. But I need some info so could you confirm your current install is a working, activated version of the Insider builds?

You say it asks for a key ... what is your response to that request?

Since you obviously set up the drive configuration yourself could you expound on how exactly the install came to be? For instance, did you upgrade from an earlier version of the preview or did you upgrade over a prior OS?

And lastly, use the command below in an administrative command prompt which will create a text file on your desktop and zip and attach. Copy and paste the command if you prefer.

bcdedit /enum all > %userprofile%\Desktop\bcdtext.txt

Just a note, bootrec finds all installs of Windows except the current one.

 

[MathuSum Mut]

1. It used to be activated, but now from about a week ago it shows "Unable to reach Windows activation servers", but I tried the upgrade for months yet the issue persists.
2. When setup asks for a key I tried two things, first I tried clicking "I don't have a product key", but the installation would not continue due to "booted from installation media". Then I restarted setup and entered a key that worked online, but still "booted from installation media".
3. The installation was indeed upgraded from a previous build, the number of which I have long forgotten.
4. bcdtext.txt -> http://pastebin.com/4q93XpJy
5. Bootrec.exe did not work even when run from a bootable DVD I have for the same build of Windows 10.

 

[Saltgrass]

First, Bootrec did work.

It will take me some time to go through your listing so I won't be able to get back until late this afternoon. But for the time being, could your remove all the media you seem to have in your system such as DVD media and possibly a flash drive. You also have network locations listed first in the Firmware Boot Manger. Could you disable that in the bios so it won't try to go online...to boot? You might also check your boot device priority and make sure the Windows Boot Manger is set as first priority.

Your Windows Boot Loader is missing several lines so you have modified them which is one reason I asked how you current install came to be. Maybe this has something to do with your current situation.

Check back later....

 

[MathuSum Mut]

When it comes to media, I have tried all possible combinations of everything and the same errors prevail, so we can rule physical or network media out of the equation. When it comes to the BCD missing lines, I would very much like to know which lines may be missing. The BCD has been deleted and recreated several times using bcdboot.exe, so I'm curious to know what configuration might be missing or is incorrect/corrupt.

 

[Saltgrass]

I was wondering if you have bootable media in the drives mentioned. If you do perhaps removing the media would clear up some issues.

Bcdboot is a good utility for placing initial boot files. If you already have those you might try another utility which is Bootrec.exe /RebuildBCD.

Some differences I have seen are shown below. I cannot verify which entries are actually required but I would try to keep all entries which seem important.

You do not have any recovery options so I do not know if you have your system set up for that. I notice you do not show a recovery partition.

The GUID numbers are completely install specific so yours will be different. But some things, like BootMenuPolicy, may be important.

Yours ...

Windows Boot Manager
--------------------
identifier {bootmgr}
device partition=\Device\HarddiskVolume1
path \EFI\Microsoft\Boot\bootmgfw.efi
description Windows Boot Manager
locale en-US
default {current}
resumeobject {4c1ef01f-0497-11e6-8586-806e6f6e6963}
displayorder {current}
timeout 5
displaybootmenu No

Windows Boot Loader
-------------------
identifier {current}
device partition=C:
path \Windows\system32\winload.efi
description Windows 10
locale en-US
osdevice partition=C:
systemroot \Windows
resumeobject {4c1ef01f-0497-11e6-8586-806e6f6e6963}
bootmenupolicy Standard

Mine....

Windows Boot Manager
--------------------
identifier {bootmgr}
device partition=\Device\HarddiskVolume1
path \EFI\MICROSOFT\BOOT\BOOTMGFW.EFI
description Windows Boot Manager
locale en-US
inherit {globalsettings}
default {current}
resumeobject {bb36a329-76d9-11e5-96e3-74e6e2e2cafe}
displayorder {current}
toolsdisplayorder {memdiag}
timeout 30


Windows Boot Loader
-------------------
identifier {current}
device partition=C:
path \WINDOWS\system32\winload.efi
description Windows 10
locale en-US
inherit {bootloadersettings}
recoverysequence {bb36a32b-76d9-11e5-96e3-74e6e2e2cafe}
recoveryenabled Yes
isolatedcontext Yes
allowedinmemorysettings 0x15000075
osdevice partition=C:
systemroot \WINDOWS
resumeobject {bb36a329-76d9-11e5-96e3-74e6e2e2cafe}
nx OptIn
bootmenupolicy Standard

 

[Saltgrass]

Another thing I noticed which is a little peculiar is your Boot loader show Windows 10 Pro as a description. The Resume entry refers to something with a description of Windows 10 Pro Insider Preview. Mine shows Windows Resume Application as the description of the Resume section.

I don't know if that would mess up the install and give the "booting from install media" message but something strange seems to be going on.

It might be about time for you to start over and install what you need to be able to progress with the Insider program normally.

 

[MathuSum Mut]

It is definitely time to reinstall Windows.

Bootrec.exe always says "Total identified Windows installations: 0" even when booted from installation media, so bootrec is no help on this machine, and I do have a recovery partition, it's located at the end of the drive (831MB), and in Disk Manager it is in fact marked as "Healthy (Recovery Partition)". The fact that it is not appearing in the BCD is strange.

 

[Saltgrass]

Bootrec.exe always says "Total identified Windows installations: 0"

As I mentioned earlier, Bootrec will only list installs not already contained in the BCD Store. So, on your system as well as mine, 0 is the correct response...........

Bcdboot says it is supposed to replace the current BCD store with a new one. All it does is use the template in the Windows directory to set up the new BCD store. That should get you booting and set the basic requirements. It will not usually set up the Recovery options but you don't have those anyway.

Running the bootrec /RebuildBCD command may rebuild the recovery options if they are available. You may be able to set the recovery options if you know their location (path) by using the Reagentc command.

REAGENTC.EXE <command> <arguments>

The following commands can be specified:

/info - Displays Windows RE and system reset configuration
information.
/setreimage - Sets the location of the custom Windows RE image.
/enable - Enables Windows RE.
/disable - Disables Windows RE.
/boottore - Configures the system to start Windows RE next time the
system starts up.
/setosimage - Sets the location of the recovery image used by system
reset.
/setbootshelllink - Adds an entry to the Reset and Restore page in the boot
menu.

For more information about these commands and their arguments, type
REAGENTC.EXE <command> /?.

Examples:
REAGENTC.EXE /setreimage /?
REAGENTC.EXE /disable /?

 

[MathuSum Mut]

Oh I didn't know that bootrec only lists installations not in the BCD. One thing worth mentioning though is that recovery options already are working, I can go to Settings -> Update & Security -> Recovery -> Advanced Startup and options are listed just fine, so recovery options are already in check.

 

[Saltgrass]

So, you are confirming if you use the Recovery path options you can reboot your system and allow you access to the Advanced Startup options such as the Command prompt? And I do want you to actually boot into the command prompt using those options.

If that were to be the case then possibly this is where the Install Media message is coming from. If the recovery entries are not in the BCD store the system has no way to know where the Winre.wim image is so something else must be going on.

Would you please open an Administrative command prompt and type the command below. Copy and paste the results.

reagentc /info

I asked previously about the UEFI listings in your boot manager. Do you have any media available either on your network or flash drive or media in your DVD drive which might be a copy of the install media?

 

[MathuSum Mut]

1. Yes, I can boot into command prompt using those options.
2.
Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.11082]
(c) 2016 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

C:\Windows\system32>reagentc /info
REAGENTC.EXE: A target Windows installation must be specified.

C:\Windows\system32>

Dammit not you too ...

3. I do have installation media in my drawer, but it's not connected to the PC.

 

[JADE.I.AM]

Hi

Have you found a solution to this problem? I am having the same problem and I cannot figure it out

 

[MathuSum Mut]

Unfortunately there is no solution for it, had to reinstall Windows, damn shame...