Any and all .MSU's fail to install with 0x8000FFFF unexpected error

Zarkith · 25 Jul 2016

What started as Windows Updates hanging, leaking memory, and spiking CPU usage, has now turned into an insane ordeal that after countless hours of troubleshooting I've not been able to pinpoint the source of.
(I fixed the hanging issue by resetting the update components, but that doesn't do a lot of good when they still fail to install anyways)

No matter what KB I'm trying to install, or even non-KB things like C++ redists, I am consistently greeted by an "Update was not installed" message at the ~33% mark, with a 0x8000FFFF error cited as the reason.

sfc /scannow found nothing in need of repair, sans 4 winsxs\mfc90.dll's that have been missing since before I installed SP1 and haven't caused me any issues via their absence in the past.

All that CheckSUR found was an issue with KB2695962, a security fix for Internet Explorer, which not only is unlikely to be the culprit, but is also inconsequential to me as a Chrome user.

Running the Windows Update Troubleshooter told me it had a 0x8005008 error, though after some attempted fixes it seems to now have a 0x80073712 error instead. This error also appeared alongside 0x8000FFFF after attempting to install updates via Windows Updater instead of standalone .msu's
(This was both after I fixed the hanging issue and encountered 0x8000FFFF on its own)

Also worth mentioning, as I'm fairly certain it's related since it started happening at the same time, is that every administrator prompt lists the publisher as Unknown instead of Microsoft.

No amount of searching these error codes has come up with any concrete answers or solutions, so I'm hoping you fine folks here could help me get to the bottom of this.
(Preferably before the 29th, as I've avoided telemetry updates prior to this issue and would like to install Win10 on a separate harddrive while it's still free, but it's really not the end of the world if I miss out)

torchwood · 25 Jul 2016

Welcome Back Zarkith,
Are you going to replace W7 with W10??
If you are follow this tutorial, (upto date W7 not required)
Clean Install Windows 10 Directly without having to Upgrade First - Windows 10 Forums

Roy

Zarkith · 25 Jul 2016

Heya Torchwood! Thanks for choosing to help me out again.

No, I intend to keep Win7 on my machine, use Acronis to copy the image to a second harddrive, and then use that to install Win10 onto. Though I suppose I would technically be replacing Win7 on that other drive. :d

That's only why I wanted to solve this "quickly" though, which I no longer need to thanks to that link.
I still do need to fix my update issues in 7 though, as I intend to continue using it for as long as it's supported by 3rd parties and thensome.

torchwood · 26 Jul 2016

Hi Zarkith,
The easy way.
Once you've copied ALL of your important/required progs/data/files to W10,
COPY THEM to Acronis.
Then clean install W7 using your Retail discs,
TURN OFF updates on install.
STAY WITH UPDATES OFF
Check pre-requsites for SP1 and install via MS catalog.
Install SP1
then KB3172605 then to bring you up to date, its a roll up of update since SP1's release

Roy

Zarkith · 26 Jul 2016

I don't have the retail discs anymore, so I can't do a clean install. I do have a .vhd I made back in February (without Acronis) just before you helped me with my SP1 issue though, which doesn't have this windows update issue present on it.

Ideally I'd like to fix this without reinstalling the OS in case this problem ever arises again, but if that turns out to be the only solution then I suppose I'll start taking stock of what I've added/changed over the past 5 months and back it up. :/

Regardless, I guess I should start installing Win10 on my second drive before the free offer ends and carry on with this afterwards.

torchwood · 26 Jul 2016

As youve got RETAIL, the ISO can be downloaded directly from MS.
I'll carry on lookin at the logs

Roy

torchwood · 26 Jul 2016

SO what did you do/install BETWEEN February and the problem? That includes any hardware changes

Roy

Zarkith · 26 Jul 2016

Mostly just installed steam games and their updates, Overwatch, and MalwareBytes. Hardware hasn't changed at all. Admittedly, I haven't installed any Windows Updates since SP1, but that just makes this more baffling.

At the time that I noticed something was up with Windows Updates (a desktop notification for it popped up that's usually normal, but indicated to me that it somehow had reset or broken or something, which it had at that moment) I was just watching YouTube videos.
I keep automatic updates disabled, but still let it check for updates automatically, so I suppose whatever happened happened between checks, but even then I don't recall doing anything outside of what I've usually been doing each day.

EDIT: Whoops, turns out the .vhd is from another machine, so that option's out of the water.

EDIT2: And now I'm getting pop-ups about windows not being genuine, despite it being quite clearly activated. I'm losing my wits trying to figure out what the hell is even going on with my system right now. Maybe I should just do a repair install and see if that helps with anything?

Zarkith · 28 Jul 2016

I ran sfc and CheckSUR again just in case there's any discrepancies in the logs, as well as MGADiag.

torchwood · 28 Jul 2016

Hi Zarkith,

Looks like your Intel Raid Drivers have become corrupted, update from here, ENU version (last set)
https://downloadcenter.intel.com/Det...?DwnldID=22194

right now that KB, copy/paste the following run using an elevated command
wusa /uninstall /kb:2695962

REBOOT x2

For your ISO download via MS you will need your product key, run this
https://github.com/Superfly-Inc/Show...howKeyPlus.zip
DO NOT POST THE KEY

Running the troubleshooter will reset WU to automatic, change to never for the moment.
rerun Mgadiag.
Did the WUSA report as successfull?

Roy