IE10 installation problems, code 9C59

Here's the actual error that seems to be causing the failure -

Code:

2014-07-24 10:54:49, Info                  CBS    Exec: Staging Package: Package_3_for_KB2706045~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~~6.1.1.0, Update: 2706045-8_neutral_GDR, PinDeployment: amd64_695c405833e475d1d5937b41a3983d92_31bf3856ad364e35_8.0.7601.17866_none_f28003cc92801a49
2014-07-24 10:54:50, Info                  CBS    Failed to find file: amd64_microsoft-windows-ieinstal_31bf3856ad364e35_10.2.9200.17028_none_66aae4bd01ee201d\ieinstal.exe [HRESULT = 0x80070002 - ERROR_FILE_NOT_FOUND]
2014-07-24 10:54:50, Info                  CBS    Failed to gather all required files. [HRESULT = 0x80070002 - ERROR_FILE_NOT_FOUND]
2014-07-24 10:54:50, Info                  CBS    Failed to gather all missing files for package: Microsoft-Windows-InternetExplorer-Package-TopLevel~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~~10.2.9200.16521 [HRESULT = 0x80070002 - ERROR_FILE_NOT_FOUND]
2014-07-24 10:54:50, Info                  CSI    000002f6@2014/7/23:22:54:50.227 CSI Transaction @0x1970c40 destroyed
2014-07-24 10:54:50, Error                 CBS    Failed to pre- stage package: Microsoft-Windows-InternetExplorer-Package-TopLevel~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~~10.2.9200.16521 [HRESULT = 0x80070002 - ERROR_FILE_NOT_FOUND]
2014-07-24 10:54:50, Info                  CBS    Perf: Stage chain complete.
2014-07-24 10:54:50, Info                  CBS    Failed to stage execution chain. [HRESULT = 0x80070002 - ERROR_FILE_NOT_FOUND]
2014-07-24 10:54:50, Error                 CBS    Failed to process single phase execution. [HRESULT = 0x80070002 - ERROR_FILE_NOT_FOUND]
2014-07-24 10:54:50, Info                  CBS    WER: Generating failure report for package: Microsoft-Windows-InternetExplorer-Package-TopLevel~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~~10.2.9200.16521, status: 0x80070002, failure source: Stage, start state: Resolved, target state: Installed, client id: DISM Package Manager Provider
2014-07-24 10:54:50, Info                  CBS    Failed to query DisableWerReporting flag.  Assuming not set... [HRESULT = 0x80070002 - ERROR_FILE_NOT_FOUND]

There don't appear to be any errors relating to vbscript anywhere in the CBS.log - they must have rolled back into the Persist logs.
Please upload the full CBS folder to a fileshare site such as OneDrive or Dropbox, and post a link.

Please also upload the IE10_Main.log file and the windowsupdate.log file

Here's the initial error from the IE10_MAIN log

Code:

00:37.409: INFO:    Installing with the downloaded package. C:\Windows\TEMP\IE1A9A6.tmp\IE10-neutral.Downloaded.cab
00:37.471: INFO:    Launched package installation: C:\Windows\SysNative\dism.exe /online /add-package /packagepath:C:\Windows\TEMP\IE1A9A6.tmp\IE10-neutral.Downloaded.cab /quiet /norestart
01:02.306: INFO:    Process exit code 0x00000002 (2) [The system cannot find the file specified. ]
01:02.306: ERROR:   Neutral package installation failed (exit code = 0x00000002 (2)).

Was this install done using the standalone installer? - it looks like WU doesn't have any updates to install.

Have you relocated your profile off the C:\ drive, or the TEMP folder?

Check and see if the C:\Windows\TEMP folder is empty - if not, reboot then empty it, and try installing from the standalone.
(I hadn't realised this was a VM server - although I kinda expected the WSUS!)

yes, it's a VM installation... I already deleted all stuff in the C:\Windows\TEMP folder and had a look what happens when I start the stand-alone installer. The mentioned CAB (IE10-neutral.Downloaded.cab) gets properly extracted and I'm also able to open the CAB to browse the files. I tried also to run the DISM command in an elevated command box and it does start for a couple of seconds and then fails with the same error. So it looks to me like the "missing file" is related to the content of the CAB. But how can a file miss in a standard IE10 installer...? A WSUS server is running as well and I added the IE10 update packages, but the installation result is the same.
Add on: have also the problem that I cannot remove IE9, but this could be related to the fact that IE9 update got installed through WSUS and this package seems to be marked as not removable. But the same updates got also on two other servers and these had no issues in updating to IE10. So it's not consistent.

I think what it's actually referring to here is a registry entry, rather than a file - the error code seems to be
0x00000002 rather than what we'd normally expect for a file - 0x80070002.
The DISM log may have more detail - but I have no experience reading them.

I don't really know where to go from here, if I'm honest.

I'll ask someone else to look in and see - if they are back from holiday yet!

Got back last night :)

@asteppat, can you navigate to %windir%\winsxs and upload pending.xml (and similarly named files) please?

(Thanks, Tom - Good holiday?)