Full Fix: ‘Something Happened’ Error in Windows 10, 8.1 and 7

While upgrading to Windows 10, sometimes you might get “Something happened” error message that will cause your Windows 10 installation to fail. Fortunately for you, we have several solutions available that will help you.

How to Fix Something Happened Windows 10 Errors?

Something happened message can appear in various situations, and users reported the following problems related to this message:

Windows 10 Media Creation Tool there was a problem running this tool – This is a problem that can appear with Media Creation Tool. If you encounter this problem, be sure to try some of our solutions.
Something happened Windows 10 installation failed – If Windows 10 installation fails due to this error, the problem might be your system locale. Just change your locale to English and check if that solves the problem.
Windows 10 Something happened and we couldn’t install a feature – Several users reported this message on their PC. If this problem occurs, you might be able to fix it simply by running Windows Update Troubleshooter.
Something happened Windows 10 0x20016 – This is another variation of this error. If you encounter this error code, you need to check if the necessary services are running.
Something happened while installing Windows 10 – Sometimes you can encounter this error message due to lack of space on your partition. To fix that, be sure to free up some space and run the installation again.
Windows 10 create bootable USB something happened – Several users reported this problem while creating a bootable USB drive. This can be caused by your antivirus, so you might have to disable it temporarily.
Something happened Windows 10 Media Creation Tool – This problem can appear while using Media Creation Tool. To fix the issue, you need to run the tool with administrative privileges.

Fix – Something happened error when upgrading to Windows 10

Solution 1 – Make sure that you’re using Administrator account

When upgrading to Windows 10 you’ll have to use Administrator account or else you might get Something happened message. In addition, make sure that you’re running Media Creation Tool as administrator. To do that, follow these instructions:

Find Media Creation Tool .exe file and right click it.
Choose Run as administrator from the menu.

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Solution 2 – Disable or uninstall your antivirus software

Antivirus software can sometimes cause issues if you’re upgrading to Windows 10, so it’s advised that you disable it. If your antivirus is disabled but you still get Something happened message, try uninstalling your antivirus. Keep in mind that removing your antivirus can make your system vulnerable, so you should consider switching to a different antivirus solution.

Currently the best antivirus applications on the market are Bitdefender and BullGuard, so if you’re looking for a new antivirus, be sure to consider these tools.

Solution 3 – Make sure that you’re having enough space

If you’re encountering Something happened error message on your PC, the problem might be related to the lack of storage space. Sometimes updates won’t have enough space to install, and that will cause this error to appear.

To fix the issue, you need to free up some space on your system partition. You can do that manually, but you can also use Disk Cleanup tool to quickly free up some space. Disk Cleanup is simple and useful tool, but if you need more features, we advise you to use CCleaner to free up space on your hard drive.

Several users reported that cleaning up their system partition fixed the problem for them, so be sure to try that.

Solution 4 – Make sure that certain services are running

Something happened message can appear when certain services aren’t running, so you’ll need to enable them. To do that, follow these steps:

In the Search bar type Services and choose Services from the list of results.
When Services window opens, search for the following services:
- Automatic Updates OR Windows Update
- Background Intelligent Transfer Service
- Server
- Workstation
- TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper
- IKE and AuthIP IPsec Keying Modules
Find any of the services that we listed and double click it.
Check the Startup type section. Make sure that Startup type is set to Automatic. Next, check the Service status. If it’s not set to Running, click the Start button to start that service. Click Apply and OK to save the changes.
You’ll have to repeat Steps 3 and 4 for all the services that we mentioned in Step 2.
After you’re done, close Services window and restart your computer.

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Solution 5 – Delete SoftwareDistributionDownload folder

If your Windows 10 installation folder is corrupt you might get “Something happened” message, and you will have to delete that folder. You can do that by following these steps:

Go to C:WindowsSoftwareDistributionDownload folder.
Open Command Prompt as administrator. Press Windows Key + X and choose Command Prompt (Admin) from the list.
When Command Prompt starts, type the following:
- net stop wuauserv
Delete everything from C:WindowsSoftwareDistributionDownload folder.
Go back to Command Prompt and run the following code:
- net start wuauserv
- wuauclt.exe /updatenow
Close Command Prompt and go to Control Panel > Windows Update. Now Windows 10 should start downloading again.

Solution 6 – Make sure that your Taskbar is positioned properly

Something happened message can appear if you try to upgrade to Windows 10 while your Taskbar isn’t positioned at the bottom of the screen. This is a rare issue, but in case your Taskbar is moved to any other location, just return it to the bottom of the screen and try updating to Windows 10 again.

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How To Fix – Something happened Windows 10 installation failed

Solution 1 – Change your system locale

Users report that Windows 10 installation failed on their computers due to “Something happened” message. To fix problem it’s advised to change your regional settings. You can do that by following these instructions:

Open Region from Control Panel.
Go to the Administrative tab and click the Change system locale button.
Region Settings window will open. In Current system locale make sure that English (United States) is selected. Click OK to save the changes.
Click Apply and OK to close Region window.
Restart your computer.
Run Media Download Tool and download Windows 10 ISO again.

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Solution 2 – Make sure that you’re using English as your default language

Sometimes you might get Something happened error if you’re using a language pack. To fix this issue, you need to remove all non-English language packs from your PC, and use an English pack instead.

However, several users reported this error while using a variation of English language pack such as en-AU or en-UK. To fix that problem, you need to go to Region & language settings section in Settings app and remove any additional language packs. In addition, be sure that you’re using en-US English pack as the default language.

After making these changes, the error message should be completely resolved.

Fix – Something happened 0x80070002 – 0x20016 error

Solution 1 – Add new DWORD to Registry

Something happened 0x80070002 – 0x20016 error might appear when you’re upgrading to Windows 10, and in order to fix it, you’ll need to add few registry values by following these steps:

Open Registry Editor by pressing Windows Key + R and typing regedit. Press Enter or click OK to open Registry Editor.
In the left pane, go to the following key:
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionWindowsUpdateOSUpgrade
If the key doesn’t exist, you’ll need to create it. To create OSUpgrade key go to the following key and right click it:
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionWindowsUpdate
Choose New > Key and name the newly created key OSUpgrade.
Go to the OSUpgrade key, right click the right pane and from the menu choose New > DWORD (32-bit) Value.
Enter AllowOSUpgrade as the name for the new DWORD.
Double click the AllowOSUpgrade DWORD to open its properties.
Set Value data to 1 and click OK to save the changes.
Close Registry Editor and try running Windows Update again.

Solution 2 – Use Windows Update Troubleshooter

If you’re getting Something happened 0x80070002 – 0x20016” error, you might want to run Windows Update Troubleshooter. If Windows Update Troubleshooter doesn’t work, you’ll need to use Command Prompt to fix this issue:

Start Command Prompt as administrator.
When Command Prompt starts, you need to disable BITS service, the Windows Update service, and the Cryptographic service. To do that, enter the following lines and after each line press Enter:
- net stop bits
- net stop wuauserv
- net stop appidsvc
- net stop cryptsvc
Now you need to rename software distribution backup copies. To do that, enter the following into Command Prompt and press Enter after each line of code:
- Ren %systemroot%SoftwareDistribution SoftwareDistribution.bak
- Ren %systemroot%system32catroot2 catroot2.bak
Now let’s restart BITS service, the Windows Update service, and the Cryptographic service by typing the following commands:
- net start bits
- net start wuauserv
- net start appidsvc
- net start cryptsvc
Restart your PC and try to update to Windows 10 again.

If you’re still having issues on your PC or you simply want to avoid them for the future, we recommend you to download this tool to fix various PC problems, such as errors, file loss, malware and hardware failure.

Something happened error usually appears when you try to update to Windows 10, but as you can see, fixing Something happened error isn’t that hard.

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in February 2016 and has been since completely revamped and updated for freshness, accuracy, and comprehensiveness.

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