Don't clone your hard drive if you want to avoid error 0x80004005

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windows 10 error 0X80004005

Quite a few Windows 10 users encountered error 0x80004005 when attempting to upgrade from version 1803 to version 1809 and even to the latest Windows 10 version, which is the May 2019 Update.

The OP reports the following on the Microsoft forum:

Have been attempting to upgrade from OS 1803 to 1809 but repeatedly fails at the end and rolls back to 1803. I’ve tried various proposed solutions from the web but none have, so far, succeeded.

Everything fails, so where’s the problem?

As you can see, the problem is very serious and the user could not find a solution on the web.

An independent advisor proposes resetting Windows Update in this way:

1. Type Powershell in Windows search bar
2. Right click on Powershell
3. Click on Run as Administrator 
4. Type :

  • net stop wuauserv + ENTER.
  • net stop cryptSvc + ENTER.
  • net stop bits + ENTER.
  • net stop msiserver + ENTER.
  • Ren C:WindowsSoftwareDistribution SoftwareDistribution.old + ENTER.
  • Ren C:WindowsSystem32catroot2 Catroot2.old + ENTER.
  • net start wuauserv + ENTER.
  • net start cryptSvc + ENTER.
  • net start bits + ENTER.
  • net start msiserver + ENTER.

Third-party antivirus software could also cause the issue. Uninstalling it would solve the problem.


We’ve written extensively about error 0x80004005 before. Bookmark this page in case you need it later.


None of these solutions worked for the OP.

Another user reported that the problem appears on cloned hard drives:

Was your hard drive cloned over at some point? I am having the same issues but it only happens on cloned hard drives. I recreated the issue on a test unit and, so far, I have found that the unit is booting to AOMEI Windows Boot. I used AOMEI to clone over the PCs and then their MBR  to repair the MBR

The OP admits using AOMEI to close his hard drive. So, cloning your hard drive can be the culprit here.

Have you encountered similar issues? Let us know in the comments below.

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More about the topics: error, windows 10, Windows Update