Windows 10 Fall April Update – Upgrade Tips

[German]The general rollout of the Windows 10 April Update (version 1803) to existing Windows 10 systems will begin on May 8, 2018 (since April 30, 2018, version 1803 is available on demand). This FAQ contains some information about what to consider or know before installing the update.


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Should I immediately upgrade?

That's a question that everyone has to answer for themselves. Since April 30, 2018, the function update is already offered via Windows Update, provided the user checks for updates in the settings page (exception: the machine is not compatible). Microsoft has announced global availability on May 8, 2018, but will roll out in waves. This means that individual machines may not receive Windows 10 version 1803 for a few weeks – if the telemetry data shows Microsoft that there are no major problems with the respective constellations.

Within my blog post Windows 10 April Update: Bugs and Issues I have listed some problems known since April 30, 2018 with Windows 10 version 1803 – and the additional comments also report trouble. If you are using notebooks or special hardware, you should also wait until the upgrade is automatically offered via Windows Update. How to reset the function update is described in the blog article Windows 10 April Update (Version 1803): Upgrade FAQ.

What should I do before the installing the feature update?

Since the installation of a function update (it is a complete upgrade, no matter what Microsoft calls it) virtually replaces the complete operating system, the following measures should be taken in advance.

  • Perform a system image backup. This can be done with onboard tools (Windows 7 Backup in the Control Panel). Use a third party backup program and make sure that you can read back the backup copy in case of problems. 
  • In addition, a system repair disc on DVD or a recovery drive on a USB stick should be created. The media may be used to restore the backup or in case of boot problems.

If you use (according to my recommendation) a backup program from another manufacturer, find out about the rescue media and create a backup with this backup software.

What else should I prepare/note?

Before installing the feature update to Windows 10 version 1803, the following could/should be done (saves a lot of time and trouble if necessary).


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  • Backup important data from the legacy system to be prepared in the event of data loss. This also includes license keys, download files of installation packages (e.g. Office) etc.
  • Uninstall existing third-party virus scanners. This also applies to Internet Security Suites. Check with the manufacturer if there is a clean tool for cleaning the installation residues. Here is a list of clean tools from various manufacturers.
  • Uninstall system tools: System tools such as TuneUp, Acronis True Image or other backup tools, all virtual DVD drives, burning programs, video authoring tools, etc. also belong down from the system. With TuneUp, all "system optimizations" must be undone beforehand.
  • Uninstall the encryption software: If you have software like VeraCrypt installed, you have to uninstall it. Encrypted partitions must be decrypted. I also take a critical view of systems where Linux is installed on separate partitions. Here it is recommended to take Grub out when booting and to activate the Windows boot manager.
  • Ensures that there is enough free capacity on the Windows drive. So 6 – 20 GByte should be free.
  • Relocated user folders should be moved back to the Windows partition. Scenarios with moved user folders are not supported by Microsoft and regularly lead to problems.
  • Runs a system scan as described in Check and repair Windows system files and component store.

Volume license installations, Windows To Go and VHD installations with native boot cannot be upgraded. You should also remove unneeded hardware and uninstall unneeded software.

Installation fails – a few tips

Occasionally, errors occur during the installation of a function update via Windows Update, so that the process is aborted. This ranges from download errors to errors during the various installation phases.

To avoid tens gigabytes of downloads via Windows Update, I would postpone the function update (see the blog post How to block Windows 10 updates). Then download the installation image for Windows 10 version 1803 using the Media Creation Tool (see Windows 10 April Update (Version 1803): Upgrade FAQ). Then you can start the setup.exe from the running Windows 10 and start the installation. It saves you having to download the installation files a dozen times via Windows Update.

Installation fails due to lack of memory

The system drive should have a good 20 Gbyte free capacity. Above I had listed freeing memory on the Windows drive as a preparatory measure. Just lack of free memory has turned out to be an update killer.

What you can try with lack of memory: Create an installation disc with the Creators Update using the Media Creation Tool, boot Windows 10 and then run the setup.exe. This will create a clean install of Windows 10 Version 1803.

There are installation errors during the upgrade

Are there any error messages and the update is aborted or the old Windows 10 build is rolled back? Then try an error diagnosis. One approach is to determine the error codes and, if necessary, analyze the log file generated during installation. The following linked blog contributions give some suggestions what you can work through.

Error code received or error after upgrade?

If there are problems after upgrading to the Windows 10 April update or if you found an error code, you can search for the error code using the blog search. Maybe I already mentioned the bug in my blog.

Similar articles
Windows 10 April Update (Version 1803): Upgrade FAQ
Windows 10: Analyze upgrade errors
How to block Windows 10 updates
Windows 10 April Update officially announced
Windows 10 April Update is here – Downloads and more


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One Response to Windows 10 Fall April Update – Upgrade Tips

  1. IT 101 says:

    You should know not to call hard drive space, memory.

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