Windows 10 upgrade issues on W8.1

[jsfitz54]

I get a failed upgrade due to "System Reserved Partition" can't be enlarged.

My system reserved partition is 98.6MB used of 100MB total which appears to be way off. Corrupted???

I am trying to install off DVD from downloaded W10 Pro 64bit ISO.
Does not work from desktop install or boot install.

This is on a Samsung 840Pro SSD.

Any workarounds?

 

[Pill Monster]

Yeah Idk but 500Mb is the default, try installing from a HDD, just extract the ISO and run setup.

It should work, the drive isn't full is it? You need about 20GB spare.

 

[OneMoar]

windows 10 partition layout should be as follows
99MB EFI
450MB Recovery
200MB MSR
*whatever is left >> system
*also disconnect all drives other then the one you are trying to install too I had issues with the windows 10 installation partitioning
it would partition the drives and refuse to install to them disconnecting my secondary HDD fixxed the issue issue and I reconnected it after install was complete
what I would do is ensure you are booting the installation source IN UEFI mode and then scrub all partitions via the setup and let it recreate them

 

[jsfitz54]

Yeah Idk but 500Mb is the default, try installing from a HDD, just extract the ISO and run setup.

It should work, the installation drive isn't full is it? You need about 20GB spare.

The drive is mostly empty as I never liked W8-8.1 format, never really used it but kept it updated as a spare. So my i7 970 rig has many drives with different setups.

I have a W7 install on a Samsung 840 EVO 500GB, a W7 install on a Plextor M5P that spans with a Samsung 830, and this Samsung 840 Pro 256GB drive which is the issue.

Not all drives run at the same time. I have to switch power cables and sata cables.

So this problem is on a drive running solo.

windows 10 partition layout should be as follows
99MB EFI
450MB Recovery
200MB MSR
*whatever is left >> system
*also disconnect all drives other then the one you are trying to install too I had issues with the windows 10 installation partitioning
it would partition the drives and refuse to install to them disconnecting my secondary HDD fixxed the issue issue and I reconnected it after install was complete
what I would do is ensure you are booting the installation source IN UEFI mode and then scrub all partitions via the setup and let it recreate them

Not on a UEFI system, so what's next?

Do I wipe the drive and insert W8 license?

I don't know why the system reserved area is "maxed out" as that appears to be the hold-up.

I also got a W10 warning not to use the "advanced" method.

 

[OneMoar]

you need to install windows 8.1 and complete the upgrade at least once and activate before you can do a clean install
afterward when you want to clean install w10
select skip when prompted for the key the first time
and then click the little tiny text that says "do this later" when prompted post setup
aftward it should activate if it errors out don't panic click the "open store" button in the activation screen and it should take you to a windows 10 page click the little box on the logo and it should activate (it may take 10 or 15 tries the servers are way overloaded)
the way I install in UEFI mode is with a iso image and rufus
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10 < use this to download a .iso
https://rufus.akeo.ie/ < and this to put the iso on a flash drive
download the iso and save it
insert a flash drive at least 4GB
select GPT FOR UEFI COMPUTER IN RUFUS
click the make boot-able with iso and click the button and select the iso
hit start
boot from that usb key IN UEFI mode and let windows partition the drives (delete all partitions on the drive and then just high light the drive and select next)

else you can do the above but select MBR for bios/UEFI in rufus instead of the pure UEFI
there is no reason not to be running EFI especially on a SSD

 

[Pill Monster]

windows 10 partition layout should be as follows
99MB EFI
450MB Recovery
200MB MSR
*whatever is left >> system
*also disconnect all drives other then the one you are trying to install too I had issues with the windows 10 installation partitioning
it would partition the drives and refuse to install to them disconnecting my secondary HDD fixxed the issue issue and I reconnected it after install was complete
what I would do is ensure you are booting the installation source IN UEFI mode and then scrub all partitions via the setup and let it recreate them

Yeah although that's for clean install, an upgrade needs about 50-100mb during setup. So maybe the the boot partitions are full or something..


OP you can enlarge the reserved partition with EASUS, it's free. Just make it big enough say 350 - 500mb and you shouldn't have any more trouble.

 

[jsfitz54]

you need to install windows 8.1 and complete the upgrade at least once and activate before you can do a clean install

Windows 8.1 was Windows 8 with free upgrade. How do I "complete the upgrade at least once" as Windows 10 won't install due to an issue with the reserved partition of W8.1.

I understand the rest of what you mean but I can't do this without a fresh install of Windows 8, which seams like a PITA for a process which should be easy.

OP you can enlarge the reserved partition with EASUS, it's free. Just it big enough say 350 - 500mb and you shouldn't have any more trouble.

Will try and report back.

 

[OneMoar]

Windows 8.1 was Windows 8 with free upgrade. How do I "complete the upgrade at least once" as Windows 10 won't install due to an issue with the reserved partition of W8.1.

I understand the rest of what you mean but I can't do this without a fresh install of Windows 8, which seams like a PITA for a process which should be easy.



Will try and report back.

thems the brakes unless you completed the upgrade at least once you can't activate windows 8.1
re-partition the drive and reload windows 8 activate it then you should be-able to upgrade
just make sure the partitions are large enough what you described sounds like left over partitioning from windows 7 which is fine for 8 but not 10

 

[jsfitz54]

Can't resize the reserved partition. EASUS won't do it. I shrank the C: drive but could not enlarge the Reserve Partition.

W8 was not an upgrade install from day 1. FRUSTRATION!


By my reasoning, if W10 can upgrade W7, W8, W8.1 why can't it resize my 100mb reserved partition? It appears that I have a W7 size reserved area (100mb) and my W8.1 installation reserved area should be 350mb. If this is the case, this is a Microsoft problem with the upgrade path not being able to resize the partition automatically. If it can do it for W7 then it should not be causing a problem.

 

[OneMoar]

Can't resize the reserved partition. EASUS won't do it. I shrank the C: drive but could not enlarge the Reserve Partition.

W8 was not an upgrade install from day 1. FRUSTRATION!


By my reasoning, if W10 can upgrade W7, W8, W8.1 why can't it resize my 100mb reserved partition? It appears that I have a W7 size reserved area (100mb) and my W8.1 installation reserved area should be 350mb. If this is the case, this is a Microsoft problem with the upgrade path not being able to resize the partition automatically. If it can do it for W7 then it should not be causing a problem.

efisys is different it needs to be at the very beginning of the drive and is block aligned and since you have partitions after it you can't re-size it regardless if if you re-size the partitions after it or not
nuke all the partitions on the drive and then install 8 in EFI mode it will take care of the rest for you
after-which you can upgrade to 10 activate and then clean install if you want ..
windows 10 requires a larger recovery/msr partition because of the new backup and recovery features such as the ability toto a complete reset without losing stuff in \documents

 

[jsfitz54]

I went the long road. Nuked all partitions. I reinstalled W8 from scratch and saw that the new reserve partition was 350mb. After it activated W8, I went on to W10, which I am using to write this update.

So now I can try W10.

THANKS, ALL!