MECM In-Place Upgrade to Win11 23H2 Failure on Compatible Devices

Question

Hello Community,

We are currently upgrading our company computers from Windows 10 22H2 to Windows 11 23H2 using an in-place upgrade task sequence through SCCM. However, we are encountering issues with several Windows 11 compatible devices failing during the upgrade process. The error codes we're seeing are 0xC1900204 and 0xC1900209.

Upon examining the smsts.log, setupact.log, and setuperr.log, I found that the upgrade process gets stuck at 11%. The logs indicate that the system is unable to read the Windows setup registry key. Here are some key details from the logs:

• Task Sequence Action: Upgrade Operating System
• Error Code: 2147500037 (Unspecified error)
• Windows Setup Exit Code: 0xC1900204 (decimal 3247440388)
• Registry Key Issue: Could not read the SetupProgress key at HKLM\SYSTEM\Setup\MoSetup\Volatile
• Action Output: ExecuteWithTimeout returned Windows Setup process hexadecimal exit code 0xC1900204

I have attached the smsts.log for reference.

Does anyone have insights on why this error is occurring or suggestions for resolving the issue? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you!

Answer 1

Hi,

1,What version of MECM and Windows ADK you are using? To support Windows 11 23H2 as client, we must use MECM version 2211 or later. Please refer to below guide:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/mem/configmgr/core/plan-design/configs/support-for-windows-11

2, ==>However, we are encountering issues with several Windows 11 compatible devices failing during the upgrade process.

Can we successfully deploy Windows 11 23H2 to the rest devices?

3,Please help try to remove any anti-virus or any other incompatible software, then try upgrading again. The first easy troubleshooting step we can do at this point is to launch setup.exe from the hidden C:$WINDOWS.~BT directory. After going through the first screens, the setup will warn us about those incompatible apps. If we don't want to run the setup.exe, we can refer to the hidden C:$WINDOWS.~BT\Sources\Panther\CompatData[date-time].xml. We'll have a couple of Compatdata.xml files, usually, the most recent one will contain the information you need. Please check if there is a faulty application and give setup the instruction to stop.

4.Follow below steps to delete cached files, then try upgrading again:

a. Empty the SCCM Cache

b. Delete the content of C:\WINDOWS\SoftwareDistribution\Download folder

c. Delete the C:$WINDOWS.~BT folder (hidden)

d, Retry the deployment

Thanks for your time.

Best regards,

Simon

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