Windows 10 Upgrade assistant stuck at 99% (5 Solutions to try)

Microsoft rolled out Windows 10 version 22H2 with several new features and security improvements. Every compatible device connected to Microsoft Server will get upgraded automatically. Also, Microsoft officially released the Upgrade assistant to make the upgrade process smoother. However, at times when using Upgrade Assistant for Windows 10 upgrade, you might encounter a frustrating issue: the upgrade assistant stuck at 99% and never finishes. This can be very annoying and prevent you from enjoying the new features and improvements of the update. This article explores why Windows 10 Upgrade Assistant Stuck at 99% and some possible solutions to fix this problem and help you complete the upgrade successfully.

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Windows 10 Update Assistant is stuck at 99%

This issue arise due to various reasons, Slow internet download speed to Insufficient Disk Space, Third-Party Software Interference or Compatibility Issues are common.

Problems with your internet connection can slow down or stop the upgrade.
Using VPNs or proxies can complicate the upgrade process.
If your computer is low on storage, the upgrade won’t work smoothly.
Antivirus or security programs could interfere with the upgrade process.0
Sometimes, the files needed for the upgrade can get messed up or corrupted.

Here are some methods you can try to fix the Windows 10 upgrade assistant stuck at 99% issue:

Wait for a few hours

Sometimes, the upgrade assistant might take a long time to finish the installation, especially if you have a slow internet speed or a large amount of data to transfer. The upgrade may be still progressing in the background, even if it shows 99% for a long time. Therefore, the simplest solution is to wait for a few hours and see if the upgrade completes by itself. Do not turn off your computer or interrupt the upgrade process during this time.

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In addition, make sure you have a stable internet connection to download all Windows update files from the Microsoft server.
Ensure Free disk space available on C drive to download and install Windows 10 updates.

Check Windows 10 22H2 update system requirement

Memory: 2GB of RAM for 64-bit architecture and 1GB of RAM for 32-bit.

Storage: 20GB of free space on 64-bit systems and 16GB of free space on 32-bit.

Although not officially documented, it’s good to have up to 50GB of free storage for a flawless experience.

CPU clock speed: Up to 1GHz.

Screen resolution: 800 x 600.

Graphics: Microsoft DirectX 9 or later with WDDM 1.0 driver.

All latest Intel processors are supported including i3, i5, i7, and i9.

Up through the AMD 7th generation processors are supported.

AMD Athlon 2xx processors, AMD Ryzen 3/5/7 2xxx and others are also supported.

Restart your computer

If waiting does not work, you can try restarting your computer and see if that helps. To do this, press Ctrl+Alt+Del on your keyboard and choose Restart from the options. Alternatively, you can press and hold the power button on your computer for a few seconds until it shuts down, then turn it on again.

Remove all connected External Devices such as a printer, scanner, audio jack, etc.

If you have an external USB device or SD memory card attached when installing Windows 10 version 22H2, you may get an error message stating “This PC can’t be upgraded to Windows 10.” This is caused by inappropriate drive reassignment during installation.

To safeguard your update experience, we have applied a hold on devices with an external USB device or SD memory card attached from being offered Windows 10 version 22H2 until this issue is resolved.

Microsoft explained their support page

Change the location of the Media folder temporarily

Note: Follow these steps before you restart your PC. Otherwise, the Media folder might not be available.

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Open File Explorer, type C:\$GetCurrent, and then press Enter.
Copy and paste the Media folder to the desktop. If you don’t see the folder, select View and make sure the checkbox next to Hidden items is selected.
Restart your PC, open File Explorer, type C:\$GetCurrent in the address bar, and then press Enter.
Copy and paste the Media folder from the desktop to C:\$GetCurrent.
Open the Media folder and double-click Setup.
Follow the instructions to start the upgrade. On the Get Important updates screen, select Not Right Now, and then select Next.
Follow the instructions to finish upgrading to Windows 10. After it’s done, make sure to install available updates. Select the Start button, and then select Settings > Update & security >Windows Update > Check for updates.

Disable the Windows update service

Press Win + R, and type services.msc to open Windows services.
Scroll down and look for the Windows update service,
Right-click on Windows update service select properties,
Here change the Startup Type to Manual And Stop the Service next to the service status

After that try to run the Windows 10 upgrade assistant and this time it will work.
And upgrade To 22H2 update smoothly without any stuck.

Run the Windows Update troubleshooter

Another option is to use the built-in Windows Update troubleshooter to fix any issues that might prevent the upgrade from completing.

Go to Settings > Update & Security > Troubleshoot.
Click on Additional troubleshooters.
Select Windows Update and click on Run the troubleshooter.
Follow the on-screen instructions to detect and fix any problems with Windows Update.
Restart your computer and try the upgrade again.

Disable or uninstall antivirus software

Sometimes, your antivirus software might interfere with the upgrade process and cause it to get stuck at 99%. Some users also suggest security software block the upgrade process and disable Third-party Antivirus / Anti-malware applications help them to fix the issue.

You can try disabling or uninstalling your antivirus software temporarily before running the upgrade assistant. Make sure you re-enable or reinstall your antivirus software after the upgrade is done to protect your computer from viruses and malware.

Perform a clean boot

A clean boot is a way of starting your computer with only the essential services and programs running. This can help eliminate any conflicts or errors that might occur due to third-party software or drivers. To perform a clean boot, follow these steps:

Press Windows key + R type msconfig and click OK.
Go to the Services tab and check the box that says Hide all Microsoft services.
Click on Disable all to disable all non-Microsoft services.
Go to the Startup tab and click on Open Task Manager.
Disable all startup items by right-clicking on them and choosing Disable.
Close Task Manager and click OK on the System Configuration window.
Restart your computer and run the upgrade assistant again.

Delete Windows Update Cache

Also if Windows update download files get damaged or corrupted you may face different update / Upgrade download and installation problems. That causes we need to clear the Windows update cache on the Software Distribution folder (Where Windows update stores update files temporarily)

For this process first, we need to stop some Windows update-related services.

Open the command prompt as administrator,
Then type the below commands to stop BITS, Windows Update, Cryptographic, and MSI Installer services.
Don’t forget to press Enter after each of them:

net stop bits

net stop wuauserv

net stop appidsvc

net stop cryptsvc

Now minimize the command prompt window then go to the following folder: C:\Windows.
Here look for the folder named SoftwareDistribution, then copy it and paste it on your desktop for backup purposes.
Again Navigate to C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\ and delete everything inside that folder.

Note: Don’t delete the folder itself.

Finally, restart BITS, Windows Update, Cryptographic, MSI Installer services by entering the following commands each followed by Enter:

net start bits

net start wuauserv

net start appidsvc

net start cryptsvc

That’s all reboot your PC for a fresh start and run Windows Upgrade Assistant again, this time, it might work.

Upgrade using the Media Creation Tool

If still, Windows upgrade Assistant is stuck At Any point while an upgrade to the latest Windows 10 version. Then Download the Media Creation Tool To make the Windows upgrade process smoother and error-free.

After downloading the media creation tool, Double-click on the setup file to launch the tool.
First Click Accept to agree to the terms and conditions.
Next, Select the Upgrade this PC now option and click Next.

And follow on-screen instructions,
The Windows 10 setup will take over and install the November 2021 Update on your PC
The installation shouldn’t take longer than 30 minutes, but it’ll depend on your hardware configuration, internet speeds, and other factors.

Windows 10 22H2 ISO

If all the above method fails to upgrade to Windows 10 latest version, the Upgrade assistant is stuck at 99%, Media creation tool fails to upgrade to Windows 10 update then the simple and easy method Use a Windows 10 ISO file.

This method is designed to guide users to perform a clean install of Windows 10 and get everything upgraded in PC so to fix the Windows 10 upgrade assistant update stuck or fail to install error.

First Backup All important Data and files to an external Device Drive. Download the Official Windows ISO file 32-bit or 64-bit as per your system processor support. Also, disable Any Security software such as Antivirus / Anti-malware applications if installed.

Open the ISO file by double-clicking on it. (You will have to use software like WinRAR to open/extract the ISO file on Windows 7)
Double-click setup.
Get important updates: Select Download and install updates and click Next. You can also skip this by selecting Not Right Now and get the Cumulative Update later in step 10 below.
Checking your PC. This will take some time. If it asks for Product Key in this step, that means your current Windows is not activated.
Applicable notices and license terms: Click Accept.
Make sure you’re ready to install: This might take a bit longer. Just be patient and wait.
Choose what to keep: Select Keep personal files and apps and click Next If it is already selected by default, just click Next.
<>Ready to install: Click Install.
Installing Windows 10. Your PC will restart several times. This might take a while.
After Windows 10 is installed, open Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update and click on Check for updates. Install all the updates. This includes updates for Windows 10 and drivers.

I hope After applying the Above steps your problem will get resolved. And you will be successfully upgraded to install the latest Windows 10 version 22H2 on your Desktop and laptop. If you have any queries or suggestions, or face any difficulty while apply the above steps feel free to discuss in the comments below. Also, read

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Windows 10 Upgrade assistant stuck at 99% (5 Solutions to try)

Windows 10 Update Assistant is stuck at 99%

Wait for a few hours

Restart your computer

Change the location of the Media folder temporarily

Disable the Windows update service

Run the Windows Update troubleshooter

Disable or uninstall antivirus software

Perform a clean boot

Delete Windows Update Cache

Upgrade using the Media Creation Tool

Windows 10 22H2 ISO

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