This installation failed in the SAFE_OS phase with an error during BOOT

My V5-571P cannot upgrade to the Windows 10 Anniversary Edition.

After the install, the system hangs during the boot.

Once hard rebooted, I get the error message:

0xC1900101 – 0x20017
This installation failed in the SAFE_OS phase with an error during BOOT operation.

This is apparently a BIOS and CPU Microcode related issue.

There is a (tedious, fragile) workaround described at

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-windows_install/the-installation-failed-in-the-safeos-phase-with/54db0c8f-f9f0-4093-b2fe-ad378685686a

Which required locking out the CPU microcode update file, mcupdate_GenuineIntel.dll

Machines from ASUS have fixed this problem with a BIOS upgrade. Does Acer have anything similar?

Accepted answers

remaker

So, I solved it with a clean install BUT, I litereally had to ERASE THE ENTIRE DRIVE to make the clean install.

The installer hung at first boot since my SSD layout was somwhow offensive to the Windows installer.

Over the life of that system install, I had upgraded from Windows 8 to 8.1 to 10 and then cloned the drive to SSD and rearranged the parition boundaries to makimize performance, resulting in some gaps between partitions. Additionally, tansformed the install from an MBR based to GUID based install and added an EFI parition. This was all working under Windeos 10 1511, but the layout was sufficiently nonstandard that the Anniversary Edition (1607) updater could not cope with it.

After removing the drive, deleting all of the partitions and installing on that same, blanked drive, it all works.

So the system does work with the Windows 10 Anniversary Edition, but may not upgrade if the drive has already been through several upgrades.

You will need to remove the drive and erase it separately, since the quriky layout even prevents the USB based installer from booting - it hangs as it tries to enumerate the drive.

I suppose I was due to burn down the install and start again, anyway.

All comments

Mary-Acer

Unfortunately Acer did not qualify the V5-571P for Windows 10 so our support is limited to the OEM version of Windows 8.

Perhaps other Community posters here have some info on this that could be helpful?

remaker

I understand that, thnbak you.

The initial version installed correctly, only the anniversary update has the problem.

From other vendors, we know that a BIOS update will solve the issue.

Is there a way to add on compopnents directly from the BIOS vendor to fix the problem?

It is diasppointing that a relatively modern laptop from 2012 (not quite 5 years old) is incapable of runnning Windows 10 due to a BIOS oversight. It is rare to have such problems. My 11 year old HP runs Windows 10 flawlessly.

Even the Acer itself runs Windows 10, but not the Anniversary update.

IronFly

Remaker have you tried a clean install of the latest windows 10 release too?

remaker

Thank you for asking.

I have made a fresh boot media (on USB) and installed a blank drive. However, the system hangs at boot time in the pre-installation environment. Right after the "Acer" logo I get shown a blank screen that stays forever.

This in consistent with the BIOS/Microcode conflict outlined at the link above.

I have not yet edited the WIM file to remove the offening microcode updatding DLL; that is the next thing I plan to try.

Even if that works, I run the risk of future updates breaking things. I can try that and report back, if anyone at ACER thinks it will be useful information.

IronFly

it can be usefull to other users for sure.

remaker

I am on the phone with Microsoft now.

remaker

UPDATE: The workaround described at the link in the initial message DOES NOT WORK. With the modified WIM files, the sequence of events is that the installation process proceeds to the first boot, and ends up at a blank (black) screen where the mouse is active but the system is otherwise hung. No disk activity. No response to CTRL-ALT-DEL. No response to a FN-F4 sleep request. No response to a momentary power button press. The only solution is to hard power cycle, returning the Acer to the original Windows 10 installation and the message

0xC1900101 – 0x20017
This installation failed in the SAFE_OS phase with an error during BOOT operation.

So, some kind of driver or BIOS issue, presumably? I have no way to diagnose.

remaker

So, I solved it with a clean install BUT, I litereally had to ERASE THE ENTIRE DRIVE to make the clean install.

The installer hung at first boot since my SSD layout was somwhow offensive to the Windows installer.

Over the life of that system install, I had upgraded from Windows 8 to 8.1 to 10 and then cloned the drive to SSD and rearranged the parition boundaries to makimize performance, resulting in some gaps between partitions. Additionally, tansformed the install from an MBR based to GUID based install and added an EFI parition. This was all working under Windeos 10 1511, but the layout was sufficiently nonstandard that the Anniversary Edition (1607) updater could not cope with it.

After removing the drive, deleting all of the partitions and installing on that same, blanked drive, it all works.

So the system does work with the Windows 10 Anniversary Edition, but may not upgrade if the drive has already been through several upgrades.

You will need to remove the drive and erase it separately, since the quriky layout even prevents the USB based installer from booting - it hangs as it tries to enumerate the drive.

I suppose I was due to burn down the install and start again, anyway.

remaker

The good news is that this V5-571P works just fine with Windows 1607, qualified or not. See my other post on this thread for the epilogue of this adventure.

remaker

This post, unfortunately, is incorrect - I had not installed a blank drive, but had still left in my original drive that I was *planning* to erase. The mere presence of the "strangely partitioned" drive hung the installer system. This seems to be a Microsoft bug.

IronFly

glad you fixed!

remaker

Thanks, Ironfly. Your original advice was in the right direction, but the only way to do a clean install involved deleting all partitions before starting. I probably should have disabled secure boot and booted a disk paritioning program, but instead I removed the drive, attached it to an Ubuntu mchine, and erased the partitions that way. Thanks for your help.

IronFly

You welcome.

by the way you can erase the HDD/SSD in a quicker way, after booting from the USB flash drive

at language selection

press shift+F10

this will open a command prompt

type
diskpart
then on diskpart type
list disk
take note of the correct disk ID to erase
type
select disk x
(x is the ID of your HDD to erase)
type
clean all

this will completly wipe your HDD

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