Three weeks ago, I reported citing sources that Microsoft has no plans to fix Windows 10 KB5034441 issues. As expected, Microsoft has now updated its support documents to clarify that it really won’t fix Windows 10 KB5034441 update failing with 0x80070643 – ERROR_INSTALL_FAILURE. You need to fix it on your own.

In an update to its support document, Microsoft has now quietly confirmed it has no plans to fix the 0x80070643 error: Automatic resolution of this issue won’t be available in a future Windows update. Manual steps are necessary to complete the installation of this update on devices which are experiencing this error.

Some context on what’s going on: Windows 10 KB5034441 is a mandatory security update for systems with recovery partitions, and it was rolled out to everyone in January with Patch Tuesday updates. However, the update still doesn’t install successfully on thousands of systems due to the following error message:

“There were some problems installing updates, but we’ll try again later. If you keep seeing this and want to search the web or contact support for information, this may help: (0x80070643).”

Here’s a screenshot from my device:

This vague error code, which still appears on my Windows 10 PCs, refers to the lack of space in the recovery partition.

In my case, what’s particularly funny is that I don’t even have a visible recovery partition. Yet, the Windows 10 KB5034441 appears in Windows Update and fails to install with a 0x80070643 error message. And I’m not the only one experiencing issues installing the security update.

Microsoft previously promised that it was working on a fix which would be included in an upcoming update, but the company has now backed off, and you’re on your own.

Here’s a timeline of Microsoft’s botched-up Windows 10 update release:

• In January 2024, Microsoft published January 2024 Patch Updates for Windows 11 and Windows 10. On the same day, Microsoft also published KB5034441 to patch the BitLocker encryption bypass (CVE-2024-20666) affecting WinRE.
• The next day, thousands of users started reporting error 0x80070643 – ERROR_INSTALL_FAILURE” when installing this update.
• Microsoft quickly acknowledged the issue in support documentation with a temporary workaround to manually resize the recovery partition. Microsoft said the update doesn’t install due to low storage space in the recovery partition.
• Microsoft also posted a PowerShell script to increase the recovery partition size and allow Windows updates to install smoothly.
• These workarounds didn’t work for everyone, and Microsoft documents still noted the company was working on a “resolution”.
• In early April, I posted an article stating users should not expect a fix for the issue as Microsoft has moved on.
• On April 30, Microsoft updated its documentation to clarify that it won’t fix the error via an automatic update, so you’re on your own.

So, what are your options? As mentioned, the error code can be fixed if you correctly increase the recovery partition storage. I recommend the workarounds I highlighted in my January article and February article.

If you don’t want to go through a long, complicated workaround, you can hide the update or reinstall Windows 10. Reinstalling Windows 10 is your safest option.

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