Unable to install Windows 7 Service Pack 1

Jonathan Suber
Jonathan Suber used Ask the Experts™
on
I am unable to install Windows 7 Service Pack 1 on a desktop PC.  I get this error message:

Installation was not successful
"The referenced assembly could not be found"
Error: ERROR_SXS_ASSEMBLY_MISSING(0x80073701)

I have tried running a couple utilities from Microsoft:

* Automatically reset Windows Update components
* System Update Readiness Tool for Windows 7 (KB947821) [August 2011]
* sfc.exe /scannow

I also updated the driver for the graphics card.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Jon
Comment
Watch Question

Do more with

Expert Office
EXPERT OFFICE® is a registered trademark of EXPERTS EXCHANGE®
View Solution Only
sethu_uuu

Commented:
Please check whether you have enough space in C: drive
*** Hopeleonie ***IT Manager

Commented:
I had the same problem last week. Did not find any fix. Only an In-Place Upgrade helped. You will loose nothing. But create a backup first.

How to:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/2255099
sethu_uuu

Commented:
Also Check the logs C:\Windows\Logs\CBS\CBS.log
Amazon Web Services

Are you thinking about creating an Amazon Web Services account for your business? Not sure where to start? In this course you’ll get an overview of the history of AWS and take a tour of their user interface.

Learn More!
jcimarron
Top Expert 2013

Commented:
rindi
Most Valuable Expert 2015

Commented:
Reinstall the OS, then as the first thing install SP1 (unless of course the installation media is already on SP1).
Jonathan SuberIT Director

Author

Commented:
These are all good comments...thank you.

This error keeps showing up on my CBS.log:

Failed to get session package state for package: Package_2_for_KB3046480~31bf3856ad364e35~x86~~6.1.1.2 [HRESULT = 0x80070490 - ERROR_NOT_FOUND]

I have removed this update and reinstalled it.  Still failed.

I can try an In-Place upgrade or repair but I want to exhaust all possible solutions before I do that.  This is an important PC on our network.
sethu_uuu

Commented:
Just remove the update KB3046480  and try to update the service pack  without reinstalling it and then check the logs again
rindi
Most Valuable Expert 2015

Commented:
This has to be a fresh installation, otherwise you'd have had installed SP1 years ago. Support for Windows 7 without SP1 has ended a long time ago. An unsupported OS is completely insecure and subject to attacks caused by unpatched security holes etc. This could also be the cause for SP1 not being installable.

So the best fix is to do a fresh installation.

If it is already freshly installed, maybe something went wrong, and a new installation is fast anyway, so either way, do a fresh installation of the OS. You loose the least time that way.
Jonathan SuberIT Director

Author

Commented:
This PC has been running like this for a few years.  I just caught it when I was checking the browser encryption settings.  I am going to try to remove update KB3046480 and try to install SP1.  If that doesn't work, then I may not have a choice but a fresh install.  Thanks, Jon
Most Valuable Expert 2015
Commented:
If it has been running without SP1 for that long, your only sane option is a fresh install. Everything else is a waste of time, and you may carry over some nasties which may make it insecure even after the upgrade and which are very hard to remove.
Jonathan SuberIT Director

Author

Commented:
I am ordering a new system for this user.  This system is from 2011 anyway.  I will reinstall the OS and re-purpose somewhere else.  

Thank you to all that commented.  I appreciate it.  Jon

Do more with

Expert Office
Submit tech questions to Ask the Experts™ at any time to receive solutions, advice, and new ideas from leading industry professionals.

Start 7-Day Free Trial