Windows 10 Clean Install Stuck

Clean install Windows. A clean install involves completely erasing the hard drive that Windows is installed on and then installing Windows again from scratch on that same hard drive. Obviously you don't want to do this if you don't have to, but it's a very likely fix if the steps prior to this one were unsuccessful.
Microsoft regularly releases Cumulative updates for Windows 10 with bug fixes and security improvements to patch the security hole created by third-party apps. And With Windows 10 Microsoft make mandatory to automatically download and install the latest updates when the device connected to the Microsoft server. Or users manually check and install the latest Windows updates from Settings, Update & Security and check for updates. But some of the users report, Windows 10 update KB4550945 stuck at checking for updates, Windows update stuck downloading and installing at a specific percentage 0% to 99% or even 100%. For Some other users Windows update fails to install with different errors 0x80070002, 0x80070003 or 0xc1900403 etc.
Why windows update is stuck Downloading?
There are several reasons cause Windows Update stuck or fail to install Such as Internet connection problem, Security software blocking, Corrupt system files, there is no space on the system drive to download and install windows updates and more. And the most common is the Corrupted windows update components (Software Distribution Folder where windows download updates temporarily before installing them). If due to any reason Windows update database gets corrupted, Download a buggy update file. This may result, windows update stuck while downloading and installing, Or update installation fails with a Different error.
Fix windows update installation problems
Here some solutions you may apply to fix almost every Windows 10 Update download and installation problems.
- First Check and make sure you have a stable internet connection
- Check that the time and date settings are correct on your PC/Laptop.
- The most important Check your System drive have sufficient free disk space to download and install windows update files.
- Temporarily Disable third-party Antivirus or firewall on your PC.
- Also, perform Windows 10 Clean Boot And Check for updates. This will fix the problem If any third party service or startup application cause issue
Run Windows Update Troubleshooter
If the above solutions didn’t fix the problem, Still Windows update stuck installing or fails to install. Run the Build in Windows Update troubleshooter that check for problems prevent windows updates install correctly and fix them.
To Run Windows Update Troubleshooter:
- Press Windows + I, to open Windows Settings
- Click Update & Security, then Troubleshoot.
- Also, type Troubleshoot settings on start menu search press enter to open the same screen
- Here on the right side select Windows Update and click Run troubleshooter.
- The troubleshooter will scan Windows 10 for problems that prevent installing updates, Check if Windows Update Database corrupted, Windows update service isn’t running etc and fix them if detects any.
- When troubleshooter finishes this process, Restart windows and check windows updates download and install without any errors.
Reset windows update Components
As discussed before corrupted windows update components are the most common reason behind most of the Windows 10 Update installation error. If running Windows update troubleshooter didn’t fix the problem. Delete the Previous update installation files from the software distribution folder. That download fresh Windows update files from the Microsoft server and solve the problem.
To perform this (modify the files or folder) first, we need to stop windows update component related services such as windows update service, BITS etc. Otherwise, the files or folder are open in programs and didn’t allow to modify it.
- Press Windows + R, type services.msc and click ok to open windows services.
- Scroll down look for service named windows update, Right-click on it and select Stop.
- Do the same with Other services, BITS and minimize the Windows services screen.
- Open the File Explorer using Windows + I keyboard shortcut.
- Navigate to C:WindowsSoftwareDistributionDownloads.
- Now Press Ctrl + A to select all files and folders inside the Download folder.
- Then hit the Delete key to remove them.
If you’re prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type your password or provide confirmation.
- After that restart the services which you disabled before.
- To do this again open windows services,
- Right click on the service name (BITs, sysmain, windows update) and select start.
- Once restart windows and on the next login check for updates.
- I hope this time you will get succeed, And there is no more windows 10 update error.
Run System file checker Utility
Sometimes corrupted missing system files Also cause different problems that include Windows Update Download and installation stuck any percentage. Once run the Build in system file checker utility that scans and restore missing system files with correct one.
To run System file checker Utility on Windows 10
- Type cmd on start menu search
- Right click on Command prompt and select Run as administrator.
- Here command prompt window type sfc /scannow and enter key.
- This will start scanning for missing corrupted system files,
- If found any the Sfc Utility restore them with correct one from a compressed folder located %WinDir%System32dllcache
- After 100% complete the scanning process restart windows to take effect the changes.
On next start again open windows updates from Settings -> Update & Security -> windows update -> check for updates check this time there is no more windows 10 Update errors.
Manually Install Windows Updates (Offline package)
If all the above solutions failed to fix the problem, Still windows update getting stuck checking for updates or failed to install with different errors. Try to manually install the Windows update offline package. To do this
Visit the Windows 10 update history webpage where you can notice the logs of all the previous Windows updates that have been released.
For the most recently released update, note down the KB number.
Now use Windows Update Catalog Website to search for the update specified by the KB number you noted down. Download the update depending on if your machine is 32-bit = x86 or 64-bit=x64.
As of 22 April 2020 –
- KB4550945 (OS Builds 18362.815) is the latest patch for Windows 10 May 2019 Update and November 2019 update as well.
- KB4550969 (OS Build 17763.1192) is the latest patch for Windows 10 October 2018 Update
- KB4550944 (OS build 17134.1456) is the latest patch for Windows 10 April 2018 Update,
Also, the Direct offline download link for these updates is available here.
Open the downloaded file in order to install the update.
That’s all after installing the updates simply restart the computer to apply the changes. Also If you are getting Windows Update stuck while upgrade process simply use the official media creation tool to upgrade windows 10 version 1809 without any error or problem.
Also, read :
Summary :
Windows 10 Just a moment stuck is not a rare issue and many users reflect they have encountered this issue when updating your Windows operating system or reinstalling Windows without an installation medium. Are you also looking for an effective method to get rid of this issue? You come to the right place. In this article, we will show you two available solutions.
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Are You Facing Windows 10 Just a Moment Issue?
Sometimes, your computer may boot into a screen saying Just a moment. Yes, you just wait for centuries but only find Windows 10 Just a moment is stuck. This issue always happens when updating the system or reinstalling Windows 10 without an installation medium.
You are not alone. When you search for this issue on the internet, you will discover that many users are bothered by Windows 10 stuck on Just a moment and the phenomenon are various, such as Windows 10 Just a moment then black screen, Windows 10 Just a moment after update, and so forth.
Fortunately, it is possible to fix it. But firstly, let’s find out the causes of this issue.
Reasons for Windows 10 Stuck on Just a Moment
The speed of Windows 10 update and installation relies on the hardware specification, available disk space, hard drive read-write speeds, the speed of internet connection, and more. When the process lasts too long, you may see the following screen:
But, if there is something wrong with the hardware, hard disk, or the internet connection, Windows 10 stuck on Just a moment issue is likely to happen.
We have spent time looking for the available solutions and now we summarize them for you in this article.
Solution 1: Check Whether the PC Is Responding
If Your Computer Is Still Responding
You should first check whether your computer is still working. To do this job, you can go to check if the machine is making any noise. It is a clear sign of whether the processor is still at work. Of course, there is the other sigh: a flickering light.
When these two signs show that the processor is still at work, do not tinker with that process in progress. We have mentioned above: the process speed is possible decided by the internet connect condition, free disk space on your computer, etc. Wait and see.
If Your Computer Is Not Responding
If your computer has fallen into silent and stuck on the seemingly infinite loop: Just a moment, you can consider doing these things:
- Disable network devices, turn off Wi-Fi and unplug network cable if there is any.
- Remove any USB devices which are connected with the computer, including keyboard, mouse, printer, USB drive, AC adapter, and so on.
After that, reconnect the USB devices to your PC and then check whether the computer can run normally. If yes, you can re-establish the internet connectivity to see whether the update or installation process can run successfully.
However, if the above measure doesn’t work for your situation, you need to perform a hard restart of your computer: press and hold on the power button until your computer shuts down and then reboot it.
If Windows 10 Just a moment issue still persists, you need to try the next solution.
Solution 2: Clean Install Windows 10
When your computer is having performance and other issues, the most effective way to get rid of the issues is to perform a clean installation. This way will remove everything from the hard drive on your machine and start from scratch.
Thus, when you are bothered by Windows 10 stuck on Just a moment issue, you can clean install Windows 10 to have a try.
In the following guide, we will walk through the steps to clean install Windows 10 including these three parts:
- How to restore data from the unbootable PC before installation
- How to create a USB bootable media of Windows 10
- How to perform a clean installation of Windows 10
How to Restore Data from the Unbootable PC before Installation
The clean installation process will delete everything from your computer hard drive. So, we think you’d better restore your data to an external drive in advance. Here, you can use the professional data recovery software: MiniTool Power Data Recovery.
This software is specially designed to recover data from various types of data storage devices, including computer hard drives, USB flash drives, memory cards, SD cards, and more. These data can be both deleted and existing items.
If you want to restore files from a computer which is bothered by Windows 10 Just a moment issue, you need to use MiniTool Power Data Recovery Bootable Edition that should be built by a MiniTool Snap-in WinPE Bootable Builder.
However, only the Deluxe and above editions offer MiniTool Bootable Media Builder. You need to get one of these editions from the MiniTool official store according to your actual situation. If you are a personal user, the Personal Deluxe Edition can fully meet your need.
Get a normal working computer to obtain this software and then refer to the following guide to build a bootable medium and start the unbootable machine from it:
Then, it’s time to restore data from the computer with this software:
Step 1: Choose the target partition to scan
Choose the target partition you need to restore data from and click on the Scan button to start the scanning process.
Step 2: Choose the files you want to recover
When the scanning process ends, you can see the scan results which are classified by path. You can open each path to find the files you want to restore.
Usually, there are numerous files on your computer hard drive and it is usually difficult to find out the needed ones quickly. In this situation, you can try the Type and Find features of this software to locate your needed files easily.
Additionally, with the Bootable Edition, you can preview the image files and text files which are no larger than 20MB. That is to say, when you are not sure whether it is the image or text file you need to restore, you can use the Preview feature to identify.
Step 3: Save the selected files to the external drive
Connect an external drive which has enough space to store your needed files to your computer and then check the files you want to restore. After that, press the Save button to choose the inserted external drive to keep the selected items.

Now, your needed data is saved to a safe place. Next, you need to create a USB bootable medium. Go to the next part the get the steps.
How to Create a USB Bootable Medium of Windows 10
The direct way to create a USB bootable medium is to use the Media Creation Tool. Here, you need to prepare a USB flash drive of at least 8GB and a normal working computer.
After that, you can follow these steps to create a USB bootable medium:
1. Go to the Windows 10 download page on the web browser.
2. Click the Download tool now button and save the file on your computer.
3. Find the downloaded file and then double-click on it to launch it.
4. Press the Accept button to agree to the Applicable notices and license terms.
5. Choose the Create installation media (USB flash drive, DVD, or ISO file) for another PC option and click on the Next button to continue.
Acronis clone disk failed. 6. In the following interface, you can select language, architecture, and edition you want to use. Since you are not going to clean install Windows 10 on this current working machine, you need to make sure that the Use the recommended options for this PC option IS NOTCHECKED.
7. Click Next.
8. Select the USB flash drive option and click the Next button to continue.
9. Click on the USB flash drive you want to make it bootable and click Next.
10. When you see the Your USB flash drive is ready interface, press the Finish button to end the process.
After these steps, you can use this USB flash drive to perform a clean install on the computer which is bothered by Windows 10 stuck on Just a moment issue.
How to Perform a Clean Installation of Windows 10
To perform a clean install of Windows 10 with the bootable USB flash drive, you need to follow these steps:
1. Set your computer to boot from the USB flash drive.
2. When entering the Windows setup interface, press the Next button to start the process.
3. When entering the following interface, click the Install Now button to continue.
4. If you're upgrading an old version, you must input a genuine product key. However, if you're reinstalling Windows 10, you can press the I don't have a product key option to continue if your computer has been activated.
5. Choose a Windows 10 edition that must match your product key and press the Next button to continue.
6. Check the I accept the license terms option and then press Next to continue.
7. Choose the Custom: Install Windows only (Advanced) option to continue.
8. Then you need to choose where to install Windows 10. Usually, it is a partition on Drive 0 that contains the current installation of Windows. Then, press the Delete button to remove it from the hard drive.
9. Click the OK button on the popup window to confirm the deletion.
10. Choose the empty partition and click on the Next button to start the installation process.
After the installation, you still need to customize the out-of-box experience to create a new account and set up your environment. Now, you can follow this post to do the job: How to Complete the Out of Box Experience (OOBE) in Windows 10.
After a clean install of Windows 10, we believe that you can use your computer as usual.
Windows 10 reset VS clean install VS fresh start, what’s the difference? Read this post to learn them and choose a proper one for OS reinstallation.
Bottom Line
When you are getting in the trouble of Windows 1 Just a moment loop, you can refer to these two solutions mentioned in this post to help you out.
If you are bothered by some other issues when dealing with this issue, you can just send an email to [email protected] or let us know in the comment. Of course, you can also share your opinions or suggestions here.