How to fix Error 0x800f0830 – 0x20003 on Windows 11

FIX BELOW ERRORS DURING WINDOWS 11 INSTALLATION
✅ “We couldn’t install Windows 11” We’ve set your PC back to the way it was right before you started installing Windows 11. 0x800F0830 – 0x2003 The Installation failed in the SAFE_OS phase with an error during INSTALL_UPDATES operation.
We couldn't install Windows 11. Error code 0x800F0830 - 0x2003

Recently I have tried to upgrade my Windows 10 Home PC to Windows 11 Home. I have spent a lot of time and effort trying to fix the error 0x800f0830 - 0x20003. I have tried the installation / upgrade couple of times on both of my laptops and was getting this error message.

To upgrade my windows 10 PC to Windows 11, I first downloaded the installation media / ISO of windows 11 from microsoft website https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows11 and then extracted the ISO into a folder. After that I started setup.exe file from the extracted Windows 11 ISO folder.

The Installation process starts fine by checking the updates and then shows Installing Windows 11 page with a cancel button. After that the system reboots and it tries to check / install updates which fails everytime when it reaches 10 to 11 percent.

System restarts again and then you see a message on the screen “Undoing changes made to your computer” which reverts the windows 11 installation and recovers your system to as it was before.

Undoing changes made to your computer Windows 11

After another restart, You will get a pop-up window with error message:

We couldn’t install Windows 11
“We couldn’t install Windows 11” We’ve set your PC back to the way it was right before you started installing Windows 11. 0x800F0830 – 0x2003 The Installation failed in the SAFE_OS phase with an error during INSTALL_UPDATES operation.

Once I fixed this error code, Since then i have installed / upgraded Windows 11 on two of my systems. One with Windows 10 Home to Windows 11 Home and second one is from Windows 10 Enterprise to Windows 11 Enterprise. The fix provided in this blog post will help and will save a lot of time. The installation of Windows 11 will get completed successfully.

How to fix 0x800F0830 – 0x20003 Error Code ?

While trying a lot of solutions to fix the issues like to checking the developer mode is disabled on Windows 10 system before starting the windows 11 installation process, resetting windows update service, rebooting the system etc. None of the fixes worked for me. Everytime, I have received this error (0x800F0830 – 0x2003) message.

As we know that this error message is occuring during Install_Updates (when the setup is trying to download the updates and Install it to make sure your system will have the latest drivers of all connected components). Disconnect from the internet before starting windows 11 setup using ISO and keep it in disconnected state during the whole installation process.

If possible, Disable the Wi-Fi Adaptor and remove any LAN / Ethernet cable attached to the system. Along with that disconnect any external devices like USB Hub, External HDD or any connected USB or Printer before starting the installation.

This should definitely work for you to fix this particular error. Also, another tip is to choose Not right now on Get updates, drivers and optional features window just after you start the setup process by double clicking on the setup.exe (as shown in below screenshots).

Windows 11 Setup.exe launch Window
Windows 11 Setup.exe launch Window

Select Not right now on the Get Updates, drivers and option features window.

Windows 11 setup - Select Not right now on the Get Updates, drivers and option features window
Windows 11 setup – Select Not right now on the Get Updates, drivers and option features window

How to Fix The PC doesn’t meet the minimum system requirements

Please note there are below requirements before starting the installation / upgrade to Windows 11:

Processor1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster with 2 or more cores on a compatible 64-bit processor or System on a Chip (SoC).
RAM4 gigabyte (GB).
Storage64 GB or larger storage device Note: See below under “More information on storage space to keep Windows 11 up-to-date” for more details.
System firmwareUEFI, Secure Boot capable. Check here for information on how your PC might be able to meet this requirement.
TPMTrusted Platform Module (TPM) version 2.0Check here for instructions on how your PC might be enabled to meet this requirement.
Graphics cardCompatible with DirectX 12 or later with WDDM 2.0 driver.
DisplayHigh definition (720p) display that is greater than 9” diagonally, 8 bits per colour channel.
Source:Microsoft

To check if you are meeting all the requirements for Windows 11 installation, Download and Install PC Health Check App and click on Check now button. If you are meeting all the requirements that’s great, you can start the upgrade process.

But as we know there are a lot of systems which are not meeting the CPU or TPM requirements, you can follow the steps as given in the next sections of this article to bypass this requirement.

Also, If you have TPM 1.2 and your laptop is compatible with TPM 2.0 then you can upgrade it using BIOS security settings. Please check the next section on how to upgrade it. If Secure Boot is disabled on your system, you can enable it via BIOS.

PC Health checkup App on Windows 11
PC Health checkup App on Windows 11

How to upgrade TPM level from TPM 1.2 to TPM 2.0 and enable secure boot

If you are using TPM (Trusted Module Platform) 1.2 and want to upgrade it to TPM level from 1.2 o 2.0. First you need to check if your laptop / desktop is compatible with TPM 2.0.

If yes, then you can change BIOS security settings from TPM 1.2 to TPM 2.0. If your local drives are encrypted with Bitlocker, disable bitlocker and decrypt your drive before the upgrade. Also, make sure to take a backup copy of all your data before taking this action.

  1. Restart the machine and press F1 to enter into the BIOS mode. Go to Security tab and using your keyboard select Security Chip and Press Enter.
BIOS TPM 2.0
  1. Check the Security Chip Type to see if you can change the TPM level from 1.2 to TPM 2.0. On my laptop it was set to TPM 1.2 which i updated it to TPM 2.0.
BIOS TPM 2.0
  1. To check the Secure Boot, Go to Security tab -> select Secure Boot and press Enter.
BIOS Secure Boot
  1. Make sure Secure Boot is Enabled.
BIOS Secure Boot

If you are not meeting the TPM 2.0 or CPU requirements then below registry entry needs to be created to bypass the TPM or CPU checks. You will still require TPM 1.2 at least to proceed with the installation. During Windows 11 setup process, a warning message will be shown, click on Accept to continue with the installation process.

Steps to create registry entry (Please note that you will require administrator rights on the PC to make changes in the registry and your system will require a reboot after the registry entry is created)

  • Click on Start and search for Registry Editor.
  • Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\Setup\MoSetup.
  • Create a REG_DWORD registry entry AllowUpgradesWithUnsupportedTPMOrCPU and set its value to 1.
AllowUpgradesWithUnsupportedTPMOrCPU

Once the registry entry is created and you start the setup process to install windows 11, you will receive below Warning message to state that your PC doesn’t meet the minimum system requirements for running Windows 11. Click on Accept and then click on Refresh to proceed with the installation of Windows 11.

Windows 11 Setup Warning
upgrade TPM level from TPM 1.2 to TPM 2.0

Conclusion

  • Use Windows 11 ISO to install or upgrade from Windows 10. Download it from https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows11.
  • Make sure to use PC Health Check App to check if your device is compatible before upgrade to Windows 11.
  • If Device is not compatible w.r.t. TPM or CPU then create a reg key as I had mentioned earlier in this post. This will bypass TPM and CPU checks.
  • If you are getting the error 0x800F0830 – 0x2003 – The Installation failed in the SAFE_OS phase with an error during INSTALL_UPDATES operation. Then try disconnecting from Internet during the whole installation process and select Not right now on Get updates, drivers and options features window.

7 thoughts on “How to fix Error 0x800f0830 – 0x20003 on Windows 11”

  1. Tried all of these previously apart from the disconect from the internet etc bit at the end, then disconected from the internet etc and RESULT! Thanks you whoever you are at techpress. Unable to identify you, but many thanks.????

    Reply
  2. Wonderful, unplugging the network did the trick. I had the same problem with one of the Windows 10 updates and it took be for ever to get it installed. As soon as I saw this error I thought oh no how did I solve this last time. Googled it and you were first on the list. Thank you very much.

    Reply
  3. Bump up – enabled TPM & secure boot in BIOS, bypassed 6th generation Intel problem, install via ISO — but had the “How to fix Error 0x800f0830 – 0x20003” error. Found this page, didn’t disconnect any USB or anything, only disconnected network: worked!! Great thanks.

    Reply
  4. Thank you so much! Your solution (disconnect from internet) was the only that works on my problem. In my case I was installing Windows 10 over Windows 11.

    Reply
  5. After numerous failed upgrade attempts, disconnecting it from the network was the only way I could get it to succeed. Thank you very much for the advice!

    Reply

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