Trying to fix windows not being able to install update file KB5005033 - DISM Restore Health source files not found (Error 0x800f081F) -

Question

Hello,

Windows 10 has pushed an update( KB5005033) for me that refuses to install. This is the error that I get:

Some update files are missing or have problems. We'll try to download the update again later. Error code: (0x80073712)

As a result, I ran a SFC /scannow and determined that there was files that needed to be repaired.

I then used DISM to repair the image using restorehealth.

I have used a Windows10 ISO that I downloaded. It is the same exact version and build number of my current Windows 10 version.

However when I run the following command:

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /Source:M\Sources\install.wim /LimitAccess

I get this error:

Error: 0x800f081f

The source files could not be found.
Use the "Source" option to specify the location of the files that are required to restore the feature. For more information on specifying a source location, see https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=243077.

The DISM log file can be found at C:\Windows\Logs\DISM\dism.log

To try and repair this, I was told it could be an issue with .Net framework not being installed, so I used optional features to install that.

I've tried many different things and still get the same error Error: 0x800f081f

Basically, I want my computer to be able to install that original update I mentioned at the top of my post. Reinstalling Windows and letting it update from the boot menu is not an option (even though I chose to keep all apps and files), as it crashed my computer the last time (I entered a never ending bootloop) I had to do it, and I had to do a clean install of Windows.

Any help on this would be greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

Hi, I'm back as promised, I found time this evening to repair W10 using the ESD-USB key, pepared yesterday by Media Creation Tool, X64 Italian version of course.
Following ur suggestions, I tried keeping my settings, performing a fresh install without loosing my personal files. More, I chose to install updates during the W10 install... this is the result I got :

Unbelievable, it was successful...
Many restarts, keeping my fingers crossed anytime, but... at the end all was running fine !
I lost some customizations, it doesn't matter, I will restore all thru a free utility I use since many years, that's Winaero tweaker, especially for font sizes... my eyes aren't working anymore as I was young ;-)
All programs and other small things are working.
I checked WU and it just dowloaded and correctly installed a NetFramework update only.
The funny thing is, there is no mention anywhere on WU about KB5005033 installed, I don't care, Winver version showed is .1165 finally. Looking at WU the 21H1 install date remains 2021 May 19th as it was before.
Let see what will happen with the next "Tuesday patches"...
I'm thinking I will perform a clean install only with Windows 11 when it will be available.
I didn't try yet DISM or SFC checks, BTW the OS seems more responsive now than before.
It was great to be in touch with you all, hope again in the future for further interesting and less complicates adventures :-D
Oh... last but not least... a "special" thanks to all Microsoft guys for their kind and prompt support, please don't waste ur fingertips answering your customers. :LOL:

Answer 2

I've been waiting and watching a bit; time to come back. The in-place was never going to work. Be wary of people who jump in with one-liners like that, with no explanation as to why it might work in your particular circumstances. Many computers have been totalled by users following random advice of people who don't know what they're talking about. But in this case, whilst the in-place was never going to work, it also was unlikely to do harm, so in the one-chance-in-a-gadzillion that it did actually do something to help, I didn't want to say "Don't do that." For future reference, with in-place, elements of the previous system remain - are carried over - causing performance issues with the 'new' system. And with Murphy's Law being what it is, those elements will include exactly those that are causing your issue. Maybe. This is despite what people like Ed Tittel (who is very good by the way) might say. With in-place, Windows tries to bring everything, or at least a lot, from the old version to the new one, resulting in an accumulation of many old and unused files, registry entries of some uninstalled programs, and other types of junk. This way you end up with a 'new, fresh' version of Windows cluttered and messy, if not corrupted, right from the get-go. Also, some of your programs/apps can be incompatible with the 'new' version, believe it or not, or simply uninstalled during the process so you can end up having to spend time troubleshooting the issues afterwards. These are not likely to be major issues and weren't risky enough for me to say "Stop, don't do that."
OK, my advice to you right now with you guys having come this far. You have two options: 1. Do a clean install. And by clean install I mean pull down 21H1 using the Media Creation Tool, 5 to 6GB, either ISO-write it to a USB flash drive or, my advice, just put it on your Desktop and run its Setup exe from there, and off you go. Once it's done, do wuau or I should say manually trigger it from Settings, Updates & Security etc, and you will definitely get 5005033. I don't often use the word 'definitely' but I'm pretty confident here. But ... you know what 'clean' means - you lose everything, so make sure you have it all backed up ready to reinstall. Big job.
Or - option 2. Stop. Do nothing. Accept the current state of your systems. The lack of 1165 (5005033) is totally irrelevant in the long-term scheme of things. You have a system now that is more up-to-date than probably 80% of the computers on the planet. Many are still running 20H2, 2004, 1909, 1903, 1809, 1803, 17..... blah blah. Many are still running 8.1 or 8. More are still with 7, and I know many still on Vista and XP/SP3 who are perfectly satisfied with their 'out-of-date' computers that MS would love to have them panic about and lie awake at night worrying about. Windows 10 will continue to late 2025 and the whole Windows-as-a-service model, which was garbage hype-speak and doomed to fail from the start and has wonderfully lived up to that prediction, has as expected been dumped by MS. Welcome Windows 11, which was never going to happen under WaaS.
So, Option 1 or Option 2? Tough choice? No. Easy choice. Without doubt I recommend Option 2. Clean up your systems. Turn off, I mean totally cripple, wuau. Stop looking for problems (you will always find them, in addition to those you already have), and start using your computers for whatever you want to use them for. By the time your frozen-in-time-at-today system no longer does what you want it to do, we'll be on Windows 12 and Windows 11 will be a dim and distant memory, much less 10. The golden rule here - no computer, no computer, has ever ceased to function as a result of not obsessively installing Windows Updates. Sure, they become harder to use over time (case-in-point being XP), as s/w companies no longer issue updates of their programs which will run on XP, but will you ever get a blue screen, or lose everything, from not installing a Windows update? You know the answer. My mic is now dropped.

Answer 3

You're welcome silbian. BTW, as a native Italian-speaker, your command of written English is superb. If this was an Italian-based msg board and I tried contributing, the other participants would think I was Klingon. All the best.

Answer 4

Hi again RamuIndrasimhan & Silbian, I said my mic was dropped but I just picked it up again. I was cleaning my teeth actually - all my light bulb moments happen when I'm doing something like that, something mundane. It's almost 1 a.m. here in Sydney Australia.
I said something wrong or at least misleading previously. I can't believe I did that because I use the Media Creation Tool all the time. When a major version of Windows 10 comes out, I don't wait for wuau to do it, for so many reasons. I just do it myself so that it happens quickly and cleanly and I have control over what's going on. This is the Media Creation Tool
https://www.microsoft.com/en-au/software-download/windows10
Right now, if you download the whole file (about 5.5GB from memory), you'll get 21H1 because that's the latest / current supported. So if you were on 20H2, you'd download the whole install file for 21H1 using the tool, and install it. You'd of course check 'Keep files and folders and data' or whatever it's called. In that way, you are effectively getting a totally clean install of Windows, without losing anything. It does work, and quite well.
Now, here's something interesting that I don't know the answer to. Given that you are both (I think I have this right) running 21H1, I think if you download it using the Tool right now, and try to install it, it will say you already have it. I don't think you can install over the same version. But I might be wrong. Someone will know.
That is a way of doing, effectively, a clean install without the need to backup everything (BTW if you do have to backup everything at any time - not talking about a Macrium/Acronis/EaseUS imaging tool, but just simple backup - I use FreeFileSync, one of the greatest programs ever written).
Then you'd let wuau find and install KB4023057 and KB5005033 etc, which should go fine (assuming you don't have a hardware or driver compatibility issue, but if you're already on 21H1, your system can clearly accept it.)
Now, if I'm right and you can't install a version over the top of itself, all you have to do is to wait for a few months for 21H2, download it using the Tool, install after checking the 'Save personal files and folders etc' option, and all your problems should be over. Whatever was good about 5005003 will, by definition, be included in 21H2.
MS hasn't given a date yet for 21H2 ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_10_version_history ), but given that 11 is fast approaching, you'd think 21H2 would have to be released in the next month or two.
Hope that helps.

Answer 5

Jeremy thanks for all the advice, I really appreciate. I'll vacillate between your two options. The only reason I would consider option 1 is because I game a lot, and alot of times games will start having problems if Windows is not fully up to date.

I'll give the 1st option a try, and if not, just format the computer and start from square one.

Silbian I have to agree with Jeremy, it has been great having you on this thread, sharing your experiences as well. I too agree that your English is excellent. My wife is of Italian heritage (Sicilian) and I loved Italy when we went for our honeymoon.