KB5034441 Update error 0x80070643

On many Windows 10 systems, the update KB5034441 (Windows Recovery Environment update for Windows 10 21H2 and 22H2) failed with the error code 0x80070643.

0x80070643 (“ERROR_INSTALL_FAILURE”) is a generic error code which means “Fatal error during installation.”

The DISM log may show the following entries:

[16088] ImageUnmarshallHandle: Reconstituting wim at C:\$WinREAgent\Scratch\update.wim.
[15624] Received unmount request for image with guid 73116ee5-7bf5-4e92-90a7-f25f8b714eb8.
[15624] Unmount for image at C:\$WinREAgent\Scratch\Mount complete.
[16088] [0x8007000e] StateStoreGetMountedImageWimbootEntries:(1285): Not enough memory resources are available to complete this operation.

Cause

The problem occurs due to a lack of free space in the Windows RE partition. The update failed to stage the WinRE servicing operation due to insufficient disk space in the WinRE partition.

Other causes include the following:

• The Winre.wim image is outdated.
• WinRE is disabled on the computer.

Resolution

The KB5034441 update services your Winre.wim image and it required approximately 55 MB of free disk space on our test systems. If you’re using the Windows-default winre.wim, ensure that the Recovery partition is at least 750 MB. If your Recovery partition is smaller (e.g., 550 MB or something), please resize it to 750 MB.

Note: For OEM-supplied winre.wim (which has additional drivers and packages), ensure the Recovery partition is at least 100 MB larger than the size of the custom wim.

Option 1: Extend the Recovery partition using a PowerShell script

Microsoft has released a PowerShell script that automatically extends the Recovery partition, such that 250 MB of free space is available in that partition.

Please follow the steps in the following article to run the script.

• How to Extend the Windows RE Partition Using PowerShell

(Credits to Microsoft for the .PS1 script. See Extend the Windows RE Partition on this Microsoft webpage.)

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Option 2: Extend the Recovery partition manually using DiskPart

The instructions for resizing your Recovery partition are mentioned in the Microsoft article below.

KB5028997: Instructions to manually resize your partition to install the WinRE update

Note: The above MS article works only if your Recovery partition is situated next to (i.e., right side) the OS partition. You can check the disk layout by opening Disk Management.

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Option 3: Extend the Recovery partition using a third-party app

Alternatively, you can try MiniTool Partition Wizard or EaseUS software to increase the size of the Recovery partition.

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Option 4: Hide the KB5034441 Update

If you don’t use Bitlocker and want to skip the KB5034441 security update, you can temporarily hide it using Microsoft’s Show/Hide Updates tool.

The tool can be downloaded from the following link:

https://download.microsoft.com/download/f/2/2/f22d5fdb-59cd-4275-8c95-1be17bf70b21/wushowhide.diagcab

Select the KB5034441 update and hide it.

More Information

Source: KB5034441: Windows Recovery Environment update for Windows 10, version 21H2 and 22H2: January 9, 2024

This update addresses a security vulnerability that could allow attackers to bypass BitLocker encryption by using Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE). For more information, see CVE-2024-20666.

IMPORTANT

Some computers might not have a recovery partition that is large enough to complete this update. Because of this, the update for WinRE might fail. In this case, you will receive the following error message:

Windows Recovery Environment servicing failed.
(CBS_E_INSUFFICIENT_DISK_SPACE)

To help you recover from this failure, please follow Instructions to manually resize your partition to install the WinRE update.

Known issue: Because of an issue in the error code handling routine, you might receive the following error message instead of the expected error message when there is insufficient disk space:

0x80070643 – ERROR_INSTALL_FAILURE