claudetools/clients/rednour/session-logs/2026-06/2026-06-29-howard-carrie-win11-upgrade-applyimage.md

User

• User: Howard Enos (howard)
• Machine: Howard-Home
• Role: tech

Session Summary

Diagnosed a Windows 10 -> 11 in-place upgrade failure on Carrie's machine at Rednour. Setup rolled back with error 0x8007000D - 0x2000C: "The installation failed in the SAFE_OS phase with an error during APPLY_IMAGE operation."

Decoded the failure: 0x8007000D = ERROR_INVALID_DATA; 0x2000C = the failure occurred in the SAFE_OS (offline WinPE) phase during the APPLY_IMAGE step, i.e. Setup choked while laying down the new Windows image. This class of failure points at corrupt/incomplete setup media or download, a storage/disk issue, or interference from drivers, AV, or attached external devices — not a TPM/hardware compatibility block (which fails earlier with a different message).

Provided a prioritized remediation path: (1) unplug all non-essential externals (USB drives, docks, dongles, SD cards) and temporarily disable third-party AV; (2) build fresh install media via the Media Creation Tool and run setup.exe from a mounted ISO rather than the in-place download/Update Assistant; (3) clear the old upgrade cache ($WINDOWS.~BT, $WINDOWS.~WS, SoftwareDistribution\Download) after stopping wuauserv/bits; (4) repair the running OS with DISM RestoreHealth + SFC + chkdsk and confirm 20+ GB free; (5) update storage/chipset drivers (Intel RST / AMD RAID being a classic APPLY_IMAGE culprit).

Howard reported he has already updated drivers and run all the repairs. He will attempt the upgrade on Carrie's machine tonight and will loop me back in if it fails. No remote action was taken this session — GuruRMM does not work for Rednour (see Pending), so any remote assist is currently blocked; this would be a hands-on / by-hand effort.

Key Decisions

• Classified the error as media/storage/interference rather than a hardware-compatibility block, based on the SAFE_OS + APPLY_IMAGE failure signature.
• Recommended a fresh ISO mounted in-Windows (setup.exe) over the in-place download, since the download cache is a frequent source of the invalid-data corruption.
• Held off on any remote remediation this session: upgrade is scheduled by Howard for tonight, and RMM coverage for Rednour is non-functional.

Problems Encountered

• Windows 11 in-place upgrade fails at SAFE_OS / APPLY_IMAGE with 0x8007000D - 0x2000C. Not yet resolved — driver updates and OS repairs already done by Howard; next attempt is a manual upgrade tonight. If it recurs, the actionable next step is to pull the first error from C:\$WINDOWS.~BT\Sources\Panther\setuperr.log around the APPLY_IMAGE step.
• GuruRMM is not working for Rednour, so the machine cannot be assisted/repaired remotely.

Configuration Changes

None this session (advisory/diagnostic only).

Credentials & Secrets

None discovered or created.

Infrastructure & Servers

• Client: Rednour
• Affected machine: Carrie's workstation (Windows 10, attempting upgrade to Windows 11)
• GuruRMM: NOT functional for Rednour client (remote management unavailable)

Commands & Outputs

Error shown on Carrie's machine:

0x8007000D - 0x2000C
The installation failed in the SAFE_OS phase with an error during APPLY_IMAGE operation

Recommended OS-repair sequence (already run by Howard):

dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth
sfc /scannow
chkdsk C: /scan

Upgrade-cache reset (elevated):

net stop wuauserv
net stop bits
# delete C:\$WINDOWS.~BT, C:\$WINDOWS.~WS (hidden), C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download\*
net start wuauserv
net start bits

Diagnostic logs to pull if the next attempt fails:

C:\$WINDOWS.~BT\Sources\Panther\setupact.log
C:\$WINDOWS.~BT\Sources\Panther\setuperr.log

Pending / Incomplete Tasks

• Howard to manually attempt the Win10 -> Win11 upgrade on Carrie's machine TONIGHT (2026-06-29), using a fresh ISO / setup.exe with externals unplugged and AV disabled.
• If it fails again: capture setuperr.log from C:\$WINDOWS.~BT\Sources\Panther\ and bring it back for analysis of the specific failing file/volume/driver.
• BLOCKER: GuruRMM does not work for Rednour — no remote remediation available; assist must be hands-on.

Reference Information

• Error: 0x8007000D (ERROR_INVALID_DATA) / 0x2000C (SAFE_OS phase, APPLY_IMAGE operation)
• Panther logs: C:\$WINDOWS.~BT\Sources\Panther\setupact.log and setuperr.log
• Billing target ticket: Syncro #32368 (id 111999527) — Rednour Law (customer 1224246), subject "New machine for Carrie to act as a central hub/file share. Upgrade for reception computer that is running slow." (created 2026-06-02, status Customer Reply). All labor for this Carrie-machine / reception-upgrade effort gets billed here when the work is done. Route the actual billing through /syncro — do not free-hand the API. URL: https://computerguru.syncromsp.com/tickets/111999527

Update: 16:?? PT — billing ticket identified

Howard provided the Syncro ticket the Carrie-machine work will be billed to once complete: #32368 (id 111999527) — Rednour Law. Confirmed read-only that it belongs to customer 1224246 and matches the scope (new central-hub/file-share machine for Carrie + reception upgrade). No billing entered yet — billing happens at completion, via /syncro.