How to fix
0xC1900101 – 0x30018 error
on Windows

Upgrading Windows 8.1 to the Windows 10 fails all the time. The process gets stuck at several percents (usually 2%) and the throws a BSOD with an error code 0xc1900101-0x30018. I’ve been looking for the information related to this bug, but then due to its lack I’ve decided to write here. I don’t know what steps I should take to fix it. For not, I left my laptop with the blue screen and write currently from my mobile. Please help ASAP because I need to get back to my documents on the laptop. Thanks in advance!

0xc1900101-0x30018 is an error code, which is provided on the Windows Blue Screen of Death (BSOD). Usually, it shows up when a computer/laptop user is trying to upgrade from Windows 8.1 or Windows 7 to Windows 10, but in vain. Besides, some people claim that 0xc1900101-0x30018 BSOD shows up when attempting to upgrade Windows 10 to 1511 or 10547 versions. The message states:

We couldn’t install Windows 10. We’ve set your PC back to the way it was right before you started installing Windows 10. 0xC1900101 – 0x30018. The installation failed in the FIRST_BOOT phase with an error during SYSPREP operation.

While this problem hasn’t been common up till now, it seems that more and more people are encountering it because Microsoft forum is buzzing about this issue. Nevertheless, Microsoft executive have already confirmed this bug and reported that it’s triggered by driver incompatibility or antivirus software. Close investigation of this issue has revealed, that there are several things that can be done to fix 0xC1900101 – 0x30018 bug manually until Microsoft releases a patch.

How to fix 0xC1900101 – 0x30018 error on Windows?

Since Microsoft claims that the main case behind this bug may be antivirus, you should disable or remove it in the first place. If you want to disable it, simply right-click on its icon on the toolbar and then select Disable. After that, navigate to the Task Manager (click Ctrl + Alt + Delete) and check if all services related to your anti-malware tool are off. In case you opt for removing it, navigate to Control Panel – Uninstall a Program under Programs. Then find your anti-virus on the list, right-click on it, and select Uninstall.

If this method did not help, then you should also try to run a scan with [d1]. It will let you be sure that 0xC1900101 – 0x30018 error code is or is not the result of malware/virus infection, registry failure or another similar system inconsistency. That’s because PC optimization tools like this one are capable of checking such things.
Only if none of these methods did not solve 0xC1900101 – 0x30018 error, you should try to perform the methods listed below:

Method 1.  Update drivers

1. Press Win key and type Device Manager.
2. Click on the Device Manager and check if any drivers are marked with a yellow exclamation mark.
3. If you detect that some of the drivers are malfunctioning, right-click on each of them and select Properties.
4. Then select Drivers on a drop down menu and click on Update Drivers option.
5. Finally, reboot the system.

Method 2. Manually reset Windows update components

1. Click Win key + X simultaneously and select Command Prompt (Admin).
2. Now your task is to disable BITS, Cryptographic, MSI Installer, and the Windows Update Services. For this purpose, type the following commands in the Command Prompt window and press Enter after each of them:
   net stop wuauserv
   net stop cryptSvc
   net stop bits
   net stop msiserver
3. After that, type the following commands to rename SoftwareDistribution and Catroot2 folders. Don’t forget to type Enter after each of them:
   ren C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution SoftwareDistribution.old
   ren C:\Windows\System32\catroot2 Catroot2.old
4. Once done, enable BITS, Cryptographic, MSI Installer and the Windows Update Services (disabled before). This can be done by inputting the following command and pressing Enter after each of them:
   net start wuauserv
   net start cryptSvc
   net start bits
   net start msiserver
5. Finally, close Command Prompt window and reboot your PC.