Easy Fixes: Windows could not Configure System Components

This error code ‘Windows could not Configure One or More System Components‘ appears to users running Windows on their computers and it appears when trying to update their PCs to the latest available build of Windows. The full error message goes like:

"Windows could not configure one or more system components. To install windows, restart the computer and then restart the installation."

Despite the need for a restart, it has barely helped anyone and people are desperate for a real solution. We have decided to gather the most successful solutions which have actually helped people online and present them in a detailed manner. Good luck with solving your problem!

What Causes the “Windows could not configure one or more system components” Error?

There are several things to look out for if you want to stay away from this annoying error code. Here is the full list:

Solution 1: Remove Certain Files From Your Computer

If your computer’s keys that IIS (Internet Information Server) uses to encrypt the configuration store using the AES Provider are somehow missing or corrupted, then the provider instantiation will fail.

Because of the fact that the Window 10 installer will also try to install IIS (Internet Information Server), and this fails, the upgrade fails and is rolled back. The correct way to solve this problem is to remove certain files from your computer. They will be recreated once you run the Windows 10 installer.

1. Navigate to the following location on your computer by opening the Windows Explorer and clicking on This PC:

C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Crypto\RSA\MachineKeys

2. If you are unable to see the ProgramData folder, you may need to turn on the option which enables you to view hidden files and folders. Click on the “View” tab on File Explorer’s menu and click on the “Hidden items” checkbox in the Show/hide section.

3. Here are the files you should look for. The name of the file will begin with the first sequence of numbers and letters and end with the GUID of your machine (different for each user:

6de9cb26d2b98c01ec4e9e8b34824aa2_GUID      iisConfigurationKey

d6d986f09a1ee04e24c949879fdb506c_GUID      NetFrameworkConfigurationKey

76944fb33636aeddb9590521c2e8815a_GUID      iisWasKey

4. Select these files, right-click on them, and choose the Delete option which will appear from the context menu. The files will be recreated when you run the Windows updater or Windows installation and the problem should be gone.

Solution 2: Try Using the Media Creation Tool

If an update was released for Windows 10 and you tried to install it the conventional way before you received the error code, you might want to try an alternative which consists of using the Windows Media Creation Tool. This is a file you download from Microsoft’s official website. You will be given the option to update Windows to the latest build after you download it.

1. Download the Media Creation Tool executable from Microsoft’s website and wait for the download to complete. Double-click on the downloaded file in your Downloads folder called MediaCreationTool.exe in order to open the setup. Tap Accept at the first screen.
2. Select the “Upgrade this PC now” option by enabling its radio button and click on the Next button to continue. The tool will download certain files, check for updates, and scan your PC to see if it is ready so please stay patient.

3. Accept the license terms from the next window if you want to continue with the installation and wait again to communicate with Microsoft for updates (again).
4. After that, you should already see the Ready to install screen with Install Windows and Keep personal files and apps options being listed. This has been chosen automatically since you are already running Windows 10 and you want to keep everything. The install should now proceed so your computer should be updated after the tool finishes with its process and the error should no longer appear.

Solution 3: Uninstall Your Old Wi-Fi Drivers and Update Others

Old and outdated drivers are also a known cause for this issue. There are several different ways in which the drivers are to blame. Some users claim that their old Wi-Fi driver was to blame and they were able to solve the problem by uninstalling it.

Others claim that they needed to update all of their drivers before proceeding. Try out both of these methods and see which one works the best for you!

1. Click the Start menu button at the lower left part of your screen, type in Device Manager, and click its entry from the list of results at the top.
2. You can also use the Windows Key + R combination by clicking both of these keys simultaneously in order to bring up the Run dialog box. Type in “devmgmt.msc” in the box and click OK.

3. Locate the wireless adapter driver under Network adapters, right click on it, and select Uninstall device from the drop-down menu which will appear. Confirm any prompting dialogs.
4. Right-click on other devices on your computer where the driver needs to be updated and choose Update driver from the drop-down menu. There are tools which can automate the process for you if you want.

5. After you have updated your drivers and gotten rid of the wireless driver, try running the installation and check to see if the “Windows could not configure one or more system components” error still appears!

https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/1b5b24b7-a0f0-4955-9f44-32a977643aef/windows-10-fall-creator-upgrade-1709-stops-at-45-with-quotwindows-could-not-configure-one-or-more?forum=win10itprosetup

Solution 4: Uninstall IIS

Internet Information Services (IIS, formerly Internet Information Server) is an extensible web server created by Microsoft for use with the Windows NT family. IIS supports HTTP, HTTP/2, HTTPS, FTP, FTPS, SMTP and NNTP.

If you are not using it, you should know that it could be the culprit behind your frustrations regarding this error and you should consider uninstalling it immediately!

1. On your keyboard, use the Windows Key + R key combination to open the Run dialog box. Also, you can search these directly in the Start menu if your Windows OS supports it.
2. Type in Control Panel and click OK in order to open it. Make sure you change the view in Control Panel to View by: Category and click on Uninstall a program under the Programs section.

3. At the right side of the screen which opens, click on Turn Windows features on or off and locate the Internet Information Services entry on the list. Uncheck the box next to it and click the OK button in order to apply the changes. Check to see if the error is gone!

Solution 5: Unplug your SD Card Reader

This might be an odd way to solve the problem but plenty of users suggested that the problem has automatically fixed itself after users have disconnected the SD card from their respective computers. You can reconnect if after the update finishes or after you install Windows successfully!