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Summary: Error 8000FFFF results on Windows Vista machines with 4gig of RAM. As of this writing there's no resolution to error 8000FFFF on a Windows Update.
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I recently got a new machine with Windows Vista pre-installed. Naturally one of the first things it does is connect to Windows Update and install a bunch of updates released since the Vista DVD was created. But one of them fails with error 8000FFFF. Why? And what do I do? |
So I'll come clean: this is me asking myself the question. I recently got a new laptop with Windows Vista pre-installed, and have started down the Vista path.
Naturally I was disappointed to start out by getting that error.
And my disappointment around that error continues.
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Here's the error that I got:
As with most errors, it's fairly obscure with just an error code: 8000FFFF. And the programmer in me didn't hold out much hope for that error code telling much, since it looked like a "default" code; in many programs "FFFF" is often used as a generic "something broke" error.
The programmer in me was right. Clicking on the "Get Help" link got me a lot of help ... on totally unrelated errors.
It gets worse. I decide to ignore the problem for now, but the Windows Update icon in the notification area continually tells me that there's an important update I should install. If I click on it, it shows me:
Note that it does indicate that there was an error in the last update attempt. In fact, if I look at the update history it also tells me exactly the same thing; error 8000FFFF:
And that's how it remains today.
The Problem
As you can see from that error log entry it references "when a certain hardware configurations exist". The hardware configuration?
Having 4gig of RAM.
When I ordered my computer I decided to max out the RAM from the beginning, and on this machine that's 4gig.
Unfortunately the very condition that this particular update relates to is apparently preventing it from installing properly.
And, as of this writing, there's no update.
Another symptom of this issue, by the way is this:
As you can see, Vista reports 3.3gig, and not the 4gig of RAM that's actually in the machine.
It'll be interesting to see how quickly they resolve this issue.
But for now, I wait.
Related:
Ask Leo! - Are automatic updates a good thing?
Ask Leo! - Internet Safety: How do I keep my computer safe on the internet?
Article C3002 - April 23, 2007
i have the same problem but on an XP, would you know how to solve this problem as well?
Posted by: tom at April 16, 2009 6:25 PMWendy's didnt work for me, what did i do wrong? i followed every step. please help.
Posted by: Kyle at April 18, 2009 7:08 AMItried various approaches on a clients Acer Laptop (3 gb of ram), none had worked. The fix for me was to delete the registry key, HKLM\Components /v AdvancedInstallersNeedResolving, referenced above.
this worked for me - thanks
Posted by: kevin at May 1, 2009 12:08 PMsorry forgot to give H. Saalas the credit for the solution
Posted by: kevin at May 1, 2009 12:11 PMI am NOT a computer guru AT ALL and I was a little hesitant about doing the things Wendy suggested, but took the chance and IT WORKED!!! Thank you Wendy!!! I've been dealing with this issue for over a year and finally took the time to mess around with it before taking it to a computer store for a diagnosis. It ended up installing over 50 updates! Thanks, again!!!
Posted by: Kim W. at May 16, 2009 12:26 PMI have this error to my SONY Vaio NR-31E with Vista Home Premium and tried your solution. I deleted the files from regedit to the hard drive after extracting the whole detail's pane to my desktop and restarted my computer. Same problem appears
Posted by: AchAttacK4 at May 18, 2009 5:22 AMYou have 32-bit Vista installed.
32-bit operating systems can address a maximum of 3.25 GB of system RAM.
I'd recommend installing SP1 as well. Then your first problem will be resolved. SP1 will display your 4 GB of RAM as well.. but you'll never be able to access more than 3.25 GB. It's mathematically impossible for a 32-bit system to do so.
- Alex
Posted by: Alex at May 22, 2009 2:58 PMI have a Dell with 6 GB RAM and also have this problem. Where can I find "Wendy's" solution? Is it usable for a techno-dunce like me?
Posted by: Paul at May 25, 2009 8:20 PMokay so i have read just about everything that comes to this error 8000ffff. i found this website and it fixed the problem for me cause i had a HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\COMPONENTS\AdvancedInstallersNeedResolving porblem.
Posted by: Rachael at May 28, 2009 10:07 AMnow its all fixed thanks so much everyone...
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/946414#Fixed
I tried following the directions from the website left here, and I got up to Step 8 which says this: In the Save in box, click Desktop, and then click Save to save the file to your desktop.
Posted by: Emily at June 21, 2009 7:12 PMI did that, but step 9 is this: "In the details pane, right-click PendingXmlIdentifier, and then click Delete. If this value does not exist, go to the next step." I have no clue what the details pane is! Can someone please help me? Thanks. :)