Last year, Microsoft released a WinRE update to provide a security fix for BitLocker Secure Boot bypass vulnerability CVE-2024-20666. The updates KB5034441 for Windows 10 and KB5034440 for Windows 11 include fixes that will address the risk of bypassing BitLocker encryption by threat actors on an unpatched PC.
Unfortunately, such updates lead to the 0x80070643 – ERROR_INSTALL_FAILURE error message. According to Microsoft, not having enough space on the recovery partition may have caused the install failure error to appear. The updates require an additional 250 MB storage space.
Microsoft had changed its process of delivering WinRE updates thus requiring enough room for the updates to push through. It is now rolled out through the Windows Update and the Windows Server Update Services.
Requirements for Microsoft WinRE KB5034441 and KB5034440 updates
Recently, Microsoft released a guide that will help users identify if they need to install the update. If users meet the following criteria below, they do not need to install the WinRE update.
First, do not install the update if the WinRE recovery partition does not have sufficient free space. Second, the WinRe recovery partition is up to date or manually updated through the process stated in Microsoft’s Add an update package to Windows RE guide.
Third, WinRe image has a greater than or equal version of 10.0.22000.2710 for Windows 11 and 10.0.19041.3920 for Windows 10. Lastly, your PC does not have a WinRE recovery partition.
How to Install WinRE KB5034441 and KB5034440 updates
As the WinRE update requires an additional 250 MB free storage space, make sure that your partition has sufficient disk space. Otherwise, you may need to manually resize your partition.
If you meet all criteria, you can install the update. Click Start and head over to Settings. Go to Windows Update and click Check for updates.
Wrapping Up!
Windows updates are crucial in getting the fixes for bugs from previous update versions while at the same time improving the performance of your PCs. Making sure you follow all the requirements will allow you to successfully install these updates.
