Fix 0x80070643 - Error Install Failure when trying to install Windows Update

[harlan4096]

Microsoft released new security updates for its Windows operating system yesterday. Some administrators see the error message 0x80070643 - ERROR_INSTALL_FAILURE when they try to install the update. The update won't install and trying again throws the same error message again.

Several of our readers ran into the issue. Some received the error message "There were some problems installing updates, but we’ll try again later. If you keep seeing this and want to search the web or contact support for information, this may help: (0x80070643)".

The error code 0x80070643 confirms the issue. Microsoft published a support article that confirms the issue and provides some explanation.  According to Microsoft, the update is addressing a security vulnerability that could allow attackers to bypass Bitlocker encryption by using the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE).

The issue that makes Windows PCs throw the error code is that the recovery partition is not large enough to complete the update. Administrators may also get the error message "Windows Recovery Environment servicing failed. (CBS_E_INSUFFICIENT_DISK_SPACE)" when they try to install it.

The only advice that Microsoft offers is to manually resize the recovery partition so that the update can be installed. Note that the instructions work only if the recovery partition is after the OS partition.

One easy way to find out if that is the case is to open Start, type Disk Management and select "Create and format hard disk partitions" from the results. Locate the main Windows drive and check for the Recovery Partition.
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[harlan4096]

Microsoft confirms 0x80070643 error during Windows update installation