Windows Vista Service Pack Installation Fails with Error 0XC0190036

Microsoft releases various Service Packs for its already existing Windows operating system versions. These include several patches and refinements over earlier version that help improving its performance and stability. For their proper installation and functioning, it is required that the target hard disk should be intact and system files should be healthy. If not, it can compel you to reinstall the system, which brings loss. However, you can regain this data by using a backup or a windows partition recovery utility.

You might encounter several errors and issues when installing Service Pack on your Windows Vista-based computer. When you try to install Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) or Service Pack 2 (SP2), the operation can fail with an 0XC0190036 error followed by an error code and a file name. The file is a system file. Windows fails to boot after you receive this error.

Cause

Error 0XC0190036 appears because of the file that service pack targets to patch is corrupted. This could occur if the hard disk file system is inconsistent or automatic defragmentation has corrupted the system file(s).

Solution

To prevent this error from occurring, you should run chkdsk /f repair command for fixing any disk corruption issues and disable all disk defragmentation utilities before trying to apply service pack. Since the system file(s) are corrupted, you need to replace it with a fresh copy. Following solutions can help you in this regard:

• Boot your computer using Windows Vista installation disk and run sfc/ scannow to check for corrupted system files and/or execute chkdsk command

• If this doesn't help, you can repair the Windows installation or run startup repair

• As the last resort, you should opt for reinstalling Windows Vista that will replace all the system files

Windows Vista reinstall can cause data loss if you use dynamic disks, haven't partitioned the disk or have stored important documents on primary drive. Thus, to restore them, you need to use your last backup. If this fails for any reason, you should use windows data recovery utilities to extract and restore the lost data from affected disk. Windows Partition Recovery tools provide you interactive design and powerful procedures that give easy way to recovery.

Resources: http://crm.sys-con.com/node/1196857