Your "Windows Could Not Upgrade the File %1 from %2 %1: %2" error:

This problem is most unlikely to have been caused by something you were
downloading.

First boot to DOS using a floppy and check whether you have a WININIT.INI
file in your C:\WINDOWS folder. If present rename it to something like
wininit.old and try booting again. It is also probable that you will have
to repeat the last software install or update that you made. See MS
KB283069 - "Error Message: Windows Could Not Upgrade the File %1 from %2
%1: %2 (http://support.microsoft.com?kbid=283069).

If you can't find a wininit.ini file then I suspect your problem is due to
the C:\_RESTORE\TEMP folder having around 64K files in it which is the
limit (2**16) for the number of files that can be located in a folder
using the FAT32 filing system. This then results in the "Cannot upgrade
file %1 from %2.." message when booting. I suggest you try deleting the
_RESTORE folder with the loss of any system restore checkpoints you might
have (not that I think they are now usable) and see if that solves the
problem. Delete the folder as follows:
a) Boot to DOS using a floppy. Do NOT choose "Minimal Boot" from the menu
when booting from a floppy but rather choose "Start computer with (or
without) CD-ROM support" otherwise the ATTRIB command will not be
available.
b) At the DOS A:\ prompt, type:

ATTRIB -H -S -R C:\_RESTORE
and then
REN C:\_RESTORE OLDREST

c) Remove the floppy
d) Reboot your PC

Another problem is that the update you were doing was never completed so
your system may still be unusable and the update repeated.

e) Delete the folder C:\OLDREST
f) Check that an automatic system restore checkpoint was created. g)
Finally adjust the space allocated to the restore folder: System |
Performance | File System | Hard Disk and adjust the restore slider to
your preferred setting. A figure of 200MB is normally more than
adequate for day to day use allowing perhaps a week of checkpoints to be
available although increasing this to perhaps 400MB for a few days during
periods of large installs such Microsoft Office is advisable.
--?
Mike Maltby MS-MVP



Chris wrote:

After completing a Windows update I restarted my computer
and received the following message: Windows could not
upgrade the file %1 from %2. I found instructions on how
to resolve this but it refers me to the program I was
trying to download. Unfortunately I have no idea which
program to look for. My son must have downloaded
something from the internet. How can I remove this
message. Also my computer will not defrag, it just sits
there at 0%. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.