Oh, look! It’s another update from Microsoft with weird or unwanted side effects. This time around it is the KB5057588 update, which is an update to the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE).
Sysadmins are being freaked out by the appearance of an error message that reads 0x80070643 — ERROR_INSTALL_FAILURE. Time to panic? Nope! Microsoft says to just ignore it.
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It is not usually a good idea to ignore an error message — after all, it is reasonable to assume that it has been generated for a reason. But not in this instance, Microsoft insists. This is an error message which is incorrect and should be paid no heed.
In the known issues sections of the support document for the KB5057588 update, Microsoft says:
After installing this update, you might see the following error message in the Windows Update settings page: 0x80070643 — ERROR_INSTALL_FAILURE. This error message is not accurate and does not impact the update or device functionality. Although the error message suggests the update did not complete, the WinRE update is typically applied successfully after the device restarts. Windows Update might continue to display the update as failed until the next daily scan, at which point the update is no longer offered and the failure message is cleared automatically.
In a separate and slightly different message posted to Windows release health, the company says:
After installing the April 2025 Windows Recovery Environment update [KB5057588], you might see the following error message in the Windows Update settings page: 0x80070643 — ERROR_INSTALL_FAILURE. This error message is not accurate and does not impact the update or device functionality. The Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) is a recovery environment that can repair common causes of unbootable operating systems.
This error is observed when the device installs the WinRE update when there is another update in a pending reboot state. Although the error message suggests the update did not complete, the WinRE update is typically applied successfully after the device restarts. Windows Update might continue to display the update as failed until the next daily scan, at which point the update is no longer offered and the failure message is cleared automatically.
While it is great that this update has not caused disruptive issues in the same way that so many others have, an error message that amounts to a false positive is very concerning.
Microsoft says that “we are working on a resolution and will provide more information when it is available”, but just what that timescale is is anybody’s guess.
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