5 Best Ways to Fix Windows 10 Upgrade Error Code 0xc0000017 (2022) - Qiling  

How to Fix Windows 10 Upgrade Error Code 0xc0000017


5 Ways to Fix Error Code 0xc0000017 in Windows 10

One common issue of Windows 10 upgrade/update is "There isn't enough memory available to create a ramdisk device" (error code 0xc0000017). A fresh install is undesirable. Therefore, check the workaround in the following content, and fix Windows 10 upgrade error 0xc0000017 during installation by yourself.

Workable Solutions Step-by-step Troubleshooting
Fix 1. Copy System Files to Config Download and install WinPE. Enter Windows Preinstallation Environment...Full steps
Fix 2. Clean Up Bad Memory Entries Since the computer is unbootable, you need the help of the recovery drive...Full steps
Fix 3. Disconnect External Devices Disconnect the external devices. Reboot your computer and check...Full steps
Fix 4. Update Motherboard Drivers Visit the manufacturer's official site and download the latest drivers to a USB drive...Full steps
Fix 5. Disable Hybrid Graphics Press the power button to turn off the workstation. Press the power button again to turn on...Full steps

Overview - What Is Error Code 0xc0000017

Error code 0xc0000017 stands for STATUS_NO_MEMORY – There are not enough virtual memory or swap file quotas for the specified operation. This error occurs if Windows 10 (or Windows 8.1) is rebooting after installing an update. A blue screen appears with the following message:

error code 0xc0000017 - you couldn't start properly

Also Read: How to Fix Error Code 0x80070002 in Windows Update

Scene - Not Enough Memory Available to Create a Ramdisk Device

"Trying to upgrade via Windows Update, and was asked to reboot the computer and then start the upgrade. Did as told. While during the rebooting process, whoops, error 0xc0000017 occurred, displaying a message 'There isn't enough memory available to create a ramdisk device'. In fact, the computer's hard drive has ENOUGH unused disk space available. How to fix the error and finish Windows 10 upgrade?"

Even with plenty of RAM unused, you're still likely to get stuck in Windows 10 upgrade due to insufficient hard drive memory. To put it more accurately, not enough CONTIGUOUS space. What does the error code 0xc0000017 imply then? The problem stems from areas of memory having been marked as bad by Windows built-in Boot Configuration Data (BCD), and this interferes with the Windows 10 installer's ability to make use of RAM as a temporary store for data. Since this is not a practical memory issue, it can be easily resolved by doing as follows.

Resolution - How to Fix Error Code 0xc0000017 (5 Ways)

Here, you are going to learn five ways to fix error code 0xc0000017 due to insufficient RAM, the conflicts of external devices, bad memory blocks, and more. Read on to get more details.

Fix 1. Fix Error 0xc0000017 by Copying System Files 

You could be faced with this error if your system files are lost. If you want to fix error code 0xc0000017, follow the steps below.

Step 1. Download and install WinPE.

Step 2. Enter Windows Preinstallation Environment and navigate to C:\Windows\System32\config\RegBack.

Step 3. Copy the backed up system file to config, then you can boot normally.

Fix 2. Clean Up Bad Memory Entries to Fix Error Code 0xc0000017

Error code 0xc0000017 means not enough memory available to create a ramdisk device. Therefore, you can fix the error code 0xc0000017 in Windows 10 by cleaning up bad memory entries.

Step 1. Because the computer is unbootable, you need the help of a Windows 10 recovery drive or Windows 10 installation disk.

Step 2. Connect the installation disk to your computer.

Step 3. Then click "Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Command Prompt" to continue.

click command prompt in the boot screen

Step 4. Type bcdedit /enum all and press "Enter". A list of all memory locations labeled as "bad" will appear. This list can be removed or deleted.

Step 5. Type bcdedit /deletevalue {badmemory} badmemorylist and hit "Enter". 

Then you can exit and restart your PC and perform the update.

Fix 3. Disconnect External Devices to Fix 0xc0000017 Error

Another easy and quick way to fix error 0xc0000017 is to disconnect external devices. The error code 0xc0000017 may be caused by the conflict of the external devices. 

Step 1. Disconnect the external devices.

Step 2. Reboot your computer and check if you have solved the error

Fix 4. Update Motherboard Drivers to Fix 0xc0000017 Error

Last but not least, you can update motherboard drivers. You can be faced with a 0xc0000017 error if your driver is outdated. You also need a recovery drive or WinPE USB because your computer cannot boot. Then, follow the steps below to update motherboard drivers.

Step 1. Visit the manufacturer's official site and download the latest drivers to a USB drive.

Step 2. Boot the unbootable computer from the recovery drive.

Step 3. Then click "Troubleshoot > Advanced Options > Startup Settings" to continue.

Step 4. Click "Restart" and Press "F4" to enable Safe Mode.

enter safe mode

Step 5. Connect the USB drive which saves the latest driver to the unbootable computer. Open the executable file and follow on-screen prompts to install the driver.

Fix 5. Disable Hybrid Graphics If Error 0xc0000017 Occurs

Hybrid graphics is a concept involving two graphics cards on the same computer. It has been developed to support both high performance and power saving use cases. Some users say they solved error 0xc0000017 after disabling hybrid graphics.

Step 1. Press the power button to turn off the workstation.

Step 2. Press the power button again to turn on the workstation, and then repeatedly press the ESC key to enter the Startup Menu.

Step 3. From the Startup Menu, press the F10 key to enter the BIOS setup utility.

Step 4. Click "Advanced > Device Configurations > Hybrid Graphics", and then click "Disable".

Step 5. Click "Save > Save changes" and exit BIOS.

disable hybrid graphics to fix error 0xc0000017

Hard Drive Memory Management After Fixing Error 0xc0000017

Wish you good luck in solving the problem of 0xc0000017 error during installing Windows 10 and Windows 10 update. Next are bonus tips on how to make full use of your computer hard drive memory by organizing and managing it in a logical way.

Qiling Partition Master, as the best partition software that has been serving in the market for over a decade, is ready to help. You can customize your hard drive volumes with the magic partition software by resizing/moving your partition, merging partitions (by merging two partitions into one is a good way to create a volume with very large space without data loss.), and splitting a partition (split one partition into two or more partitions to support multiple functions. It's a good way to use your computer hard drive memory in different categories). Since the last two ways have been detailed already, the following steps will show you how to resize your partition.

Step 1. Check for free space

To divide a disk partition into multiple ones, you must ensure that there has adequate free space to be allotted.

Step 2. Shrink a disk partition to create unallocated space

By doing so, start with the "Resize/Move" feature. Click on a partition with a lot free space and select "Resize/Move".

decrease partition step 1

Drag either end of the partition rightwards or leftwards so you can shrink its size as the red arrow does, in order to get ample unallocated space. You can visually know how much space you've decreased in the "Partition size" area.

decrease partition step 2

At last, you need to click the "Proceed" to save all the changes. Go back on the main window, there should be unallocated space appearing under the same disk of the shrinked one.

Step 3. Create a new partition on unallocated space

The last step is to turn the unallocated space into a usable partition drive with a recognized file system. Right-click on the unallocated space and choose "Create".

create partition step 1

Customize the partition information by choosing a drive letter, partition label, file system (NTFS, FAT32, EXT2/3/4, exFAT) and many more settings in the Advanced Settings.

create partition step 2

Finally, click "Proceed" to confirm that you want to create a partition on the unallocated space. Repeat the whole steps to partition a hard drive in many more partitions.

Conclusion

This post has introduced 5 ways to fix error code 0xc0000017. You can try any one of them to fix the error. If you want to partition a hard drive or change the file system, you can always run Qiling Partition Master.

Error Code 0xc0000017 Related Questions

If you still have problems, you can read these questions and answers.

How do I fix error code 0xc0000017?

To fix 0xc0000017:

What is error 0x8007139f?

Windows Update error 0x8007139f usually appears after some failed Windows updates or bugs during the update downloading/installing process. Such a problem might also occur because there are some corrupted system components or software that have been provoking the error code to appear on your computer screen.

How do I fix error code 0x8007139f?

To fix Windows update error:

What is error code 0xc00000e9?

Windows error code 0xc00000e9 is a common Windows Boot Manager error that indicates either a hardware failure or a corrupted system file encountered during the boot process.

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