Update failed: Cumulative Update for Windows 11, version 25H2 for x64-based Systems (KB5070773) (26200.6901)

• Best (keeps PIN removed): stop Chrome from asking Windows to authenticate before autofilling passwords.
• Alternative (keeps Chrome behavior but removes the dialog): re‑enable a Windows Hello PIN (so the prompt will accept your PIN or biometric).

1. Open Chrome and go to:
   chrome://settings/passwords
2. Look for the setting labelled something like:
   • “Use Windows Hello to sign in to autofill passwords” or
   • “Require Windows Hello / OS authentication to fill saved passwords”
     and switch that toggle OFF.
   (If you don’t see an explicitly named Windows Hello toggle, continue below with the fallback steps.)
3. Test: go to a site where Chrome previously prompted and try autofill — Chrome should fill passwords directly without the Windows Security box.

1. In Chrome address bar open:
   chrome://flags
2. Search for “Windows Hello” or “OS authentication”.
3. Find the flag named similar to:
   “OS authentication will use new Windows Hello if available”
   and set it to Disabled.
4. Relaunch Chrome.

• Open: chrome://policy
• Look for any password/Autofill/Authenticator policy entries. If a policy is present and forcing OS auth, you cannot change it locally — you’ll need the admin to change it.

1. Settings → Accounts → Sign‑in options → Windows Hello PIN → Add.
2. After you add a PIN, Chrome’s prompts will accept it rather than showing the blank Windows Security dialog.

• Disabling Chrome’s OS auth makes filling passwords easier but removes the extra second factor that prevents someone with physical access from getting your saved passwords. If you keep auto‑fill on, consider enabling a PIN or a 3rd‑party password manager with its own master password.

• “Turn off Chrome OS auth” — I’ll wait while you open chrome://settings/passwords and confirm the toggle name (if present) and tell you where it is.
• “Use flag fallback” — I’ll give the exact chrome://flags steps to run.
• “I’ll re‑enable PIN” — I’ll give the exact steps to add a PIN.

• Re‑enable Kaspersky (or any AV you paused) before browsing and after installs.
• For Office 2019: redeem your retail key at setup.office.com (or install from account.microsoft.com) and activate with your Microsoft account.
• For Adobe Creative Cloud: install the Creative Cloud desktop app, sign in to your Adobe ID, then reinstall apps.
• After both are installed, I recommend creating another image/restore point so you have a clean baseline.

• This changes only your user account (HKCU). No admin elevation is required for the HKCU changes, but you’ll need to restart Explorer (or sign out/in) to see the change.
• I recommend exporting the registry key first if you want a backup.

create the key and an empty default value​

restart Explorer to apply​

1. Press Win+R, type regedit, Enter.
2. Navigate to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID
3. Right‑click CLSID → New → Key. Name it exactly:
   {86ca1aa0-34aa-4e8b-a509-50c905bae2a2}
4. Right‑click that new key → New → Key. Name it:
   InprocServer32
5. With InprocServer32 selected, double‑click the (Default) value in the right pane and make sure the Value data is empty (blank). Click OK.
6. Close Regedit. Restart Explorer (Task Manager → find Windows Explorer → Restart) or sign out and sign in.

• Microsoft may change how the context menu works in future updates; an update could revert behavior (you can reapply the fix quickly).
• This only affects your account (HKCU). Other users on the machine won’t be changed.
• If you use any context‑menu shell extensions, they will appear in the classic menu once enabled.

• If you want me to remove the temporary startup workaround (scheduled task + script) I can give the single commands or remove them for you now:
  • Delete scheduled task: schtasks /Delete /TN "RestartNetworkOnBoot" /F
  • Remove script: Remove-Item 'C:\Windows\Temp\RestartNetworkOnBoot.ps1' -Force
• If you prefer to keep the workaround for a few days while you finish installs and confirm stability, that’s fine too.
• When Office and Adobe are reinstalled, I recommend creating another full image or restore point as a final baseline.

• Remove the scheduled task (yes/no)?
• Help with Office/Adobe activation steps if you hit anything?
• Post a short “resolved” reply to your forum thread?

• Create a final restore point / image now that everything’s working (recommended). I can give the one‑line Checkpoint-Computer command if you want.
• If you need help installing/activating Office 2019 with your retail key I can walk you through the exact steps (redeem at setup.office.com → download → install) or provide the ODT offline method.
• If you want, I can post a short “Resolved / temporary workaround applied” reply you can copy into your forum thread to close it.
• If you decide later you want to re‑enable a PIN for better security, I can show the steps — Autologon will keep working until you disable it.

• Deleting C:\Windows.old is permanent (it contains the previous Windows installation). After deletion you cannot roll back to the old install.
• You already have restore points and repaired the system earlier — good. If you want extra safety, create a fresh system image (Macrium Reflect or other) before deleting. If you don’t want a full image, at least create a restore point (may be subject to the 24‑hour throttle).
• Close all programs and make sure no installers or processes are using files in C:\Windows.old.

• Press Start, type Disk Cleanup, right‑click Disk Cleanup and choose Run as administrator.
• Or press Win, type cleanmgr, then right‑click and Run as administrator.

• Previous Windows installation(s) (this is Windows.old)
• Temporary Windows installation files (optional)
• Temporary files, and other large items you want to remove

• Settings → System → Storage → Temporary files → wait to scan → check “Previous version of Windows” (or “Previous Windows installation(s)”) → Remove files.

Take ownership (if needed)​

Grant Administrators full control (if needed)​

Remove the folder (this is permanent)​

• The takeown/icacls lines are only necessary if PowerShell complains about permissions.
• Remove-Item can take many minutes depending on size. Don’t interrupt it.

• After completion run:
  Test-Path C:\Windows.old
  It should return False.

• Reboot into Safe Mode and retry Disk Cleanup or Remove‑Item, or run the disk cleanup approach from Windows Recovery/PE if needed. But you likely won’t need this.

• Walk you through Disk Cleanup step‑by‑step now (I’ll wait while you run it), or
• Give the exact PowerShell Remove-Item commands and wait while you run them, or
• Wait while you create a disk image first and then delete Windows.old?

1. Run Disk Cleanup as Administrator
   • Press Start, type Disk Cleanup.
   • Right‑click Disk Cleanup and choose Run as administrator.
2. Select drive C: if prompted.
3. Click “Clean up system files” (you’ll be asked to pick C: again).
4. Wait while it scans. When the list appears, look for:
   • “Previous Windows installation(s)” (this is the Windows.old data)
   • You can also check other items like “Temporary Windows installation files” if you want to remove more.
5. Check “Previous Windows installation(s)” and click OK → Delete Files.
6. Wait for it to finish (may take some minutes). When done, Windows.old will be removed.

• If it returns False, nothing to delete. If True, continue.

• Close all apps. If an installer or service is locking files, try a normal reboot and repeat Method 1 or 2.
• If still blocked, boot into Safe Mode and run the Remove-Item / rd command there:
  • Reboot → hold Shift while you click Restart → Troubleshoot → Advanced options → Startup Settings → Restart → choose Safe Mode (4). Then run the delete commands in an elevated PowerShell.

• Boot from a Windows recovery drive (WinPE) and delete C:\Windows.old from the command prompt there. This will definitely work but is rarely necessary.

• After the commands complete, run:
  Test-Path C:\Windows.old
  It should return False.

• Create a new restore point or system image so you have a fresh baseline:
  • GUI: Create a restore point (System Protection) or use your imaging tool.
  • PowerShell (Admin): Checkpoint-Computer -Description "Post-AdobeInstall Baseline" -RestorePointType "MODIFY_SETTINGS"
    (If you just created a restore point recently you may be blocked by the 24‑hour throttle; a disk image is an alternative.)

• Let it finish: Do not shutdown or interrupt the deletion while it’s running. Interrupting may leave partial cleanup and you’ll have to rerun it or use Safe Mode to finish.
• You can check progress in the Disk Cleanup dialog or Settings → Storage (the scanning/deleting bar shown). If it looks frozen for many minutes, it may still be working — give it a bit longer.
• If it reports “files in use” or errors when it finishes, reboot and run Disk Cleanup as Administrator again (or delete from Safe Mode).
• If you want to see whether the folder is shrinking while it runs, you can open an elevated PowerShell and run every minute to watch remaining size:
  (Get-ChildItem C:\Windows.old -Recurse -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Measure-Object -Property Length -Sum).Sum / 1GB
  — that prints an approximate GB count (you’ll see it drop over time). Only run if you’re curious; not necessary.

• Verify C:\Windows.old is gone:
  Test-Path C:\Windows.old # should return False
• Then create your final restore point (or a full disk image) before reinstalling Adobe just to have a clean baseline.

• Close all apps, reboot into Safe Mode and run Disk Cleanup (or the Remove-Item PowerShell command I gave earlier) from an elevated prompt. Safe Mode avoids file locks.
• If even Safe Mode can’t remove it, we can delete from Windows Recovery/WinPE — I’ll guide you step‑by‑step if we need that.