Upgrade from 18356.16 to 18362.1 fails

Update to my previous reply

I might've found a solution. I've upgraded successfully to 18362.1 just now. This potential solution might cause trouble later down the road though, but everything looks ok for me for now. DISM and SFC checks look good.

I downloaded the upgrade package using the UUP dump tool. The tool downloads the files necessary and converts it into an ISO file. You can try the normal setup first by mounting the ISO file and running the setup executable. If it fails, use SetupDiag and see if the error is the same. If it's the same, you could try what I did. Here's where it could get tedious.

I searched the sources folder and found a manifest file which contains some lines of configuration that look like this:

<plugin
classId="{AE27C1A6-25F2-45FD-9A28-081B81F29E0A}"
critical="Yes"
file="Microsoft-Windows-AppX-Deployment-Server\AppxUpgradeMigrationPlugin.dll"
offlineGather="Yes"
offlineApply="Yes"
/>

So I figured I should try and modify that a bit. Particularly the "critical" value. Here, "critical" is set to "Yes". I think that states if the process is critical and if it fails somewhere, the whole setup needs to abort. If it's set to "No" instead, the process is not critical and if it fails somewhere, the setup just moves on. That's why this might not be 100% safe. Keep that in mind.

I extracted the ISO file and located the manifest file. The manifest file is "\sources\replacementmanifests\appxdeploymentserver-replacement.man". I opened the file with Notepad++ and changed the "'Yes'" in front of "critical=" to "'No'", and saved the file. Then I use some ISO maker program (that allows me to do this for free) to make a new (barely) modified version of the installation ISO.

It's time to install it. I paused Windows Update so that it doesn't interrupt the process (by automatically rebooting the PC which I don't want). I restarted my PC for good measure, and I mounted the new ISO and ran the setup executable. After a while (and after a buggy looking "Working on Updates" screen), my computer got past the error and upgraded successfully.

I did a DISM and an SFC scan, and both resulted fine. But I'll see if there are any issues in UWP programs.

Let me know if this works for any of you. Before doing this though, make sure you have a plan just in case the setup fails midway and can't roll back (such as a backup and a rescue media).

Edit: UWP apps are not working. Settings app works, but a lot of other UWP apps are not working (including the store which is worrying). Can't fix it using PowerShell. Might want to roll back. I fixed the UWP situation. After searching for answers on the internet, broken apps are usable again. I took ownership of the WindowsApps folder inside Program Files and grant full control for my account and "ALL APPLICATION PACKAGES". This fixed the Microsoft Store. Then I opened Regedit and deleted all Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\AppModel\StateChange subkeys (which I think acts as a blacklist for apps which failed the migration). This fixed the rest of the UWP apps.

Edit: People have reported that the workaround is not fail-proof. Your UWP apps could get screwed up really bad. Microsoft has pulled 18362 from Windows Update. Please don't do the workaround as it is risky and might even raise the probability of doing a clean install later in the future. Thank you.