Windows 10 1709 (RS2) update fails, claiming an incompatibility with "Novell Client for Windows"

  • 7022603
  • 25-Jan-2018
  • 25-Jan-2018

Environment

Client for Open Enterprise Server 2 SP4
Microsoft Windows 10 build 1709 (RS2)

Situation

When updating to Windows 10 build 1709 (Redstone 2), a message appears:

We found some issues. Select this message to fix and finish updating.

When you click the button that says "Fix Issues", another message appears (after a long wait):

Some apps need to be uninstalled:

These programs need to be uninstalled because they aren't compatible with the upgrade.
*Novell Client for Windows


When you click the button that says "Uninstall and continue", the operation fails, and the message appears:

You'll need to remove these programs yourself, and then select refresh.

Resolution

There is a file in C:\$Windows.~BT\Sources\Panther\ called ScanResult.xml

Open ScanResult.xml and remove the section referencing "nwsndmsg.exe", ie:

<DriverPackages><Programs><Program Name="Novell Client for Windows"
Id="" IconId="nwsndmsg.exe|d45fad05109ec4"><CompatibilityInfo
BlockingType="Hard" StatusDetail="UpgradeBlock"/><Action
Name="ManualUninstall" DisplayStyle="Text"
ResolveState="NotRun"/></Program></Programs></CompatReport>

Search and delete on the hard disk and registry any references to nwsndmsg.exe file. Once removed, restart the Windows 10 update.

Cause

The Windows 10 1709 (RS2) update searches for older files. If it finds an incompatible one on the hard disk or in the registry, it will stop.

The nwsndmsg.exe file (which belongs to an older Novell client) is incompatible with Windows 10, so the update halts.