Replace and upgrade components to make updates install

Readers having difficulty upgrading Windows 10 to the latest version may find my experience helpful. My PC, built in 2019, has been stuck on version 1909 (released in November 2019). Windows Update has attempted 11 times to upgrade to the next version (20H2), normally failing at the 48-per-cent mark with the dreaded Blue Screen of Death.

My searches online suggest these problems aren’t uncommon. Online ‘experts’ advise solutions such as running Windows Troubleshooter, typing various Command Prompt commands, updating drivers and so on. None have worked for me.

With support for 1909 ending on 11 May, I made preparations for a clean install of Windows

10. But I then had an idea. The error codes I was getting indicated a hardware driver problem. I replaced the Radeon RX 570 graphics card with a spare Nvidia GTX 750 Ti (pictured above), and as a further safeguard disconnected three SATA drives leaving only the M.2 NVME Windows drive.

Restarting the PC, the 20H2 upgrade then installed successfully. Typing winver into the search box verified that, at last, I was on 20H2. Then a simple task: to shut down, replace the graphics card, reconnect the SATA drives, reboot and reinstall graphics drivers.

Lessons learned: not to just rely on internet advice; use some critical thinking; and never get rid of old computer components. A written record of all changes made to my various computers since 2001 also helped.

Use LAN cable to get signal in summer house

In Issue 600 (page 43), JJ Reynolds offers a solution for David Edwards’ powerline networking problem (see Issue