Pete's Log: Awful Error Messages: DISMAPI_Error__Failed_To_Enable_Updates
Entry #2394, (Coding, Hacking, & CS stuff, Work)(posted when I was 45 years old.)
I was using the Install-WindowsFeature PowerShell command to prepare a handful of servers and I was using the -Source flag to tell it to look for source files in a local folder. The command ran fine on most of the servers but failed on one of them with the error DISMAPI_Error__Failed_To_Enable_Updates.
As it eventually turned out, the source folder I was specifying with that -Source flag was missing on that specific server and once I copied it over everything worked fine.
But that error message did not hint at a missing folder and neither did the detailed verbose logs I looked at. Instead everything pointed to issues with Windows Update and so I spent way more time than I care to admit Troubleshooting Windows Update on that server.
All search results for that error suggested registry keys to fiddle with and update cache folders to clear, but if you’re using the -Source flag, do yourself a favor and make sure your source folder actually exists.