Cannot install new system voice packages.

Hello DanielJMartinez,

Thank you for using Microsoft products and posting to the community.

From the thread you shared I noticed that the original moderator shared the troubleshooting steps he had tried, so I was wondering if you had also tried those troubleshooting steps, but the problem persisted? Confirming this information helps us to avoid providing duplicate troubleshooting steps. So, if you have tried other troubleshooting steps, I would like you to share them with me as well.

When you choose to add a new voice from the list, an alert message is displayed, which is actually normal, but when you close the settings, nothing changes which is really unusual. And because you tried to download the language pack, which contained the voice pack, you were able to see the voice pack for that language in the voice settings. But because you didn't end up downloading the language pack successfully, even though you can see the language pack, you can't end up using it and deleting it. If you want to delete it, you need to delete the language pack you tried to download.

The fact that the voice pack for the original system language "English (US)" also shows up as zero, and the fact that you can't install the language packs and voice packs may indeed be related to a problem with Windows Update service. The Windows Components Store is a central repository of files that are used to install, update, and repair Windows components and features. When you install a language pack or add-in, such as an Input Method Editor (IME), Windows uses the Windows Component Store to discover and install the files that you need. If there is a problem or damage to the component store, errors may occur during the installation process.

Therefore, you can try running the Windows Update troubleshooter.

Windows Update Troubleshooter - Microsoft Support

Reset Windows Update components:

Additional resources for Windows Update - Windows Client | Microsoft Learn

Or, temporarily pause your antivirus or firewall. Don't forget to turn it on immediately afterwards.

It is also worth considering creating a local user or administrator account in Windows, performing a clean boot, and using the System File Checker in Windows to eliminate potential interruptions caused by user profiles, background programs, or corrupted system files. These basic troubleshooting measures are broadly applicable and can be tried to resolve a variety of issues.

Create a local user or administrator account in Windows - Microsoft Support

How to perform a clean boot in Windows - Microsoft Support

Fix Windows Update errors via DISM or System Update Readiness tool - Windows Server | Microsoft Learn

Disclaimer: A “clean boot” starts Windows with a minimal set of drivers and startup programs. It helps to determine whether a background service is interfering with your game or program and to isolate the cause of a problem.    These steps of "clean boot" might look complicated at first glance. However, to avoid any trouble for you, please follow them in order and step-by step so that it will help you get back on track.

Learn more troubleshooting steps here.

Troubleshoot problems updating Windows - Microsoft Support

Looking forward to hearing back from you. Please feel free to let me know if you have any further updates, thanks. 

Sincerely

Mavis - MSFT | Microsoft Community Support Specialist

Thanks for the detailed response. Unfortunately, I was not able to rectify the problem(s).

Here are some additional details of what I've tried, including the results of the advice you provided in your preceding reply. When possible, I attempted these fixes under a clean boot:

1. I've seen it remarked in several places to try deleting the /SoftwareDistriution folder, however I cannot remove this folder because another process is always accessing its contents.
2. Adding a language's TTS to the Preferred languages list as described here does indeed add that language to Time & Language > Speech > Manage voices list as well, however these show a 0 MB size, and the voices are unavailable (as described previously).
3. Running the DSIM command with the ScanHealth or CheckHealth options indicated there was a repairable issue. But a subsequent call with RestoreHealth froze part-way through:

At this point, the Windows Update troubleshooter was still reporting no problems.

4. Running sfc /scannow reported that corrupt files were located and repaired:

5. I then reattempted a call to DISM with the /Restorehealth option. This time, the operation completed, but with issues:

6. After this, I tried the Windows Update troubleshooter yet again, and this time it found an installation issue. It redownloaded the service pack in question and installed it successfully. Unfortunately, this didn't have any observable effects. So, it's possible that this only corrected part of the problem, or that there was an entirely unrelated issue I wasn't aware of. No more issues are reported by the troubleshooter nor any of the aforementioned commands issued at the command prompt at this time.
7. Finally, it may be relevant that the dism.log only has entries regarding my original (en-US) language, as does querying the system for its installed languages from the shell:

All-in-all, I'm apparently in the same situation as I started in.

Please let me know if there's anything else I can provide or attempt. Thanks so much for your assistance!

Thank you for your thorough response and sharing the test results with me.

I noticed that in the latest KB5028185 update, changes were made to the Voice Access feature and it is possible that this update is causing the issue. So, I installed this update and tested it again and found that I was able to reproduce your issue.

July 11, 2023—KB5028185 (OS Build 22621.1992) - Microsoft Support

Currently I would like to know what specific version of Windows you have. Have you recently installed the KB5028185 update, you can confirm you in the Windows Update History. If you did install this update and the issue appeared after installing this update, then currently I would like to suggest you report this issue in the Feedback Hub, where the development team will review the submitted feedback regularly. If convenient, please provide as much detail as possible, including pictures, repro videos, etc. Please share the feedback link after submitting, I will submit your feedback to the relevant team for investigation through internal channels. 

Send feedback to Microsoft with the Feedback Hub app - Microsoft Support

Alternatively, you can try uninstalling this update to see if the issue exists. If the issue does not reappear after uninstalling the update, then you can follow the steps below to hide the update. However, it is important to note that sometimes the update installed on your computer cannot be uninstalled and you may only be able to wait for a later update to fix it.

1. Visit Download **Windows Showhide.diagcab** **** updates to download and run the "Show or hide updates" troubleshooter package.
2. Click "Hide updates" > "Next", then select the KB**** update, indicating that you want to hide it, then click "Next".
3. Follow the troubleshooter to the end. Then open Windows settings and "Check for updates", now the KB5028166 update will no longer appear as an error.

If you cannot download the "Show or hide updates" troubleshooter package, you can click the home page to access the private message. In the private message, I have shared this installation package directly with you.

Your understanding is highly appreciated! Looking forward to hearing back from you.

I am having all the same issues and it appears I am looking at a clean boot. I have done all of these steps twice and did a minimal reset on the OS. Have not pulled the plug on a clean install yet. Hope windows can fix this with a future update. We cannot be the only people having this issue.