Fixing Windows 8.1 Update 1 error 0x80070490

Windows 8.1 Update 1 is out with a whole bunch of new features that absolutely enhance your productivity and address (more) items which were not so well received by traditional desktop users. During the update process, however, quite a few people are experiencing an error described as "Windows Update Error 80070490”. I've experienced this problem as well and below are the steps I took to get it working on my machine:

Check for Corrupted Installations

There is a tool called Deployment Image Servicing and Management (aka DISM), this guy will do a complete check on your system for inconsistencies of patches, versions etc. Call the command prompt as administrator and type the following command to perform the check:

DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Scanhealth

Stabilize the Patch Level

In the same command prompt window, type the following command to stabilize the current patch level of your system based on the issues found:

DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth

Run the Troubleshooting

Now that we have a “stable” system, in your Start menu type "Troubleshooting" and select the following option.
This will take you to the Control Panel screen where you can launch the “analyzer and auto-fix troubleshooter”. Follow the prompts. If you're asked to run as Administrator, choose that option.




Now that the issues found are fixed and any inconsistency issues with security updates are resolved. Restart your machine and launch the Windows Update again. In my case it worked perfectly and I've got my Update 1 running on my Windows 8.1

How do I Know if I am Running Windows 8.1 Update 1 ?

If all goes well, in your Start menu you should you should see 2 new icons besides your username: Power and Search. If you can see them, congratulations you've got the Update 1 running.
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I hope this info comes handy for you and saves you some of your precious time.
By Edge Pereira

SharePoint Online: Sideloading of apps is not enabled on this site.

If you are deploying a solution to SharePoint Online, at some point you will likely come across the following error: Error occurred in deployment step 'Install app for SharePoint': Sideloading of apps is not enabled on this site.

So...In short, you will not be able to deploy any solution from Visual Studio to SharePoint Online/Office 365 without enabling Sideloading first. I will show you how to fix this and then explain later, so you don’t waste any time looking for the answer. After all, I believe you came here to find the fix first

2-Steps Solution:
1) Download and install SharePoint Online Management Shell 
2) Execute the script below. (Note that the Sideloading Feature ID is harcoded in SharePoint, as are many other OOTB features)

#CODE STARTS HERE
$programFiles = [environment]::getfolderpath("programfiles")
add-type -Path $programFiles'\SharePoint Online Management Shell\Microsoft.Online.SharePoint.PowerShell\Microsoft.SharePoint.Client.dll'
Write-Host 'Ready to enable Sideloading'
$siteurl = Read-Host 'Site Url'
$username = Read-Host "User Name"
$password = Read-Host -AsSecureString 'Password'
 
$outfilepath = $siteurl -replace ':', '_' -replace '/', '_'
 
try
{
    [Microsoft.SharePoint.Client.ClientContext]$cc = New-Object Microsoft.SharePoint.Client.ClientContext($siteurl)
    [Microsoft.SharePoint.Client.SharePointOnlineCredentials]$spocreds = New-Object Microsoft.SharePoint.Client.SharePointOnlineCredentials($username, $password)
    $cc.Credentials = $spocreds
    $site = $cc.Site;

    $sideLoadingGuid = new-object System.Guid "AE3A1339-61F5-4f8f-81A7-ABD2DA956A7D"
    $site.Features.Add($sideLoadingGuid, $true, [Microsoft.SharePoint.Client.FeatureDefinitionScope]::None);
     
    $cc.ExecuteQuery();
     
    Write-Host -ForegroundColor Green 'SideLoading feature enabled on site' $siteurl
    #Activate the Developer Site feature
}
catch
{ 
    Write-Host -ForegroundColor Red 'Error encountered when trying to enable SideLoading feature' $siteurl, ':' $Error[0].ToString();
}

#CODE ENDS HERE

In your SPO Management Shell enter the url of the site you want to deploy the solution, the administrator username and the password. The powershell will take care of the rest.

Now off you go. You’re ready to deploy solutions from your Visual Studio straight into Office 365. You can also get a more elaborate code in the MSDN Code Solution Repository.

by Edge Pereira