I had been playing Horizons fine until 4.0 dropped, and I hung back on what was now called legacy for a little while without issue. Decided to bite the bullet and jump to live, but I can't. The ED launcher has an orange "upgrade" button when I select "Elite Dangerous: Horizons" in the little list at the bottom, but if I click that, it just hangs on "preparing for update" and the progress bar does not move. I've re-installed the entire game through Steam, and the issue persists. For some reason Steam installs Horizons Legacy and ED Legacy by default along with the launcher, but not Live, and I cannot download Live. Anyone else having this issue, I'm stumped.
Can't install Horizons (Live)
- Thread starter CMDR Atkinson
- Start date
Read one of the many, many, many, many, many threads on "launcher/update frozen" 
Thanks for the wonderfully insightful response. I've already done that, and so far as I can tell, every thread has a unique "fix" ranging from re-install (which I did, and I did fully purge the old files before you ask) to "just let it sit for 20 minutes" (I have let it sit for over an hour). I've tried the "uncheck virtual cache" method as well, no luck. I would not be asking if I had not already explored other's attempts to solve the problem.Read one of the many, many, many, many, many threads on "launcher/update frozen"
Thanks for the wonderfully insightful response. I've already done that, and so far as I can tell, every thread has a unique "fix" ranging from re-install (which I did, and I did fully purge the old files before you ask) to "just let it sit for 20 minutes" (I have let it sit for over an hour). I've tried the "uncheck virtual cache" method as well, no luck. I would not be asking if I had not already explored other's attempts to solve the problem.
So, ignoring your sarcasm (it is nearly X-mass), why not try this:
Install a free VPN (or a trial version) and hit the upgrade button again - go make a coffee (or more realistically a five-course meal and watch all of season 6 of The Expanse {as punishment}) - then see if it has started to download.
Seriously, most of the tips and tricks are of no use when the issue is one of network communication or lack thereof.
If you're installed through Steam, you don't do the upgrade through the launcher, you do it through Steam.Thanks for the wonderfully insightful response. I've already done that, and so far as I can tell, every thread has a unique "fix" ranging from re-install (which I did, and I did fully purge the old files before you ask) to "just let it sit for 20 minutes" (I have let it sit for over an hour). I've tried the "uncheck virtual cache" method as well, no luck. I would not be asking if I had not already explored other's attempts to solve the problem.
You should restart steam. When it opens back up, you should go to your library, click on Elite Dangerous and look down at the bottom of the screen to the downloads section. Click that and you should see the upgrade in the downloads area. Download that and let it install.