Upgrade successfully performed today. I wonder if the problem yesterday was due to extremely heavy internet traffic due to political events in USA?
However, there is still a problem today: I tried to install updates after the upgrade, and got a message that I was unable to connect to the internet. I was, however, able to go online and use this forum, so not sure what's happening here.
Also, where are the new wallpapers?
Edit: rebooted and this time tried updates from the start menu as opposed to welcome screen. Process proceeded; system already up to date.