Image
credits:
Microsoft
14 |^ |^ June 2019
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Repair a Windows install
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route to go down. Here’s what you need to do...
ot all reinstalls require a
complete wipe of your
computer. A repair or
refresh installation
leaves your programs,
settings and files in
place, and restricts itself to installing a
fresh copy of your Windows files over
the top of your existing copy. If your
problem is linked to a corrupt file or
Windows setting, the repair installation
can usually fix it.
All repair installs share one common
characteristic: you must launch them
from Windows itself. You can’t boot
from your install media and repair
Windows through that; you need to
boot into Windows, then start the repair
process from there. If you’re unable to
boot into Windows, therefore, you’ll
need to skip to page 16 and perform a
full destructive recovery instead.
Start the repair
Starting a repair install varies depending
on your PC model and what version of
Windows you’re running. Windows 8.
and 10 users should (at least initially)
avoid the Refresh/Reset options
provided under Settings > ‘Update and
recovery’. These options will preserve
your files and any apps you’ve installed
through the Microsoft Store, but any
desktop programs you’ve installed will
be wiped along with Windows itself.
Instead, you should ‘upgrade’ your
copy of Windows, which performs a
similar non-destructive reinstall to reset/
refresh with the added bonus that all
your programs – including those you’ve
installed outside of the Microsoft Store
- will be preserved. To do so, you’ll need
your Windows installation media – see
the step-by-step guide on page 15 if you
don’t have the latest version of it.
Why do you need the latest install
media? It’s because upgrade installs
only work if the version of Windows on
your PC matches that on your install
media, so if you’ve installed Service Pack
1 in Windows 7, for example, you need
up-to-date installation media to avoid
the laborious task of first attempting
to uninstall Service Pack 1 through
Windows Update (assuming that you’re
able to), then reinstalling Windows and
Post repair steps
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desktop to verify that
everything works as it should
- sometimes the repair can
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it solves, in which case if you’re
running Windows 8.1 or 10 you
can undo the changes. Go to
Start > Settings > ‘Update &
recovery’ > Recovery and look
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your previous version – click
‘Get started’ and then follow
the prompts.
If the repair doesn’t appear
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Windows 8.1 and 10 users can
take one more intermediate
step – the reset or repair. It will
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those desktop programs you’ve
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and Windows settings. Leave
your install media inserted,
then head over to the ‘Update
& recovery’ > Recovery section
under Settings. This time, click
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the Refresh (Windows 8.1) or
Reset (Windows 10) option and
follow the prompts.
If this more drastic approach
doesn’t work, or you’re running
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destructive reinstall options.
Windows 10 users can launch a repair install directly from the Media Creation Tool.
Both Windows
- 1 and 10
offer asimilar
waytorepair
your Windows
installation.
Windows 8.1 and 10 users can perform a more drastic repair install via the
Reset or Refresh option -be warned, you’ll lose your desktop apps.