How to Repair Windows 10 with an In-Place Upgrade.

Last updated on November 18th, 2019

In this tutorial I will show you how to repair and perform an in-place upgrade on a Windows 10 machine at the same time. The repair operation takes about an hour and in most cases it resolves many Windows 10 problems.

The repair of Windows 10, can resolve many problems in Windows 10 functionality and some times is the most reliable and quickest way to fix the Windows 10 malfunctions. Also the in-place Windows 10 upgrade, which performed with the repair process, ensures that Windows 10 have the latest updates and fixes installed.

How to Perform a Windows 10 Repair-Upgrade.

Step 1. Download Windows 10 ISO file.

To proceed with Windows 10 repair, proceed and download the latest version of Windows 10 in a ISO file, by using the Media Creation Tool (MCT). To do that:

1. Navigate to Windows 10 download site.
2. Download and save the Windows Media Creation Tool (MCT) on your computer.

3. When the download is completed, run the Media Creation Tool (MediaCreationTool.exe).

4. Accept the license agreement.

5. Choose Create installation media for another PC & click Next.

6. At the next screen choose Next. *

* Notes:
1. There is no need to modify anything here. MCT already has chosen the right version and edition for the current computer.
2. If you want to create a Windows 10 installation media to repair a different computer, uncheck the "Use the recommended options for this PC" checkbox, and select the Windows 10 language, edition and architecture you want to download.

7. At 'Choose which media to use' choose ISO file and click Next.

8. Select a location to save the 'Windows.iso' file and click Save.

8. Now wait for the download to finish. When this done, click Finish and continue to next step.

Step 2. Repair and Upgrade Windows 10 from the Windows.ISO file.

Attention: To avoid problems during the Windows 10 installation, perform the following actions, before starting the Windows 10 upgrade/repair process:

1. Disable or -better- temporarily uninstall any non Microsoft antivirus or security software..
2. Make sure that you have enough space on your disk (at least 30GB).
3. Run Disk Cleanup and delete the useless files, by following the instructions in this tutorial: How to Free Up Disk Space with Disk Cleanup.
4. Disconnect all the USB peripheral devices that you don't need. (Especially in laptops disconnect also any external USB Keyboard/Mouse.)

To repair and upgrade the Windows 10:

1. Open Windows Explorer and navigate to the folder you saved the 'Windows.iso' file.
2. Double-click at the ISO file to mount it in Explorer. (or right-click on the ISO file and select Mount).

3. At the mounted drive, double click at setup.exe application.

4. Press Yes at the 'UAC warning message' and then click Next to install Windows 10.

5. Accept the license terms and then be patient until Windows checks for updates.

6. At 'Ready to Install' screen, make sure that the Keep personal files and Apps option is selected and click Install.

7. Finally, wait for the in-place upgrade/repair of Windows 10 to complete. *

* Note: If the Windows 10 upgrade is not completed successfully, continue to Step-3 to repair Windows 10 from USB.

Step 3. Repair and Upgrade Windows 10 from USB.

To repair (or to clean install) Windows 10 from a USB Media:

1. Plug an empty USB drive (at least 8GB) on your PC.
2. Burn the Windows.ISO file you downloaded at step-1 to the USB drive, by following the instructions on this article: How Create a Windows 10 USB media using RUFUS utility. *

* Attention: The USB drive will be formatted (deleted), during the media creation process. So, make sure there are no files you might want.

3. When done, run the 'setup.exe' application from the USB drive and follow the instructions from the step-2 above (3-7), to repair and upgrade Windows 10. *

* Additional Help: If the Windows 10 repair process fails again, then you have the follow options:

1. Troubleshoot the problem by following the instructions and the fixes in this guide: How to fix Windows 10 Update Problems. 

2. Backup your files to an external storage media (e.g. your USB drive), and perform a clean Windows 10 installation from the USB installation media.

That's it! Let me know if this guide has helped you by leaving your comment about your experience. Please like and share this guide to help others.

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