Installation and Upgrade Repair Install Windows 11 with an In-place Upgrade

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Windows_11_banner.png

This tutorial will show you how to do a repair install of Windows 11 by performing an in-place upgrade without losing anything.

If you need to repair or create a new recovery partition or having problems with the Windows 11 operating system on your PC, and the usual solutions will not fix it, you can do a repair install of Windows 11 by performing an in-place upgrade without losing anything.

You will keep all accounts, apps, and personal data.

You must be signed in as an administrator to perform a repair install of Windows 11.

You will only be able to perform a repair install of Windows 11 from within Windows 11. You will not be able to perform a repair install at boot or in Safe Mode.

You will need at least 20 GB of free space on the Windows drive to perform an in-place upgrade.


When you perform a repair install (in-place upgrade), the previous version of Windows in the Windows.old folder (up to 10 days after upgrade) will automatically get replaced by the current Windows. It is recommended to create a system image first if you would like to be able to go back to current previous Windows before it gets replaced.




Contents

  • Option One: Repair Install Windows 11 via Windows Update
  • Option Two: Repair Install Windows 11 using ISO or USB Installation Media


EXAMPLE: How to perform a Windows 11 In-place upgrade | Microsoft





Option One

Repair Install Windows 11 via Windows Update


This will download and install a repair version of the OS. This operation reinstalls the OS that you have and will not remove any files, settings, or apps.


Fix issues by reinstalling the current version of Windows - Microsoft Support

Learn how to reinstall Windows using Windows Update.
support.microsoft.com support.microsoft.com

1 Open Settings (Win+I).

2 Click/tap on System on the left side, and click/tap on Recovery on the right side. (see screenshot below)


Windows_Update_repair_install-1.png

3 Click/tap on the Reinstall now button for "Fix problems using Windows Update". (see screenshot below)

Windows_Update_repair_install-2.png

4 Click/tap on OK to confirm. (see screenshot below)

Windows_Update_repair_install-3.png

5 Windows Update will now open and automatically start downloading and installing the repair version of your Windows 11. (see screenshot below)

Windows_Update_repair_install-4.png

6 When Windows Update has finished, click/tap on Restart now when prompted to perform the repair install. (see screenshot below)

Windows_Update_repair_install-5.png

7 When the repair install of Windows 11 has finished, you can dismiss the lock screen and sign in to Windows 11. (see screenshots below)

Lock_screen.jpg
Sign-in_screen.jpg

8 You will now be on your desktop in Windows 11. (see screenshot below)

Repair_install_Windows11-15.png




Option Two

Repair Install Windows 11 using ISO or USB Installation Media


1 Disable or uninstall any 3rd party AV or security program you have installed first to prevent it from interfering with the repair install of Windows 11. You can enable or reinstall it again after Windows 11 has finished installing.

It may be required to use the removal tool from the AV program developer to fully remove it.


2 If the Windows drive is encrypted by BitLocker or Device Encryption, then you will need to either suspend or turn off Device Encryption or BitLocker for the Windows drive before doing a repair install. Once installation has finished, you can resume or turn on BitLocker or Device Encryption again.

If a device doesn't initially qualify for device encryption, but then a change is made that causes the device to qualify (for example, by turning on Secure Boot), device encryption enables BitLocker automatically as soon as it detects it.


3 Do the step below depending on how you want to install Windows 11.
  • step 4: To Repair Install Windows 11 with an ISO file
  • step 5: To Repair Install Windows 11 with USB Installation Media

The Windows 11 installation media (ISO or USB) must be the same edition, same version, and same or higher build as the currently installed Windows 11.

The Windows 11 installation media (ISO or USB) must be for the same language as your currently installed Windows 11.


4 To Repair Install Windows 11 with an ISO file

A) If you have not already, you will need to download a Windows 11 ISO file.​

B) Mount the ISO file, and go to step 6 below.​

5 To Repair Install Windows 11 with USB Installation Media

This does not have to be a bootable USB.


A) Connect and open the Windows 11 USB, and go to step 6 below. (see screenshot below)​

Repair_install_Windows11-1.png

6 Run the setup.exe file to start Windows 11 Setup. (see screenshot below)

Repair_install_Windows11-2.png

7 If prompted by UAC, click/tap on Yes. (see screenshot below)

Repair_install_Windows11-3.png

8 Windows 11 Setup will now start preparing. (see screenshot below)

Repair_install_Windows11-4.png

9 Click/tap on the Change how Setup downloads updates link. (see screenshot below)

You can check or uncheck (default) I want to help make the installation better depending on what you want. This will send setup info to Microsoft to help improve.


Repair_install_Windows11-5.png

10 Select (dot) Not right now for "Get updates, drivers and optional features". (see screenshot below)

Choosing to "download updates, drivers and optional features" will only add unnecessary overhead during the repair install, and could cause the repair install to stall if there was an issue.

You can check for updates via Windows Update after the repair install has finished to avoid this.


Repair_install_Windows11-6.png

11 Windows 11 Setup will now start getting things ready. (see screenshots below)

Repair_install_Windows11-7.png
Repair_install_Windows11-8.png

12 Click/tap on Accept for the license terms. (see screenshot below)

Repair_install_Windows11-9.png

13 Windows 11 Setup will now check to make sure you're ready to install and have enough space. (see screenshots below)

Repair_install_Windows11-10.png
Repair_install_Windows11-10b.png

14 Click/tap on the Change what to keep link. (see left screenshot below)

After doing step 15, click/tap on Install when ready to start the repair install of Windows 11. (see right screenshot below)


Repair_install_Windows11-11.png
Repair_install_Windows11-12.png

15 Select (dot) Keep personal files and apps, and click/tap on Next. (see left screenshot below)

If you only have Nothing available to select, then the installation media is not the same version or language as what you currently have installed.

When you click/tap on Next, you will go back to step 13. When you get to step 14 again, click/tap on Install when ready to start the repair install of Windows 11. (see right screenshot below)


If wanted, you can close the Windows 11 Setup window at this point to safely cancel the repair install before it starts. It will be too late after this step.


Repair_install_Windows11-13.png
Repair_install_Windows11-12.png

16 Windows 11 Setup will now start the repair install of Windows 11. (see screenshot below)

Your PC will restart several times. This might take a while.


Repair_install_Windows11-14.png

17 When the repair install of Windows 11 has finished, you can dismiss the lock screen and sign in to Windows 11. (see screenshots below)

Lock_screen.jpg
Sign-in_screen.jpg

18 You will now be on your desktop in Windows 11. (see screenshot below)

Repair_install_Windows11-15.png


That's it,
Shawn Brink


Related Tutorials

 
Last edited:
Click to expand...
The tutorial displays:
Code: 
You will need at least 20 GB of free space on the Windows drive to perform an in-place upgrade.

Upgrades or in place upgrade repairs may fail due to free space insufficiencies in the EFI or Recovery partitions.

Please consider adding the EFI minimum free space requirement:

Code: 
To upgrade your device, you'll need to free up 15MB of space on the SRP using the appropriate method below, and then try the upgrade again. 
If you're updating Windows 10, you need to free up 13MB.

“We couldn’t update system reserved partition” error installing Windows 10 - Microsoft Support

When upgrading to Windows 10, you may encounter the error “We couldn’t update system reserved partition”, error code 0xc1900104, or error code 0x8000f0922.
support.microsoft.com support.microsoft.com
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4800MQ CPU @ 2.70GHz
    Motherboard
    Product : 190A Version : KBC Version 94.56
    Memory
    16 GB Total: Manufacturer : Samsung MemoryType : DDR3 FormFactor : SODIMM Capacity : 8GB Speed : 1600
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA Quadro K3100M; Intel(R) HD Graphics 4600
    Sound Card
    IDT High Definition Audio CODEC; PNP Device ID HDAUDIO\FUNC_01&VEN_111D&DEV_76E0
    Hard Drives
    Model Hitachi HTS727575A9E364
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender
    Other Info
    Mobile Workstation
This was for the Update failure due to insufficient free space in the Recovery partition:

Code: 
NOTE This update requires 250 MB of free space in the recovery partition to install successfully.

KB5048239: Windows Recovery Environment update for Windows 10, version 21H2 and 22H2: November 12, 2024 - Microsoft Support

support.microsoft.com support.microsoft.com




Please consider adding the Recovery partition minimum free space requirement:




The Windows Recovery Environment (Windows RE) tools require additional free space:


Supported (UEFI)
Code: 
Recovery tools partition
This partition must be at least 300 MB.

The Windows Recovery Environment (Windows RE) tools require additional free space:


A minimum of 100 MB is required but 250 MB is recommended, to accommodate future updates, especially with custom partition layouts.

When calculating free space, note:

The recovery image, winre.wim, is typically between 500-700MB, depending on what drivers, languages, and customizations you add.
The file system itself can take up additional space. For example, NTFS may reserve 5-15MB or more on a 750MB partition.


learn.microsoft.com

UEFI/GPT-based hard drive partitions

UEFI/GPT-based hard drive partitions
learn.microsoft.com





Unsupported Windows 11 (MBR)
Code: 
The Windows Recovery Environment (Windows RE) tools require additional free space:

A minimum of 52 MB is required but 250 MB is recommended, to accomodate future updates, especially with custom partition layouts.
When calculating free space, note:

The recovery image, winre.wim, is typically between 250-300MB, depending on what drivers, languages, and customizations you add.
The file system itself can take up additional space. For example, NTFS may reserve 5-15MB or more on a 750MB partition.

learn.microsoft.com

BIOS/MBR-based hard drive partitions

BIOS/MBR-based hard drive partitions
learn.microsoft.com
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4800MQ CPU @ 2.70GHz
    Motherboard
    Product : 190A Version : KBC Version 94.56
    Memory
    16 GB Total: Manufacturer : Samsung MemoryType : DDR3 FormFactor : SODIMM Capacity : 8GB Speed : 1600
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA Quadro K3100M; Intel(R) HD Graphics 4600
    Sound Card
    IDT High Definition Audio CODEC; PNP Device ID HDAUDIO\FUNC_01&VEN_111D&DEV_76E0
    Hard Drives
    Model Hitachi HTS727575A9E364
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender
    Other Info
    Mobile Workstation
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