Repair A Windows Install

If you're trying to fix a problem, a refresh or repair install may be the best route to go down. Here's what you need to do...

Not all reinstalls require a complete wipe of your hard drive. 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 20 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 8.1 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 Windows Store, but any desktop programs you’ve installed will be wiped along with Windows itself.