Repair Install Windows 8

How to Repair Install Windows 8 and 8.1 without Losing Anything​

   Information

Windows 8 introduced the option to refresh and reset your PC to repair or reinstall Windows 8 with as needed. These new features are great for what they are intended for, but there are some drawbacks to them.

When you reset your PC, it will basically give you a clean install (retail) or factory recovery (preinstalled OEM) of Windows 8 afterwards. You will lose everything from your current Windows 8 installation.

When you refresh your PC, this basically repairs Windows 8 by reinstalling it while keeping your files, Store apps, most of your settings, etc..... However, all installed 3rd party desktop apps will be removed. If you like, you could create a custom refresh image to not lose anything, but this will require creating new custom refresh images every so often to keep it updated to not lose anything since the last image was created.

This tutorial will show you how to do a repair install (aka: in-place upgrade install) to fix your currently installed Windows 8 without losing anything. For example, desktop apps.

You must be signed in as an administrator to be able to do a repair install of Windows 8.

   Note

Settings that will be Preserved when doing a Repair Install

• All user accounts.
• Files in all users' C:\Users\(user-name) folders. (ex: Desktop, My Documents, My Music, etc...)
• Wireless network connections.
• Apps from the Windows Store will be kept.
• All installed 3rd party desktop programs will be kept.
• Mobile broadband connections.
• BitLocker and BitLocker To Go settings.
• Windows Firewall settings.
• Drive letter assignments.
• File type associations set per user.
• Metro apps settings per user.
• Display settings.
• Personalization settings such as lock screen background and desktop wallpaper.
• All users' PC settings will be kept.
• Choices you made during Windows Welcome, such as computer name and user accounts, will not change.
• Network, Libraries, and Windows Update settings will not change.
• Customer Experience Improvement Program settings will not change.
• Windows Error Reporting settings will not change.
• Some drivers may or may not be removed, but usually will remain.

Settings that will be NOT be Preserved when doing a Repair Install

• Installed Windows Updates will be removed.
• Some drivers may or may not be removed, but usually will remain.

   Warning

• You will only be able to do a repair install from within Windows 8.
• You will not be able to do a repair install at boot or in Safe Mode.
• You must have at least 8.87 GB + what is currently being used of free space on the hard drive/partition that Windows 8 is installed on. You may need more if you have a larger installation.

Be sure to back up anything that you do not want to lose before doing a repair install just to be extra safe. For example, if you lose power in the middle of doing the repair install.

Here's How:

1. Start Windows 8 or Windows 8.1, and sign in to an administrator account.

2. Disable any 3rd party firewall, antivirus, or other security program to avoid it from possibly preventing the repair in-place upgrade installation of Windows 8.

3. Do step 4 or 5 below depending on what you would like to use to do the repair install with.

4. If Using a Windows 8/8.1 DVD or USB to do a Repair Install with

   Note

• The DVD/USB you use must be for the same language as the Windows edition you currently have installed.
• If you have Windows 8 installed, then you must use a Windows 8 DVD/USB.
• If you have Windows 8.1 installed, then you must use a Windows 8.1 DVD/USB.
• If you have Windows 8.1 Update installed, then you must use a Windows 8.1 Update DVD/USB.
• If you have 32-bit Windows 8 installed, then you can only use a 32-bit Windows 8 DVD/USB.
• If you have 64-bit Windows 8 installed, then you can only use a 64-bit Windows 8 DVD/USB.
• If you installed 64-bit Windows 8 with UEFI, then you can only use a UEFI Windows 8 DVD/USB.

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A) Insert/connect and open the DVD or USB, and go to step 6 below.​

5. If Using a Windows 8/8.1 ISO file to do a Repair Install with

   Note

• The ISO you use must be for the same language as the Windows edition you currently have installed.
• If you have Windows 8 installed, then you must use a Windows 8 ISO.
• If you have Windows 8.1 installed, then you must use a Windows 8.1 ISO.
• If you have Windows 8.1 Update installed, then you must use a Windows 8.1 Update ISO.
• If you have 32-bit Windows installed, then you can only use a 32-bit Windows ISO.
• If you have 64-bit Windows installed, then you can only use a 64-bit Windows ISO.
• If you installed 64-bit Windows with UEFI, then you can only use a 64-bit Windows ISO.

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A) Mount the ISO.​

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B) Open the mounted ISO from This PC if it didn't automatically open, and go to step 6 below.​

6. Double click/tap on the setup file to run it. (see screenshot below)

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7. If prompted by UAC, then click/tap on Yes.

8. If this is for Windows 8 Enterprise, then click/tap on Install now. (see screenshot below)

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9. If prompted, select (dot) Download and install updates, and click/tap on Next (Windows 8/8.1 or Windows 8/8.1 Pro). (see screenshots below)
NOTE: If any updates are found, then they will be installed, and installation will restart and continue on to step 10.

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10. Enter your product key that matches the installed edition of Windows, and click/tap on Next. (see screenshot below)

   Note

The product key you enter must match what you are installing, or it will not work.

If you have a Windows 8 product key with Windows 8 installed, then you are good.

If you have a Windows 8.1 product key with Windows 8.1 or Windows 8.1 Update installed, then you are good.

If you have a Windows 8 product key with Windows 8.1 or Windows 8.1 Update installed, then you would need to enter a generic key below to install with, and change the product key later on in step 24 below to activate with your Windows 8 key instead.

If you have Windows 8 Enterprise, Windows 8. Enterprise, or Windows 8.1 Update Enterprise installed, then you would need to change the product key later on in step 24 below to activate since Enterprise editions do not ask to enter a key at this step.

• Windows 8 (core): FB4WR-32NVD-4RW79-XQFWH-CYQG3
• Windows 8 Pro: XKY4K-2NRWR-8F6P2-448RF-CRYQH
• Windows 8 Pro with Media Center: RR3BN-3YY9P-9D7FC-7J4YF-QGJXW

• Windows 8.1 (core): 334NH-RXG76-64THK-C7CKG-D3VPT
• Windows 8.1 Pro: XHQ8N-C3MCJ-RQXB6-WCHYG-C9WKB
• Windows 8.1 Pro with Media Center: GBFNG-2X3TC-8R27F-RMKYB-JK7QT
• Windows 8.1 Enterprise: MNDGV-M6PKV-DV4DR-CYY8X-2YRXH OR FHQNR-XYXYC-8PMHT-TV4PH-DRQ3H

KMS setup keys (8/8.1): Appendix A: KMS Client Setup Keys

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11. Check the I accept the license terms box, and click/tap on Accept (Windows 8 or Windows 8 Pro) or Next (Windows 8 Enterprise). (see screenshots below)

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12. If this is for Windows 8 or Windows 8 Pro, then select (dot) Keep Windows settings, personal files, and apps, click/tap on Next, and go to step 14 below. (see screenshot below)

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13. If this is for Windows 8 Enterprise, then click/tap on Upgrade: Install Windows and keep files, settings, and applications. (see screenshot below)

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14. Windows 8 will now check for compatibility issues to see if you'll need to do anything to get your PC ready for Windows 8. If anything is found, you will need to take care of them before continuing. (see screenshot below)

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15. If this is for Windows 8 or Windows 8 Pro and no issues were found from step 14 above, then click/tap on Install. (see screenshot below)

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16. Windows 8 will now start to install. The computer will restart a few times during this. (see screenshots below)
NOTE: This will take a while to finish.

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17. When Windows 8 is finished installing, select a color you like, and click/tap Next. (see screenshot below)

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18. Click/tap on Use Express settings. (see screenshot below)

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19. Do step 20 or 21 below depending on if your primary administrator account is a local account or Microsoft account.

20. If you have a Microsoft Account

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A) Go to step 22 below.​

21. If you have a Local Account

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A) Enter the password for the displayed account, and click/tap on Next. (see screenshot below)​

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B) Click/tap on Skip, and go to step 22 below. (see screenshot below)​

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22. Windows 8 will now startup signed into your administrator account. (see screenshots below)

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23. Use Disk Cleanup to delete at least the Previous Windows installation(s), Setup Log Files, Temporary Windows installation files, and Windows upgrade log files items to free up the large amount hard drive space that they take. (see screenshots below)

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24. If you have an Enterprise edition or needed to use a generic key to install with from step 10 above, then you will need to change the product key to be able to enter the product key and activate it. (see screenshots below)

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25. Check for and install any available Windows Updates.

26. If needed, refresh or update you Windows Experience Index (WEI) score.


That's it,
Shawn

Related Tutorials

---

• How to Refresh Windows 8
• How to Create a Custom Recovery Image to Use to Refresh Windows 8
• How to Reset Windows 8
• How to Refresh or Reset Windows 8 without Installation Disk
• How to Do a Clean Install of Windows 8
• How to Do a Clean Install with Windows 8 Upgrade
• How to Install Windows 8 Using "Unified Extensible Firmware Interface" (UEFI)
• How to Create a System Image in Windows 8 and 8.1
• How to Do a System Image Recovery in Windows 8 and 8.1
• How to Do a System Restore in Windows 8
• How to Create or Set Up Windows Backup to Back Up Files in Windows 8
• How to Fix "You've been signed in with a temporary profile" Error in Windows 8 and 8.1
• How to Fix "User Profile Service service failed the sign-in. User Profile cannot be loaded." Error in Windows 8 and 8.1

 

[dreamhouse]

Hi Shawn,

Well, I will install windows again after all. My HD has GPT partitions and all my data is in them. Is there a way to clean UEFI install windows 8.1 in my partition C: without having to format the whole HD? Thanks again!

 

[Brink]

You could do a clean install at boot and select to install Windows only on the "primary" partition that Windows is currently installed on. This would leave your data partitions in tact, but I would still recommend to back them up to be extra safe.

http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/2299-clean-install-windows-8-a.html

 

[David Bailey]

Before reinstalling, I suggest running this batch file to fix some things.
It might help.
or not.
It's worth trying.

Download it & right click it & choose Properties & Unblock it & then right click it & choose Run as administrator.
It takes about 2 hours or so to finish.
It runs the sfc & dism commands.



Download---

View attachment dism.bat

It runs the scans as shown in this picture---



Good luck.

 

[dreamhouse]

Thank you Shawn and David....very generous of you! David I already ran sfc /scannow and everything seems in place....and Shawn will I have this option even in UEFI patitioned disk?

 

[David Bailey]

Thank you Shawn and David....very generous of you! David I already ran sfc /scannow and everything seems in place....and Shawn will I have this option even in UEFI patitioned disk?

You are welcome.
Have you run dism ?
It fixes the component store sfc uses to repair things.

 

[dreamhouse]

Running.....

 

[dreamhouse]

ScanHealth says it´s healthy but RestoreHealth hangs at 40% and stays there for ages, just like before I reinstalled windows.

 

[David Bailey]

ScanHealth says it´s healthy but RestoreHealth hangs at 40% and stays there for ages, just like before I reinstalled windows.

Dism always hangs for a long time & then jumps ahead, like from 20% to 60%.
Or 40% to 70%.
It will finish.

In my other post I was at 17% of sfc.
Right now I'm stuck at 20% of dism---



It's been over an hour now.

If it's too tedious you could just forget about it.

 

[dreamhouse]

I´ll wait David...thanks again!

 

[David Bailey]

I´ll wait David...thanks again!

If something goes wrong with dism, then you have some serious problems.
Like Brink said, it could be time to reinstall.

He's good at fixing computers.

 

[dreamhouse]

Well, David, everything came out healthy....sooooo....mystery time with win 8 and lots of work ahead to reinstall it. Thanks so much for taking interest!

 

[David Bailey]

You might want to try the paid Standard version of Macrium Reflect FREE Edition - Information and download in the future to image your OS.

 

[dreamhouse]

You could do a clean install at boot and select to install Windows only on the "primary" partition that Windows is currently installed on. This would leave your data partitions in tact, but I would still recommend to back them up to be extra safe.

http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/2299-clean-install-windows-8-a.html

Well, Shawn, I cannot use the uefi usb to do this because the HD is not blank nor partition free, right? So how should I proceed? Thank you onde more!

 

[Brink]

That's fine. You can clean install without UEFI as per the tutorial.

 

[dreamhouse]

Great! Thank you so!

 

[Brink]

You're most welcome.

 

[relpet]

I bought my current PC in France with Win 7 pre-installed. Went for the Win 8 upgrade in the hope of getting the English version I ordered. No such luck. MS insist you stay with original language. Anyway, stayed with Win 8 after downloading English language pack. Tried for months to get into Windows store to upgrade to 8.1 and in the end decided to repair Win 8 installation following your excellent advice. Created the ISO according to your instructions, saved to HD and DVD. Ran it from HD and everything going to plan. Can now get into Windows store but find I have 135 updates to install! This after a shed-load last night already. Whole process looks like taking a couple of days but not a bit of data lost. Brilliant advice. Thank you.

 

[highstream]

I'm in the process of running the repair install, after having burned the Win 8.1 Pro x64 ISO onto a dvd. This was originally a Win 8 Pro x64 retail dvd update from Win 7. I downloaded the ISO two days ago. Everything has gone fine until after the updates screen. It's been on the "Making sure your're ready to install - Please Wait - This will take a few minutes" screen for an hour, which seems rather long. This is a i7 machine with 16gb RAM, fast cable connection, I'm in the Admin account (didn't log out of the Local/Admin one) and all the security software is off except Win firewall. Any ideas?*

The reason I'm doing this repair is that after a Comodo CIS free update from 7 to 8 failed a couple of days ago, and then uninstalling Comodo and reinstalling 7, Windows has been behaving strangely. It and programs are often going nonresponsive, some utilities and programs being very slow to open if at all, Comodo firewall isn't conneciting, etc., etc., and I often have to do manual shutdowns and restarts to get around it. A System Restore failed, though it did seem to return to a better condition than had developed. I've run three of Yamicsoft's Win 8 manager's repair modules, but that hasn't helped. This also makes me wonder if the Repair install hasn't also gone nonresponsive in some way that isn't otherwise obvious.

*Update: I shutdown and restarted the process, this time closing the security apps from the local acct and then signing out of it before starting the repair. Same deal: 30 minutes in, still running "Making sure you're ready to install." Got to head out for now, but will see in a few hours if anything changes.

 

[Brink]

Hello highstream.

If you still have hard drive activity, then it would be best to let it sit and finished. A repair install can take a while since it makes a copy of your current installation before actually doing the install.

 

[highstream]

It's now 5 hours and it's still on the "making sure you're ready to install" screen, i.e., not even to the activation code yet. Seems more than just taking awhile. I just tried to close setup via the X and it showed "not responding." I forcibly closed on the Windws prompt, which brought up a Windows 8.1 Setup error box: "Setup is unable to launch Install.exe. A dynamic link library (DLL) initiatlization routine failed [Error = 0x800745a]"

Update: I'm running the ISO mounted right now. The first time it stalled, but then I rebooted, this time turning off Windows Firewall too, and it's now installing... Well, it got to 52% and seemed to hang, at which point I also found that Comodo was still running. So I'm trying again, but once more it's holding at 52%, approaching an hour now (no restarts). Hopefully, that's the copy being made. Task Mgr shows a little cpu use for Setup, 0.2-1.3%. Btw, I didn't get a Product Key screen on the way to install.