When Settings and DISM fail, an in-place upgrade installs Windows over itself and keeps apps, files and most settings. It needs a matching ISO and an hour.
Mount the **Windows 11 ISO** for your installed edition and language, run **setup.exe** from the mounted drive and choose **keep files and apps**. System files get replaced, programs and documents stay.
Setup refuses to continue when the ISO is older than the installed build or in a different language. Note both before you download anything, because the download page does not tell you which edition the image contains.
winverTake the ISO from the Microsoft download page for your language and mount it in Explorer; a virtual DVD drive appears and setup runs from there. No USB stick and no Rufus are needed for a repair.
Right-click the ISO > MountDocks, capture cards, USB audio interfaces and controllers can stall setup on an unknown driver. Leave the keyboard, the mouse and the network cable connected and remove everything else until it finishes.
Run setup.exe from the mounted image, choose the option that keeps personal files and apps, and let it work. Windows installs over itself and migrates the profile instead of starting from scratch.
D:\etup.exeThe screen goes black, the percentage moves in long steps and the machine restarts several times. Interrupting that sequence is how a repair turns into a clean install.
Confirm the build number, that Windows is still activated, and that the app or driver you were repairing now works. A repair that finishes without fixing the symptom points at the profile, not the system files.
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slmgr /xprEdition, language or build mismatch. The image must be the same or newer than what is installed, in the same language.
A driver or an antivirus filter. Remove the device or the security tool, then start the repair again.
Wait for the next online check, then run the activation troubleshooter. A digital licence follows the hardware, not the install.
The damage is in the user profile or in a driver. Create a fresh profile to test, or roll the driver back.
No. It keeps apps, files and most settings; only system files are replaced.
No. A repair with a newer image leaves you on that newer build.
There is nothing to undo: the repair keeps apps and files. If the result is worse than before, restore the system image you created first, or repeat the repair with the newer ISO.
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