The generic drivers might work for the majority of the devices, but we’re still more prone to update manually at least GPU and network drivers. Also, older printers and similar peripheral devices can cause BSODs with generic drivers, so have that in mind, too.
Upgrade from Windows 7 or Windows 8 to Windows 10 could be done without losing any program. And this works most of the time with a majority of win32 applications just transferred in Windows 10.
However, it seems that that’s not quite the case with third-party antivirus solutions. At least, for some of them.
The antivirus solutions which are quite commonly reported as the main instigators are Norton and McAfee. So, if you used to run them on your previous Windows iteration, we recommend uninstalling them before upgrading to Windows 10.
Instead of covering only individual applications which can cause upgrading errors, you can get rid of them all. We’re aware that this isn’t the preferred scenario, but we still favor it over the clean reinstallation.
Namely, when you’re asked whether to keep both your files and programs or just files, we suggest choosing the latter.
This way, we’ll avoid possible incompatibility of third-party applications with the new platform. The main goal is to relieve your PC of pre-installed OEM-provided applications which come on laptops.
With this solution, we’ve come to more serious troubleshooting. Even though BCD (Boot Configuration Data) is rarely affected, it still can get corrupted. There are various reasons for this occurrence.
In case you’re frequently installing different OSs, it can get incomplete and your system won’t be able to boot. On the other hand, this isn’t the rule and accidents happen.
The standard way to upgrade your system includes an over-the-air update from the system interface. However, this isn’t as reliable as one would expect. Luckily, there are various alternatives to this, including the Update Assistant utility and Media Creation Tool.
The former, besides updating, will let you know whether you can upgrade in the first place. The latter is great for the creation of the bootable drive which, in this case, might be the best way to upgrade to Windows 10.
You have a choice to create an ISO file and burn it on DVD or create a bootable USB drive. The USB at hand must have at least 6 gigs and it’s preferable to be a 2.0 instead of 3.0 or 3.1.
Finally, if none of the previous solutions got you over the error at hand, the clean installation is the only remaining step that comes to mind. Of course, you should back up everything you can from the system partition. You can just move it to a secondary partition or use an external or cloud drive.
After that, just follow these steps and, after no more than 2 hours, Windows 10 will be ready to use.
From a safety standpoint, Windows 10 is the most secure Windows OS. More so, it is actively being developed, with new major features coming out every month.
Yes, by following the right steps that usually involve the Media Creation Tool, you can upgrade to Windows 10 for free in under 2 hours, and use it to the full extent of its capabilities.
Windows 7 reached the End of Life on January 14 and is no longer receiving any updates, except if you bought the Windows 7 Extended Support for Business package.
That should do it. In case you have additional questions or suggestions concerning the “Windows installation has failed” installation error, make sure to tell us in the comments section below.
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in May 2018 and has been since revamped and updated in April 2020 for freshness, accuracy, and comprehensiveness.
