A laptop running Windows 10 Pro boots, but several core services crash immediately and the graphical shell never appears. Running sfc /scannow and DISM /restorehealth from WinRE completed without fixing the problem. The user insists that all currently installed applications, settings, and personal data must remain intact and wants the machine working again as soon as possible. Which installation method best satisfies these requirements?
Boot to Windows PE, format the system partition, and perform a clean installation from USB media.
Use the Reset this PC feature and select the "Remove everything" option.
Start Windows Setup from the same Windows 10 build and choose an in-place repair (upgrade) installation.
Deploy the organization's standard Windows 10 image to the laptop using imaging software.
A repair (in-place) installation reinstalls the Windows 10 system files by starting Setup from matching installation media and selecting the Upgrade option. This process refreshes the operating system while preserving installed applications, user profiles, and data, making it the fastest way to recover a damaged OS when hardware is healthy.
A clean installation and image deployment both reimage the disk, wiping apps and data. The Reset this PC option with "Remove everything" also erases user content. Therefore, only the in-place repair installation meets the stated constraints.
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What is an in-place repair (upgrade) installation?
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What are the key tools mentioned, sfc and DISM, and what do they do?