Not able to complete repair using flash drive created with Windows 11 Media Creation Tool

Question

Not able to complete repair using flash drive created with Windows 11 Media Creation Tool

R Wade 45

I'm trying to repair my Windows 11 computer using a flash drive created with the Windows 11 Media Creation Tool (ran with administrator permissions). It can't get past the setup boxes--language, currency, etc. I click the Repair box and Next and it loops back around again to the same dialog boxes. I have used two different flash drives in two different ports on my computer. Any suggestions?

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4 answers

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Answer 1

Victor Baron 0

Windows PE (a.k.a Repair option in the setup is useful if you are restoring the system from the System Image Backup. You just need to move to a new physical drive and want to avoid tedious job of system config, apps installation and relicensing. 25H2 ISO allowed to do it, but apparently Microsoft "IMPROVED" this section when releasing 26H2 upgrade.

Is there a solution or a work around?

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Answer 2

R Wade 45

What do you know about that. Microsoft didn't tell us where you obtain the Windows 11 Media Creation Tool and learn of its use that you can run it from the flash drive by simply clicking on the setup file; you don't have to boot up from the flash drive at all. I don't know how many times I went round and round with that thing getting it to run that way.

And what makes this worse for me is that this didn't fix the problem at all; namely, that WSearch won't start. I get error codes 2 and 5. Indexing won't run. I've done everything I can find online to fix that, some several times, and I finally resorted to this repair operation.

So I'm back at square 1. I'll just have to live with slow searches in Explorer.

GsN5034 - IA 80,000 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-05-28T01:36:10.26+00:00
Hello,

I understand your concern here. However, have you tried resetting the WSearch service permissions from an elevated command prompt?

Run the command one by one-

sc config WSearch start= auto net start WSearch

Error 5 especially points to a permissions issue that the in-place upgrade may not have touched.

If you are still having issues, create a new local user account and see if you are experiencing the same behavior there.

Click the Windows + R key, type netplwiz, and click ok.
Select Add > Sign in without a Microsoft account (Not recommended).

Select Local account > Create a temporary username and password.

Sign out and sign in to the new local account created.

Test Windows Search from there. If it works normally on the new account, that tells us the issue is tied to your main profile rather than the system itself.

Let me know if you still need more help.

Answer 3

GsN5034 - IA 80,000 Independent Advisor

Hello, thank you for reaching out to Microsoft Q&A.

Is there any specific reason you wanted to 'Repair your Computer' using the USB Installation media instead of 'Installing Windows' through it?

You may experience this problem if the previous operating system on your hard disk is not being detected, or if the required drivers for your hard disk are not installed properly.

If you are having trouble booting your computer and your previous operating system crashed, it is better to do a clean installation of Windows 11 using the USB Bootable Installation media.

You can select the 'Install Windows' option and delete all the partitions until only one single unallocated space is listed on the page, then select the unallocated space to clean install Windows 11.

For reference, see-

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windowsinsider/cleaninstall

Victor Baron 0 Reputation points

2026-11-09T06:30:51.5266667+00:00

Recommendation of CLEAN INSTALL is great but in cases when one has to replace or upgrade system drive without spending time to repeat tedious task of system tuning, apps reinstallation and re-licensing, inability to get into Windows PE (a.k.a. Repair option) from installation USB, makes restore from the System Backup very challenging (to say the least).

Is Microsoft going to fix the "IMPROVEMENT" done to the 26H2 released ISO?

Answer 4

Use the installation media to either run an in-place repair or a full reinstall, depending on what is needed and what still works on the PC.

If Windows still boots
1. In Windows, open File Explorer and locate the USB created with the Media Creation Tool.
2. Double‑click the setup.exe on the USB instead of booting from it.
3. Follow the prompts and choose the option to keep personal files and apps when offered. This performs an in‑place installation that repairs Windows without wiping data.
If Windows does not boot
1. Confirm the PC is actually booting from the USB (check boot order in firmware/BIOS per the PC manufacturer’s instructions).
2. When the Windows Setup screen appears (language, keyboard, etc.), select the appropriate language and keyboard, then select Next.
3. Instead of selecting Install now, select the repair/recovery options that appear (for example, Troubleshoot → Advanced options) to access recovery tools.
4. If none of the recovery options work or the repair loop continues, use the USB to perform a clean install:
  - From the setup screen, choose Install Windows 11.
  - Accept that everything will be deleted (files, apps, and settings) when prompted.
  - Continue through setup to complete a clean installation.

Before doing a clean install, back up any personal data if possible, because a clean installation removes personal files, apps, and settings.

If there is another working PC available, also consider creating a dedicated recovery drive and using that to reinstall Windows via Windows RE:

On a working PC, create a recovery drive (Recovery Drive tool) and select Back up system files to the recovery drive.
Boot the problem PC from that recovery USB.
In Windows RE, choose Recover from a drive and follow the prompts to reinstall Windows.

References: