Windows Could Not Complete the Installation – Solution for Windows 10

Have you ever been confronted by the error “Windows could not complete the installation”? Don’t be troubled, many people have been! This article will present you with several methods you can apply to solve this common Windows 10 error.

These days, Windows 10 has been troubling many PC users with this well-known installation error, prompting them to install the OS again.

This has led to many people asking for a solution online on various forums.

If you are experiencing the same problem, here are some solutions. Try them out and determine which one works for you.

Automatic Repair

If your error appears as a result of a recent Windows update, Automatic Repair has a good chance of solving your issue. The steps are as follows:

1. Press the PC power button and while Windows 10 attempts to start, turn it off.
2. Repeat the procedure until the PC displays the status “Preparing Automatic Repair”.
3. Navigate to Advanced options => Troubleshoot => Reset this PC => Keep my files.
4. When prompted for your account password, type it in.
5. Press on “Cancel” and then “Continue” to load Windows.
6. Reboot your PC and see if the problem has been solved.

Enable an Administrator Account

In yet another attempt to solve the issue we  can try to a Windows 10 Administrator Account. Follow the steps below:

1. Right-click the start button located at the lower left side of the taskbar and run Command Prompt (Admin).
2. Type “MMC” and confirm with Enter.
3. A console window opens. From the file menu of the newly opened window, choose “Add/Remove Snap-in”

4. From the “Available snap-ins” section, double click Computer Management.
5. Choose “Local computer” from the Computer Management window and confirm with Finish.
6. Click OK to confirm once again and exit. This will return you to the main console interface again.
7. Go to Computer Management (Local) => System Tools => Local Users and Groups => Users => Administrator.
8. Double click Administrator. This will open the Administrator Properties window as shown in the picture:

9. Remove the checkbox of “Account is disabled” and confirm with “OK”.
10. Right-click “Administrator” and choose to “Set Password”.
11. Lastly, reboot the PC and check whether the installation issue is solved.

Change the Password

“Windows could not complete the installation” is sometimes solvable through a simple password change. Follow the steps outlined below to do that:

1. Right-click the start button located at the lower left side of the taskbar and run Command Prompt (Admin).
2. Type “secpol.msc” and confirm with Enter.
3. In the Local “Security Policy” window, go to “Account Policies” and then click “Password Policy”.
4. From the right section of the window, choose “Minimum password length” to open its properties and make sure “No password required” is set to zero characters as seen on the screenshot:

5. Check whether the “Password must meet complexity requirements” checkbox is set to “Disabled”. If not, do so.
6. Reboot the PC and check whether the installation issue reappears.

Try the Account Creation Wizard

In yet another attempt to solve the “Windows 10 could not complete the installation” error, we can use the Account Creation Wizard. Follow the steps below to try it:

1. Right-click the start button located at the lower left side of the taskbar and run Command Prompt (Admin).
2. Navigate to a different directory by typing in or copying “CD C:\windows\system32\oobe” and confirm with Enter
3. Type “msoobe” and confirm with Enter.
4. A popup window will open, prompting you to generate an account. If a product key is required, enter it and confirm with “Finish”.
5. Reboot the PC and check whether the issue is resolved.

  Update BIOS

Often, the error we are discussing arises from an outdated BIOS. BIOS is a sensitive topic but if you keep getting the error, it may be worth to update to the latest version of the BIOS firmware. Follow the steps to go through the procedure:

1. Left-click the start button on your taskbar and type “msinfo”. Click on “System Information”.
2. When the “System Information” window opens, look for SMBIOS Version in the right pane and save the information somewhere.
3. Follow the update instructions as outlined on the Intel website if you have one of their motherboards. Otherwise, look for update instructions from your particular motherboard’s manufacturer.

BIOS changes

Having an up-to-date bios is great but may still leave the problem unresolved. There are certain BIOS settings that do not work so well for Windows 10 as they do for earlier Windows versions. Follow the steps below to change them:

1. Turn off your PC.
2. Turn the PC on and press the BIOS key before the system loads. Depending on your setup, the BIOS key can be Del, F10, F1, F2, etc.
3. The different BIOS manufacturers have different tabs for BIOS firmware tools. Look for the option named SATA Operation. It is usually located under Integrated Peripherals or Onboard devices. Change it to AHCI.
4. Choose to exit by saving your changes.
5. Reboot the PC and check whether the issue is resolved.

If this solution works for you, don’t forget to change the setting to its previous state.

These are all our proposed method for fixing the “Windows could not complete the installation” error. If you have any other solutions, please leave them in the comment section below.