New Windows 10 versions are delivered to your computer through Windows Update. Learn what happens if Windows installs the update automatically, and find information for manually installing the update.
Windows Update requires a minimum amount of free space on the hard drive to install the latest update. You might be prompted to connect external storage to complete the update. See HP PCs - Resolving low disk space issues and errors (Windows 10) for steps to free additional storage space on your hard drive.
For business computers, operating system installation might be managed at the IT level and might not be available to install a later version of Windows. To confirm, contact your company's IT department or your local IT service.
Windows Update can automatically install a new Windows 10 version to your computer.
Windows allows you to reset the update schedule up to five days later. However, you can only use this reschedule option once.
If you do not want to wait for Windows to automatically download a new Windows 10 version, use Windows Update to install it manually.
You can install Windows 10 from a USB drive using the Media Creation Tool.
Download the Media Creation Tool and create the installation media.
You can run the Media Creation Tool and create the Windows installation media on any computer.
Windows 10 Setup allows you to do a clean installation of Windows 10 (erases all data) or to keep your personal files and apps. HP still recommends backing up all data in the event of any data loss.
If you are prompted to supply the Windows 10 product key, type the product key, and then click Next.
If your computer has less than 128 GB of free hard drive space, you are prompted to connect a USB hard drive to continue with the installation. Use a blank USB hard drive 32 GB or larger. When the installation is complete, Windows 10 Upgrade copies the windows.old file to the USB hard drive. Keep this file on the USB hard drive. The file is required if you decide to go back to the previous operating system.
If you have completed a clean installation of Windows and kept nothing, navigate the setup experience with the help of Cortana. If you chose to keep your personal files and apps, you do not need to set up Windows 10 again.
The installation completes, and the desktop opens.
The Go Back feature, which allows you to reinstall a previous version of Windows, is available for 10 days after upgrading to Windows 10 (or updating Windows 10 to a new version). The Windows installation files occupy a large amount of hard drive storage space during that time. The files are deleted automatically after 10 days. However, you can delete them manually if you want to free up storage space before then.
After deleting the files, the Go Back feature is no longer available for restoring a previous version of Windows.
If your computer shipped with Windows 10 preinstalled at the factory, HP Recovery Manager might not work with the latest update.
The HP Recovery Manager program is part of the original hard drive image on HP computers released before 2018. It can be used to recover the operating system from files stored in a partition on the hard drive without needing recovery media. It can also be used to create a personalized recovery disc or USB drive for a specific computer.
A Can’t open file: X:\sources\Recovery\tools\HP\Rita-tool\ message might display if you attempt to open HP Recovery Manager using either of the following methods:
Pressing the F11 key, clicking Troubleshoot, and then selecting HP Recovery Manager.
- or -
Searching for and selecting HP Recovery Manager, and then clicking Windows Recovery Environment.
To resolve the issue, download and install HP Recovery Manager Update.
When you click the link, the file is downloaded using your internet browser download capabilities.