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Fix: Keep Personal Files and Apps is Greyed Out

Easy solutions to fix quickly fix the problem

10 min. read

Updated onSeptember 20, 2024

updated onSeptember 20, 2024

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To fix various driver issues on your PC, you will need a dedicated tool to find the freshest and the original drivers. You can use PC HelpSoft Driver Updater to do it in 3 easy steps:

When upgrading Windows you usually have the option toKeep your personal files and apps, but for some, this option is greyed out. This issue is mostly caused to the fact that you’re trying to install a lover version of Windows that the currently installed or the personal files and apps are stored into unsupported folders.

If you’re running an old Windows 10 version, your PC is victim to a bub that can be fixed by installing the Feature Update to Windows 10 20H2 via Enablement Package (KB4562830) from theMicrosoft website.

The problem may also be due to a different language installation or corrupted system files. Here are some other ways to fix it.

How can I fix Windows settings, personal files, and apps error?

1. Check your system language

You might get theYou can’t keep Windows settings, personal files, and appsmessage if your system language doesn’t match the language on Windows 10 ISO. To change the system language, do as described above.

If you’re having trouble accessing Command Prompt as an admin, then you better take a closer look atourguide on how to fix Command Prompt.

2. Update your drivers

Drivers are a crucial part of Windows, and without drivers, you won’t be able to use your hardware properly.

Speaking of drivers, several users reported that theYou can’t keep Windows settings personal files and appserror was caused by outdated drivers.

According to them, their graphics card driver was out of date, and that caused this problem to appear. To fix the issue, update your graphics card driver to the latest version and check if this makes any difference.

If you find this solution too complicated, be sure to check ourguide on how to update the graphics card driver.

Keep in mind that other drivers can also cause this problem, so be sure that all your drivers are up to date before you try to upgrade.

Did you know that the majority of Windows 10 users have outdated drivers? Be a step ahead and learnhow to update your drivers.

We strongly recommend using a dedicated driver-updated tool and automatically downloading all the outdated drivers on your PC.

With this kind of tool, you will be safe from downloading and installing the wrong driver versions, which could seriously harm your system.

⇒Get Outbyte Driver Updater

3. Change system locale from Control Panel

You can’t open Control Panel? Take a look at thisstep-by-step guide when Control Panel is not openingto find a solution.

4. Download the Windows 10 version that matches your system language

You can’t keep Windows settings, personal files, and appsmessage appears during Windows 10 setup when the language from your previous operating system doesn’t match the one on your Windows 10 ISO file.

We showed you how to change your system language in order to install Windows 10, but what if you wish to keep your current system language?

If you don’t want to switch your system language to US English, you can simply download the Windows 10 ISO that uses the same language as your current operating system.

To do that, just download theMedia Creation Tooland choose the desired language from the list of languages.

Having problems with the Windows Media Creation Tool? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered with thisquick guide on what to do if the Media Creation Tool is not working.

5. Remove problematic applications

If you can’t upgrade to the latest version of Windows 10, the problem might be a third-party application that is installed on your PC.

It seems that this problem was caused by Java installation. To solve it, it’s advised to uninstall Java and try to perform the upgrade again.

It’s worth mentioning that a regular uninstall might not be able to remove Java completely.

Sometimes certain leftover files and registry entries can still interfere with Windows causing this and many other problems to appear.

To fix the issue, it’s advised to completely remove the problematic application. For this, we recommend you use a dedicated utility that’s able to uninstall Java and remove any junk files left behind.

These applications are specially designed to completely remove any application from your PC, so we encourage you to try them out.

That’s why is strongly recommended to use a professional tool likeCCleanerthat has a simple to use Uninstall utility built-in.

Once you remove the problematic application, the issue should be resolved. Keep in mind that other applications can also cause this problem, so you’ll need to find these applications on your own and remove them.

If you don’t know how to complete this procedure in Windows 10, take a look at thisdedicated guide on how to uninstall programs.

6. Remove any additional non-English languages

If you can’t keep your files from the previous version of Windows, perhaps you should try removing any other installed languages.

After you’ve removed all additional languages besides English, try installing Windows 10 again. This might not be the best solution, but it works according to users, so you might want to try it out.

7. Remove your antivirus

Sometimes the main cause forYou can’t keep Windows settings personal files and appserror is your antivirus.

Even though antivirus software is important, sometimes it can interfere with Windows and cause this problem to appear.

To fix the problem, it’s advised that you disable your antivirus completely. If the issue persists, you might be able to solve it simply by uninstalling your antivirus software.

For the Norton users, we’ve got adedicated guideon how to completely remove it from your PC. There’s also auseful guide for McAfee users.

If you’re using any antivirus solution and you want to get rid of it, be sure to check out thisamazing list with the best uninstaller softwareyou can use right now.

If removing the antivirus solves the problem, you might want to consider switching to a different antivirus in the future. There aremany great antivirus solutionsthat are offering advanced security features and are also compatible with all versions of Windows 10.

8. Check your registry

According to users, you can sometimes encounterYou can’t keep Windows settings personal files and appsmessage due to your registry settings.

Several users reported that they changed the location of the Program Files directory, and that caused this issue to appear. However, you can fix the problem by doing as described above.

After making changes to your registry, try to upgrade your Windows again and check if the problem reappears.

Read thishandy guide if you can’t edit Windows 10’s Registryand find the quickest solutions to the issue.

9. Check the location of user account directory

If you’re trying to install a new version of Windows, you might find keep personal files and apps greyed out. This can appear if your user account directory is moved.

While installing a new version of Windows, your user account directory is needed in order to create a backup of your files.

If this directory is moved or missing, you won’t be able to upgrade, and you’ll encounter this problem.

However, you can fix the issue simply by moving your user account directory to theC: Usersfolder on your PC. After doing that, you should be able to upgrade without any problems.

10. Change your product key or edition

Sometimes, the error sayingYou can’t keep Windows settings personal files and appscan appear if you’re trying to switch to a different version of Windows.

Many users reported this problem while trying to switch from Home to Pro version of Windows. Since you can’t keep personal files and apps as they are greyed out, things shouldn’t remain this way for too long.

In case you notice that yourWindows default apps are missing, it’s possible that this issue is causing this problem.

This isn’t the only feature that can go missing, and many reported thatWindows Update is not showingon their PC as well.

Problems such asgrayed out Windows appsare caused by corrupted installation, so you might have to repair it to fix this problem.

Personal files and folders are rather important, and if you’re getting this errorduring installation, make sure that you try some of our solutions. Even more, check out thisguide if Windows 10 doesn’t let you access your files.

As always, for additional questions and suggestions, do not hesitate to use the comments section below.

Fix: Keep Personal Files and Apps is Greyed Out#

How can I fix Windows settings, personal files, and apps error?#

1. Check your system language#

2. Update your drivers#

3. Change system locale from Control Panel#

4. Download the Windows 10 version that matches your system language#

5. Remove problematic applications#

6. Remove any additional non-English languages#

7. Remove your antivirus#

8. Check your registry#

9. Check the location of user account directory#

10. Change your product key or edition#