7 Fixes: The Computer Started Using the Windows Installation Disc

Urgently Need to Fix The Upgrade Option Isn’t Available in Windows 10

"I purchased a USB with Windows 10 Pro online and I intended to use it to upgrade my computer. But when I plugged the USB drive in and used it to install, I encountered a problem. I received a compatibility report as shown in the picture below. I don't know what should I do to fix it, should I try other installation options?"

When you upgrade Windows system or reinstall system, you may encounter compatibility problems. At that time, you will receive an error like the above case. From the feedback collected from a large number of users, this error is not uncommon. Based on these results, this article summarizes the causes of this error, as well as 7 effective solutions to fix it.

Why does “The Computer Started Using the Windows Installation Disc” Error Occur?

The reason for the "the computer started using the Windows installation disc" error is that When you perform a custom installation again on a disk where Windows is already installed, it will not list the disks where the system is already installed. So how to fix this error? You will find 7 different options, try these methods to solve the problem.

7 Methods to Fix “The Computer Started Using the Windows Installation Disc” Error

How to fix the error "the computer started using the Windows installation media in Windows 10"? You can try the following 7 solutions.

• Run Windows 10 installer from This PC
• Delete the MiniNT key in the Registry Editor
• Switch to normal startup mode
• Reinstall the laptop battery
• Format the hard drive where Windows 10 is installed
• Install Windows 10 via Universal Restore - AOMEI Backupper
• Reinstall the system

Method 1. Run Windows 10 Installer from This PC

You may encounter the error "the computer started using the Windows installation disc" when performing an upgrade from a computer that has already installed Windows. In this case, you can run the Windows 10 installer directly from This PC to fix this problem. You can follow the detailed steps below.

Step 1. Shut down your PC and remove the DVD or USB device where Windows is installed, then insert the storage device used to upgrade your system.

Step 2. In the Windows system that is waiting to be upgraded, find and open This PC, and find the hard drive for upgrading Windows in the Windows Explorer. Usually, the USB drive is displayed as a removable device; the DVD is displayed as a disc icon.

Step 3. Run the setup.exe file from the hard drive. In the Windows 10 Setup window, select the Upgrade this PC now option and click Next.

Step 4. Next, you need to click Accept for the Applicable notices and license terms and follow the prompts to set up Windows 10. When everything is ready, click the Install button and wait for the process to complete.

Method 2. Delete the MiniNT Key in the Registry Editor

If you have made changes to your computer's registry, this may cause the error "the computer started using the Windows installation disc". So you need to find the registry key related to this error and delete it to try to fix the error. Please note that if you cannot find the MiniNT key in the corresponding path of the Registry Editor, please move to the next solution.

Modifying the registry may affect the normal operation of your Windows system and result in data loss. To ensure the safety of your data, it is recommended that you perform system backup with AOMEI Backupper Standard.

Step 1. Press Win+R together to open the Run window, type regedit and press Enter to open the Registry Editor.

Step 2. Navigate to the following path. Then find a key named MiniNT in the right window, right-click it, and select Permissions in the expanded menu.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control

Step 3. Find your user account under the Security tab, check the Allow checkbox next to Fully Control, then click OK to save the changes and exit.

Step 4. Right-click the MiniNT key again and select Delete in the expanded menu, confirm the operation and restart your computer.

Method 3. Switch to Normal Startup Mode

If you receive the error message "the computer started using the Windows installation disc" when upgrading the Windows system, you can switch to normal startup mode first and then try to upgrade, which is a worthwhile solution.

Step 1. Open the Run window by pressing Win+R, type msconfig and press Enter.

Step 2. In the System Configuration window, go to the General tab and make sure you have selected the Normal startup option, click OK to save the changes and restart your computer. This will help you to solve the problem that the upgrade option isn’t available in Windows 10.

Method 4. Reinstall the Laptop Battery

Although it may seem unbelievable, some users report that reinstalling the laptop battery helped fix the error. If you are using a laptop and the upgrade option isn't available if you start your computer using Windows installation media, then you can try this method. It may help you fix the "the computer started using the Windows installation media in Windows 10" problem.

Step 1. Turn off your laptop completely and make sure the power is disconnected.

Step 2. Remove your laptop battery from the battery compartment, then press and hold the power button for 20 seconds to ensure all current is discharged.

Step 3. Reinstall the battery into the battery compartment, make sure it is properly installed, and finally restart your computer. At this point, you can try to upgrade your Windows system again to see if you can successfully upgrade.

Method 5. Format the Hard Drive Where Windows 10 Is Installed

Since reinstalling Windows will format the old disk and erase all the files in it, it is recommended that you use AOMEI Backupper Standard to backup your files to prevent any file loss. The next steps will take Windows 10 as an example.

Step 1. Insert your Windows 10 installation disk and boot your computer.

Step 2. Set the language and other preferences. Enter your Windows 10 product key and click Next. If you don't have the key, you can just choose to skip this step.

Step 3. Next, follow the prompts to set up until you see "Which type of installation do you want?" and select the Custom option.

Step 4. At the "Where do you want to install Windows?" screen, you will see the activated partitions. At this point, you need to select each partition with the current operating system files, click Delete and then click Next. 

Then follow the prompts to complete the final settings, and wait for the Windows 10 installation to complete.

Method 6. Reinstall Your System using Windows 10 ISO Files

Reinstalling the system can help you solve many problems, so it can also be an effective solution to the "the computer started using the Windows installation disc" error. Take the Windows 10 installation as an example, please follow the steps below.

Step 1. Download the Windows Media Creation tool from Microsoft's official website and create the ISO file for installing Windows 10.

Step 2. Mount the ISO file and run the Setup.exe file in the root directory. Wait for the Windows 10 installer to be ready, you can choose whether to download the update according to your needs, and then click Next.

Step 3. In What needs your attention screen, click on the Change what to keep option.

Step 4. You will see 3 options, select the first option and click Next.

Step 5. Then, in the What needs your attention screen, confirm your options and click the Refresh button, and wait for the installation to complete.   

Method 7. Upgrade or Install Windows 10 via Universal Restore

If none of the above methods help you fix this error, you can choose a professional restore software to help you. AOMEI Backupper Professional is a good choice. It can help you fix "the computer started using the Windows installation disc" error to ensure you successfully upgrade or install Windows 10 system.

Its Universal Restore feature can restore the system image directly from one computer to another including the computer with different hardware. It not only can migrate the system more quickly, but also can be used to restore the system that has been crashed. And it supports multiple Windows operating systems, such as Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7, etc.

Then you can follow the graphic tutorial below. And before you start, you need to do some preparation work.

• Download the free trial version of AOMEI Backupper software on your local computer and on the other computer.
• Run AOMEI Backupper Professional on the other functional computer that you want to upgrade to this system. Create a system backup and then create bootable media.

Step 1. Boot your local computer using Windows 10 bootable media. You may need to change the boot priority in BIOS.

Step 2. After waiting for AOMEI Backupper Professional to run automatically, switch to Restore tab on the left side and click Select Task to find the system backup you have created.

Step 3. Select the system backup image file and click Next.

Step 4. Select Restore this system backup and click Next. If you want to restore the system image to a new hard drive, check the Restore system to other location checkbox in the lower-left corner.

Step 5. Confirm the restore operation, and confirm if Universal Restore is automatically checked, then click Start Restore and wait for the system to restore.

Notes:

• If you are performing the Universal Restore on a new computer, it is recommended that you delete all partitions on the target hard drive.
• The Universal Restore feature will not install drivers such as graphics cards, sound cards, network interface controllers, etc. Since these drivers do not affect the normal startup of your Windows 10 system, you can install them by yourself after a successful restore.
• After you restore your system to another computer using the Universal Restore feature, you will need to enter the activation code again to reactivate your Windows system or office software.

In addition, AOMEI Backupper Professional provides you with other functions. If you want to migrate your whole system to another hard disk completely, you can use the System Clone function.

Summary

If you are struggling with the "the computer started using the Windows installation disc" error, you can try to fix this error via 7 methods mentioned in the article after understanding the cause of this error. The most worth trying is the Universal Restore function of AOMEI Backupper Professional if you cannot fix it.

It can easily restore the system image to the computer with different hardware. And it supports multiple Windows operating systems. So you use it to fix "the computer started using the Windows installation disc" error and help you perform Windows 10 upgrade in just a few simple steps.

In addition, the software also provides you with more useful functions such as Real-Time Sync, Partition Clone, Disk Backup, etc to protect your computer in all aspects.