Deyner´s Notes!

⌛ Reading time: 7 minutes

Recently i've came across the need of updating my Windows 10 to a newer version of the same Operative System. If you search all over the Internet you will find many tutorials on how to proceed to achieve this. The problem is that the upgrade process, when you have a limited (and unstable) Internet connectivity, becomes something almost impossible and really hard to achieve because the right way to do it is by being connected all the time to the Internet while the updating process is taking place. That way you will be sure the updating process will run smoothly.

If you can stay connected while the updating process takes place, then: CONGRATULATIONS!....otherwise you will need to use a simple workaround. :)

First of all we need to note that Microsoft is always improving their products and while they make better products for us, at the same time, they make harder to “jump” from one version to another: incompatibilities, hardware requirements.... You may be surprised on how many security patches, cumulative updates and Windows 10 versions we have by now: you can get completely lost if you take a deeper look when you are trying to upgrade from one version to another one. Even a simple difference in locale settings between installed product and the new installation source can prevent you from updating successfully (happened to me :( )....but there's always a way to regain calm and not stress when doing things like this.

Windows Registry is your enemy...but is your friend as well!

At this stage i think a WARNING *☠* must be made:

“All methods involving changes to the Windows Registry are not officially supported or recommended by Microsoft. You need to realize that making changes in the registry of any operative system may lead to misbehavior or even a total failure. You are doing it on your own responsibility.”

...with that said, we can continue. :)

Windows 10 comes in many different languages and if you have an old localized (fully translated) version and want to upgrade to a newer version of M$ Windows 10 the right way to do it, as said before, is by being connected to the Internet and do all the process while online. But not everyone have that possibility. For people with an expensive and unstable Internet connectivity this is a real problem.

Fig 1. Windows OS distributions come in many different languages (Photo by Panos Sakalakis on *Unsplash*)

The way to solve this issue is by using a previously downloaded ISO image of the newer version of Windows 10 and make some changes to the Windows 10 registry. You may be wondering why if you refuse to stay connected to the Internet while updating, at the end, you will need to download an ISO file from the Internet. Well i have a couple of answers to that: Windows OS (and especially Windows 10) is a very widespread and used operative system today so you can grab a fresh copy of an updated ISO file from almost everywhere in your town, city, from a friend, a relative, in a school, university...there is no need to look for it exclusively on the Internet. As an example: the copy i used to update my laptop was found in a public FTP in my own country's internal network. So as you can see dear reader, you can find what you need just by looking closely or even asking a bit.

And now, returning to the update process, the problem is that when you are offline and using an ISO file to update, the Windows updater wizard check for some compatibility between the installed product and the new installation source. Since you are upgrading you OS it is understandable that you need to search for an updated ISO file of a superior version of Windows 10 (build version), or at least the same build version but a more “professional” version like updating from Home version to Pro no matter if the build version is the same, the Pro version is an improved version of your Windows 10. If you choose to update from, as an example, a low Pro build version to a higher Home build version, at the end the upgrade wizard will fail because both OS are different in specifications: going from Pro to Home is like a downgrade no matter if the build version of Home is higher.

On the other hand, if you manage yourself to grab the correct ISO file to upgrade to, one common error (or maybe a warning) that is shown in the process when doing it offline is regarding the language used in both distributions. Usually you want to keep your apps and settings when doing an upgrade and it is completely possible but only if the installed OS and the upgrading source they both match in the language used. As an example Windows 10 has one original Spanish distribution (es_ES) but has many localized Spanish distributions (es_MX – Mexico, **es_AR** - Argentina...and so on) so, if you have installed a localized argentinian version of Windows 10 you could upgrade by using an **es_ES** ISO file but you will be not able to keep all your installed apps and personalized settings....WHAAATTT!!!???

Fig 2. You can´t keep many things if you choose to upgrade to a Windows 10 using a different language than you´re currently using.

So what to do if something like this happens to you? You may try downloading and installing on your current installed OS the language embedded on the new ISO file but this will not work as expected because the installation language is recorded in the registry only once when you install for the first time, so you can download and install as many languages as you want but this will not solve the issue. Here´s when our friend (the registry) enters the big picture...

You need to follow these simple steps:

❶ Open the Registry Editor (press Windows+R keys and type “regedit”...without quotes of course)

❷ Go to the following key:

KEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Nls\Language

❸ Find in the right pane of the Registry Editor app the key named as InstallLanguage with REG_SZ type. You need to edit it and assign it a new value.

❹ Double click on that key and assign a new value.

You can see the actual value is 0c0a which stands for **es_ES** language as the locale ID assigned by Microsoft...so if you want to upgrade to a new Windows 10 but the ISO you have is localized, let´s say on **es_MX** language ID then you need to change this value for 080a which is the language ID corresponding to the Spanish Mexican localized language assigned by Microsoft.

You can do this the opposite way if you have a localized **es_ES** version of Windows 10 installed and you want to upgrade but using an ISO file localized to es_MX...then you simply need to edit the code of the same registry key and that´s it!!!

You can find all local IDs assigned by Microsoft here: it useful list of all IDs assigned by Microsoft dealing with localization of same language. Here you can find the codes you need to replace the value of InstallLanguage registry key according to your needs.

❺ Restart Windows 10 and then when you try to update your OS to a superior version you will see this awesome screen:

....allowing you to upgrade while keeping all your settings, personal files and apps. :)

WARNING ☠: this technique is intended to be used to “force” the updating process by tweaking the system a bit. When i say “a bit” you need to understand that differences between localized versions of the same language are, in most cases, minimal, so change the language IDs will make no harm after all. If you are trying to upgrade from an **es_ES** Windows 10 to an **en_US** distribution differences are huge so i will not recommend this technique to do that as there is not guarantee that at the end the new upgraded version will work as expected. Remember that by tweaking the Windows Registry you are touching a vital part of the operative system and you are doing it at your own risk.

Final thoughts...by now

Dealing with day to day tech side of the things is really hard for people who do not know almost anything about managing their gadgets and the operative systems lying under. M$ Windows 10 is a clear example of an excellent OS that is hard to manage and even harder to update while offline even for seasoned people, that´s why i will open today, with this article a new series of articles called “Grumpy Window$” where i can share with you, dear readers, my experiences, achievements and...failures **:)** in one of the world i am moving on: the IT world!!!

So, if you are an enthusiast of historical photograph, tech side of the things and amazing discoveries do not forget to follow me at https://coil.com/u/deyner1984 because i will be releasing soon new and impressive contents about it!!!

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