Check whether an upgrade will work without actually upgrading

Check whether an upgrade will work without actually upgrading — via Microsoft Learn

Commandlow riskNeeds adminWindows 11Windows 10

Windows setup can run its compatibility checks and then stop. With /compat scanonly it scans the PC, reports through an exit code whether anything blocks the upgrade, and changes nothing. It's useful before committing to a big feature update.

Takes effect right away

The easy way

Mount the ISO of the version you want to upgrade to and use its drive letter instead of D:.
Run the commands in an elevated Command Prompt and wait. The scan runs silently and can take a while.
Read the exit code. -1047526896 (0xC1900210) means no compatibility issues were found. -1047526904 (0xC1900208) means issues were found.

Command

Run in an administrator Command Prompt / Terminal window.

D:\setup.exe /auto upgrade /quiet /compat scanonly
echo %errorlevel%

To keep the setup logs for a closer look, add /copylogs C:\SetupLogs. Nothing is installed in scan-only mode.

Sources

Windows Setup command-line options — by Microsoft Learn

Source reviewed: 2026-11-02
Link checked: 2026-11-02
Tested hands-on: Not by Oddbyte.Me

Oddbyte.Me hasn't tried this on every Windows build, so keep the undo handy.

setupupgradecompatibilityscanonlyfeature update

See which Windows editions are inside an ISO or install.wim — via Microsoft Learn

Commandlow riskAdmin

One ISO usually holds several editions (Home, Pro, Education and more), each stored as a numbered index in install.wim or install.esd. DISM lists them along with their version and size, so you know which index is which before you deploy or extract one.

Read the Windows product key stored in your PC's firmware — via Microsoft Learn

Commandlow riskAdmin

Most PCs that came with Windows have the key embedded in the UEFI firmware (OA3), and Windows activates from it automatically when you reinstall the same edition. One PowerShell line reads that key, for example to check which edition it belongs to.

Heads-up: the BypassNRO / ms-cxh local-account shortcuts are being removed — via Windows Insider Blog

MythAdmin

Typing OOBE\BypassNRO or start ms-cxh:localonly at the Shift+F10 prompt used to let you skip the Microsoft account during setup. Microsoft announced in October 2025 that it is removing these known mechanisms, so newer builds require internet and a Microsoft account to finish OOBE.

Check whether an upgrade will work without actually upgrading — via Microsoft Learn

The easy way

Command

Sources

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