Forum Discussion
Kolson1
Feb 17, 2026Occasional Reader
From Windows 11 25h2 to 23h2
Trying to roll back from windows 11 25h2 to 23h2. Keep my apps and files are greyed out. Mounted ISO, should be really simple rollback. Not sure what the purpose is for preventing this? Tried everyth...
Blue_Bird
Feb 18, 2026Copper Contributor
Windows generally does not support "downgrading" via an ISO while keeping apps and files.
An ISO-based installation is considered an "In-place Upgrade." Because 23H2 is technically an older build than 25H2, the installer views this as a downgrade. To protect system stability, Windows disables the "Keep apps and files" option to prevent registry conflicts and app crashes that occur when older OS files overwrite newer ones.
Check for a Recovery Partition.If this is a corporate or OEM device (Dell, HP, etc.), check if there is a factory image for 23H2 available via the BIOS/UEFI boot menu.