The practice of issuing patches for complex software is a necessary and generally correct measure. How to solve problems related to software errors in a different way? But it seems that Microsoft has taken this tactic to the absolute, since minor updates are released with enviable regularity, and about once every six months, Windows 10 users are offered a global update. But it is they who, along with the solution of identified problems, often introduce new ones that did not exist before. One of them is the OOBELOCAL error or related OOBEREGION, OOBEKEYBOARD, OOBESETTING errors that occur at the end of the Windows setup procedure.
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What is this error
As follows from user reports, the error appeared after the release of update 1809 and manifests itself during a clean installation of Windows at a later stage, usually at the stage of choosing a region. It is also known that OOBELOCAL is most often annoying if it is installed on a virtual machine. As you can see from the names of the errors, they all begin with the word OOBE. This is the process (full name – msoobe.exe) responsible for the initial configuration of the basic parameters of the operating system, which automatically starts during the initial installation of Windows 10 or as a result of a major update, when after turning on the computer it becomes necessary to additionally configure some settings.
The cause of the error is unknown, at least Microsoft does not explain it. Since most often the error occurs when installing the OS on a virtual machine, there were suspicions that the reason lies precisely in the hypervisor. However, such cases are typical when using VMware Workstation, and when installing Windows on Oracle VM VirtualBox, and when installing the system on a physical disk without using a third-party hypervisor, so we can assume that Microsoft is to blame.
One way or another, the OOBELOCAL problem occurs when the installation gets to selecting a region, after which a screen appears with the inscription “There was a problem” and an advice to try again, and below is the error code, which can be OOBELOCAL, OOBEREGION, OOBEKEYBOARD or OOBESETTING.
If you click the “Try Again” button, it is likely that the system will install, but most often there is a cyclic return to the region selection, after which the same error pops up again.
How to get rid of OOBELOCAL, OOBEREGION, OOBEKEYBOARD error when installing Windows 10
Let’s consider ways to solve this problem, starting with the simplest ones that do not require reinstalling Windows. We also note that each of the above methods is a worker, that is, there is evidence that it helps to complete the installation of the system, but not always. So it is possible that you will have to apply most of the methods described.
Pause
It is believed that the error occurs due to the fact that during setup, the computer simultaneously downloads the necessary drivers from the Internet and installs them in the background. If by the time you select a region, some driver has not been installed, here is the error for you.
A very simple conclusion follows from this assumption – after the OOBE screen appears, you just need to wait 20 minutes, and then try to continue the installation by pressing the “Try Again” button. The reliability of the statement has not been proven by anyone, but the method sometimes works.
Internet outage
The second method is indirectly related to the first. If the installer climbs into the network at the final stage of installing the system, when there seems to be no need for this, you can simply try to turn off the Internet. If access is wired – by disconnecting the ethernet cable, if via Wi-Fi – turn off the router. After waiting 5-10 minutes after the error window appears, try to continue the installation by clicking the appropriate button.
Using the Skip Button
In some cases, the appearance of a window with a description of the OOBELOCAL error is accompanied by a choice between two further actions: try again or skip the region selection step. In this case, it is better not to click the “Try Again” button – there is a chance that the installation process will go into a loop, and the “Skip” button will no longer be there. So we click “Skip”, if the setup is completed successfully, the missing steps can be performed later.
Restarting the computer
This method also does not require reinstalling the system, but it must be used with caution, as it may end with undesirable consequences. The procedure itself is quite simple: when an error occurs, you need to turn off the computer by pressing the Power button and holding it until the PC turns off. If the installation takes place on a virtual machine, to turn it off, use the button that is present in the hypervisor control panel.
Installing a new version of Windows 10/11 over the old one
This method has a much higher probability of achieving a positive result in solving the OOBELOCAL error problem, but keep in mind that there is no 100% guarantee here, plus the installation itself will take a lot of time, so it’s worth trying this method if the previous ones did not work.
The fact is that the OOBE error appears at the stage of a standard Windows installation, so it makes sense to use the update by installing the system from a workable assembly, for example, Insider Preview 1607, and upgrade from it to the latest editions of the operating system.
Step by step algorithm:
- by pressing the Win + R combination, we call the Run console;
- we type the command cmd, confirm by pressing the Enter key or the OK button;
- in the end of the terminal we type the setup.exe command, thereby launching the Windows installer.
You are unlikely to encounter an OOBELOCAL error using this method, but you are not immune to the possibility of other errors.
Reset local settings using the built-in Msoobe utility
The latter option is considered the most difficult, but at the same time very effective and versatile, and most importantly, it does not require reinstalling the system, that is, the time costs will be relatively small. To eliminate the error that occurs at the stage of configuring Windows settings, we will use the already mentioned Msoobe utility: this is the process used when configuring the OS (selecting a region, language, user profile, etc.).
Sequencing:
- when a window appears with a description of the OOBE error during the installation of Windows (regardless of the specific error code), press the combination Shift + F10. For some laptop models, the combination will be slightly different, Shift + Fn + F10;
- in this way we will launch the command line console;
- Let’s start entering commands. The first one will be net user Administrator /active:yes, which will activate the account profile with the highest priority (the system administrator profile);
- cd OOBE – this command navigates to the OOBE folder located in the System32 system directory;
- msoobe.exe is a command that launches the process of the same name, and if it is launched without parameters, the current utility settings will be reset;
- after closing the command line, we will observe a window with the inscription “Wait” and dots rolling in a circle, you need to wait 15-25 minutes, after which the computer should restart. If this does not happen, you need to force a reboot by pressing the Reset button on the front of the computer;
- when the PC restarts, a message about an incorrectly entered password will appear, which we simply ignore by pressing the OK button;
- Windows installation will continue, and if the error at the final stage of the installation of the OOBE system appears again, click “Try again”, and this time there should be no more problems.
As you can see, the methods of solving the problem vary. On the official website, they focus on problems with access to the Internet and advise one of the methods we have proposed – disabling network access.