mthphoto Loc: University Place, WA

Hello HHS,
I will appreciate any help about my notebook's Windows 10 problem:

I have a 5 year old HP Pavilion notebook. I did not create a back-up disc.

3 weeks ago, I was surfing and maybe I tried to download some video file or software (can't remember) and the computer went blank (Blue Screen). I re-started it and now I am getting the following messages in this sequence:
Preparing Automatic Repair ---> Diagnosing Your PC ---> Automatic Repair ---> Restart Advance Options....
I went on Youtube and watched plenty of video to reboot the system, troubleshoot, reset the pc and even did advance options but nothing seems to work.
Over and over it gives me the same message and same window.

Does anyone know what steps I need to take to wipe everything off and start anew. And where can I obtain a copy of Windows 10?

I will be extremely greatful... :)

Mthphoto

Uncle Otto Loc: St. Louis, Missouri

I've had the same thing happen. Time for a new computer! -- Uncle Otto

ken_stern Loc: Yorba Linda, Ca

When I encountered that message on my HP-PC It ended up with me purchasing a new hard drive
Good luck

CindyHouk Loc: Nw MT

As an IT tech - I would have to say that you are going to need to reformat the hard drive and start from scratch. If you have the windows 10 license key then you can get the windows 10 installation file from here https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

You will need to know if your laptop is a 64 bit or a 32 bit system and have cd/dvd burning software on another system to create the installation disk

Once you have the Windows 10 Installation dvd created...you can boot to the dvd from your notebook and reinstall Windows....this means that anything you had on your notebook is gone and unrecoverable.

Once you have the Windows 10 os reinstalled - you will need to make sure you install all the device drivers for the notebook as well.

or you can take it into an IT shop in your area and have them do it.

kubota king Loc: NW , Pa.

here is how I fixed a customers computer that had the same problem with out loosing and thing . If you have another computer that you can take your hard drive out and stick it in the other computer . Windows 10 will install new drivers and start up files on that drive for the computer you just stuck your drive in and should boot up . After it boots up , type in the search box Device Manager , click on it . Now click on the arrow on the left side of Display adapter to open it , right click on the line that shows up and click uninstall device . Do the same thing for mouse , keyboard , and network adapter . Shut computer down , take hard drive out , and put it back into your computer you first took hard drive out of . Start computer . Computer will reinstall the drivers and correct boot up files . This only works for windows 10 . You will have to reactivate windows 10 . Run virus scan , malwarebytes to clean out any infections you might have downloaded . This procedure has worked many times for me when all else has failed .Tom's Computer Repair

JRFINN Loc: Plymouth, MA

Call Microsoft's help desk and their first line support can help you out. If you have Windows 8 or 7 you may want to start the rebuild at that point.
Good luck

johneccles Loc: Leyland UK

Ask a friend to download the ISO on a DVD or USB drive.
Use this link: https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/software-download/windows10

JamesCurran Loc: Trenton ,NJ

You are getting a blue screen, which is part of Windows, which means that it was able to load at least some of WIndows from the hard disk, which means you may be able to recover the disk. IF you can remove the drive, and mount it as a secondary drive on another PC, you may be able to read the files off it. (The main problem may be the 2nd PC would treat those file as owned by a different user which you don't have the rights to access)

CindyHouk Loc: Nw MT

I will have to remember to try this! I never thought about uninstalling the drivers....does this work if you take the hard drive out of say a Dell Optiplex 7010 and move it to another 7010 or do you need to install the hard drive in a different model?

kubota king Loc: NW , Pa.

CindyHouk , to answer your question .. No it shouldn't matter . I took this customer's hard drive out and stuck it in my desk top . It booted up after it install a few files that it needed to start in the different computer . Uninstalled the drivers I mentioned in the other message, and stuck it back into the customers computer . It installed the files it need to start and booted with no problems , and no files or programs lost . I had to reactivate windows . I can take any windows 10 hard drive and stick it in another computer and it will boot up after it installs files it needs to boot for that computer . Microsoft built this into windows 10 . If you try this with other windows operating system , it won't work . There are other methods that sometimes will repair windows using Dos . But you have to know what your doing like me , too many people would get lost trying to fix computer using Dos . I see you are a IT Tech .. The only way my solution wouldn't work is if the hard drive is failing . But the member posted that it screwed up after downloading or putting other files on their computer . This is what happened to the customer's windows I mentioned fixing here , she download a file to fix a problem and it crashed the computer and wouldn't boot , auto fix could not fix it . So I did the procedure I mentioned and got it up and running again just like it was running before she downloaded and installed the program to try to fix another problem. She learned a lesson the hard way .. Tom's Computer Repair

1Feathercrest Loc: NEPA

What is this eccentric thing about using the improper word "loose" or "loosing" to mean LOSE, or Losing? They are two different words. Didn't you complete Grade School?

RonBoyd

Excellent advice. I would have never thought of that. This situation does point out the importance of a back-up system. I use TrueImage (https://www.acronis.com/en-us/) but there are a gagillion other excellent back-up programs available. I back-up three computers nightly and, quite often (more than I would prefer), I reset back to a previous state. Backing up nightly means I can only lose (or whatever rhymes with booze), at the most, 24 hours... but can also go back weeks.

Wenonah Loc: Winona, MN

Oh to be perfect.

kubota king Loc: NW , Pa.

Back ups are good as long as the infection or what caused your computer to crash doesn't get saved to the system backup before the problem causes your system to crash . Not all problems show up while you are in windows , a lot of them start after the computer is restarted or rebooted as some call it . I do use both types of back ups for customers with contracts with me . Tom's Computer Repair

RonBoyd

I fully agree. That is why my back-up procedure is:

1. Create full (partitions) back-up.
2. Create (daily) five incremental backups
3. Create new Full back-up.
4. Keep up to 4 previous back-ups (depending on space).

That way I can go back about a month to any day.

Oh! In addition, every year or so, I do save a copy to a another disk before TrueImage can delete. Although, I cannot imagine ever having to go back a year, it just feels god that I can.