# Windows 8 wont Load



## ryan2032 (Apr 29, 2008)

Hi,


My Toshiba Satellite Laptop has Windows 8. For some reason windows 8 wont load. It gets to the screen where you select which username you want. But from there its non responsive, I cant get into Windows, I cant restart to load it up in safe mode.
I got a Windows 8 disk which I had to change the bios to load it up. The cd loads but it says the automatic repair wont repair the laptop. I try to refresh windows 8 but I get a message saying the drive where windows is installed is locked. unlock the drive and try again. It also wont let me use system restore.
I try to use the reset pc option but I get a message saying unable to reset your pc, a required drive partition is missing.
At the start it gives me the option to install windows 8, I don't know whether to just do that? Is it ok to do with windows 8 already installed?


Thanks


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## roodap (Mar 2, 2012)

you can try to unlock the drive with a partition utility.
anyways wait for more answers from experts
do not do anything if you are in doubt
trying to install again may give the same locked message.


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## ryan2032 (Apr 29, 2008)

Has anyone got any ideas?

Thanks


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## roodap (Mar 2, 2012)

if you have the windows install dvd you can repair it.
also try safe boot from startup F8


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## Stancestans (Apr 26, 2009)

Boot off the Windows 8 DVD then choose the _repair _option. It will scan for installed Windows and list it then prompt you to choose the installation you wanna repair. If it doesn't find your installation, then the drive is inaccessible, possibly due to filesystem/partition corruption and/or a failing hard disk.


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## ryan2032 (Apr 29, 2008)

Hi, thanks for you reply.
I tried to repair the drive but the drive was inaccessible.
What should i do next?


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## roodap (Mar 2, 2012)

it can mean your hdd is in trouble.
get to bios and see if the hdd is found correctly by its number and model
you might need another bootable disk with partition manager in it.
a linux live cd will be more effective.
wait till other answers


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## Stancestans (Apr 26, 2009)

Get hold of Ultimate Boot CD from the link in my signature and burn it to cd or create a bootable thumb drive. To do the latter, download unetbootin and use it together with the ubcd iso. Boot off the cd or thumb drive and select GParted Magic. It will load a Linux environment with several tools included. Try to access the hard disk from there and see if you can read/write anything from/to it. If it is accessible, backup all of your important data to external storage or cloud. That would be the Users/<user profile> directory. Post back with results of successful access/backup or any errors encountered.


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## ryan2032 (Apr 29, 2008)

Thank you for your reply. I have only just managed to get hold of another laptop to burn the cd.
I booted up the cd and loaded GParted Magic. I wasn't entirely sure what to do from there but PartedMagic has loaded on the laptop.
I don't have anything important to backup so that's fine.


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## ryan2032 (Apr 29, 2008)

Can anyone help?


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## Stancestans (Apr 26, 2009)

Sorry about the long silence buddy. Got caught up in Easter festivities deep down in Uganda where Internet connectivity is largely a luxury. I'm back now and will in no time have further instructions for you. Before then, there's something you can do. From the Gparted Magic linux environment, launch testdisk. Select to create a log, select the problematic hdd, select the partition table type (watch for the hint in green), select the Analyse (first) option and perform a job quick search. Let it finish the search and list found partitions. The list will include existing and any other deleted or lost partitions if found. Select the partition with accessibility problems then press the appropriate key to list its contents (key L i think, not sure yet). It should list files and folders on that partition. If testdisk returns any errors, post back with the results. If it does or doesn't list the expected files and folders, report back with details.


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## ryan2032 (Apr 29, 2008)

Hi, i did exactly what you said. I did a quick search, i wasn't sure which partition so i picked the one that said system. Pressed p to list files. This is the details:
Bin, recovery, ricatools, system volume information, boot with directory dr-xr-xr-x. WinRePaetirion.ini -r--r--r--.
Sorry i am writing this on a phone, if you need more details please let me know.


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## ryan2032 (Apr 29, 2008)

TestDisk 6.14, Data Recovery Utility, July 2013
Christophe GRENIER <[email protected]>
CGSecurity - Data recovery: TestDisk & PhotoRec
P MS Data 2048 923647 921600 [System]
Directory /

>dr-xr-xr-x 0 0 0 15-Jan-2014 12:43 .
dr-xr-xr-x 0 0 0 15-Jan-2014 12:43 ..
dr-xr-xr-x 0 0 0 4-Dec-2012 01:23 BIN
dr-xr-xr-x 0 0 0 18-Feb-2013 19:17 Recovery
dr-xr-xr-x 0 0 0 4-Dec-2012 00:44 RicaTools
dr-xr-xr-x 0 0 0 18-Feb-2013 19:18 System Volume Information
dr-xr-xr-x 0 0 0 4-Dec-2012 00:43 boot
-r--r--r-- 0 0 88 18-Feb-2013 19:58 WinRePartition.ini


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## Stancestans (Apr 26, 2009)

That is the system partition (often 100mb). We want the Seven partition. We can help you select the correct one if we saw a screen shot of the listed partitions after the quick search. Take a clear photo using your phone and post it.


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## ryan2032 (Apr 29, 2008)

TestDisk 6.14, Data Recovery Utility, July 2013
Christophe GRENIER <[email protected]>
CGSecurity - Data recovery: TestDisk & PhotoRec

Disk /dev/sda - 500 GB / 465 GiB - CHS 60801 255 63
Partition Start End Size in sectors
>P MS Data 2048 923647 921600 [System]
MS Data 923648 1456127 532480 [NO NAME]
MS Data 1193985 1456128 262144
MS Data 1456128 1718271 262144
MS Data 1718272 955185151 953466880 [TI31013500A]
MS Data 935030785 955901952 20871168
MS Data 954468353 955185152 716800
MS Data 955185152 955901951 716800
MS Data 955901952 976773119 20871168 [Recovery]


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## ryan2032 (Apr 29, 2008)

Thats the screen shot of the listed partitions


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## Stancestans (Apr 26, 2009)

```
MS Data 1718272 955185151 953466880 [TI31013500A]
```
That is the largest partition in the list and possibly the Windows seven volume. Select it and list its contents to ascertain it is indeed the correct partition. You can navigate into the user profile directory and conform the data listed are the expected ones.


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## ryan2032 (Apr 29, 2008)

When i press p to list the files in the selected partition i get taken out of the whole program


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## ryan2032 (Apr 29, 2008)

I think i will just give up. I cant do a reinstall because for some reason there's no windows 8 product key sticker on the laptop or in the paperwork, which is really helpful. 
Other than that i don't have a clue what else to do.


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## Stancestans (Apr 26, 2009)

You have a recovery partition that contains everything needed to restore your pc to factory (out-of-box) state. Your copy of windows is OEM, the key will automatically be applied and OEM license installed so you won't need to have the key or activate windows online. Sometimes there is a sticker / label under the battery, but new systems mostly store the key in the UEFI firmware. To restore to factory state, press the appropriate key at POST to access your laptop's startup options. One of them should be the recovery utility. Consult the manual for the specific key to press and how to go about the recovery process. Note that this process will repartition and reformat the drive, but you already know that. If you somehow can't find the recovery utility, just let us know and we'll see how to move forward with as little hassle as possible.


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## ryan2032 (Apr 29, 2008)

Can i load my windows 8 disk and select the install now feature?

Or do i need to get to the startup screen where you can change bios etc? I think thats f8 on my laptop but its pot luck if you get in, i managed to get in last time and change the bios to cd but that was very lucky. There was no information in the manual about a recovery partition.


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## shawnpb (May 30, 2010)

Did you install Windows 8.1?


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## ryan2032 (Apr 29, 2008)

yeah i did


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## shawnpb (May 30, 2010)

That is why for some reason when 8.1 is installed is disables the recovery partition. I have an Asus that I can not do a Factory recovery even though the partition is there and the .wim is present.


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## Stancestans (Apr 26, 2009)

That's right, you cannot refresh or reset an installation of 8.1 using an image of 8, so it's only logical that Windows 8.1 deregisters the image inside the recovery partition.

You can, however, apply the install.wim image to the laptop using Windows deployment tools from a PE environment, all you'd need is the imagex utility, the same way OEM do.


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## Stancestans (Apr 26, 2009)

Ryan, what you need to do is copy the contents of the recovery partition to some other location for safe keeping, then if you so wish to apply the install.wim image (factory restore), feel free to ask for help on how to go about it. To copy the recovery partition's contents, boot off a boot cd, preferably a Linux live cd such as Ubuntu.


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## Stancestans (Apr 26, 2009)

> At the start it gives me the option to install windows 8, I don't know whether to just do that? Is it ok to do with windows 8 already installed?


If you choose the install option, it would only let you perform a fresh/clean install and that means formatting the C: volume. You are however not sure of whether the installation key is stored in the EFI firmware or not (most likely, since there are no visible stickers with the product key). Note that the DVD you have should either be multi-sku (contains multiple editions of Windows 8) or should be the edition that the key belongs to otherwise Windows setup will throw an error about the key not matching the image on the disc. In short, if the key stored in EFI firmware is for Windows 8 Core and the disc you have contains an image of Windows 8 Pro, setup will throw an error and won't proceed. Kindly tell us the exact model number of your toshiba satellite so that we can check what edition of Windows 8 it shipped with.

You can bypass all this hassle by using Windows deployment tools together with the contents of the recovery partition. I've been looking into the "drive unlocked" issue and I cannot find a case that didn't involve formatting and reinstalling Windows to solve it, so it seems that may end up being the only solution. Another option would be to contact Toshiba support (or authorized service center) and get them to send you a copy of the restore DVDs for your laptop if you wanna retain the OEM license that came with it, though i wouldn't say that is gonna be an easy feat. If the OEM license is not a concern, then go ahead and use the Windows 8 DVD that you have, but you'll need an installation key and a product key for activation. While you can use one installation key on many machines, you cannot use one product key to activate many machines, unless the product key is a volume license (MAK keys) and not a retail license. Further info about installation keys and product (activation) keys can be found on Microsoft's website. Good luck. Feel free to update us on whichever path you decide to follow and any progress or lack thereof.


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## ryan2032 (Apr 29, 2008)

Im not really sure what to do now. I had to buy my windows 8 disk from ebay as my laptop didn't come with one. It says it has windows 8 versions 32bit and 64bit. 
My laptop is Toshiba C850. Can i format the hardrive and use my windows 8 disk to install and buy myself a windows 8 product code? Would you know how much is one of these?
I have never liked windows 8 anyway so could i buy windows 7 software with a product code and install this? Or would you recommend keeping windows 8?
Sorry about the questions but not sure what to do now.


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## Stancestans (Apr 26, 2009)

ryan2032 said:


> Im not really sure what to do now. I had to buy my windows 8 disk from ebay as my laptop didn't come with one. It says it has windows 8 versions 32bit and 64bit.


If you bought genuine software, it would come with a valid product key for activation. That key is often printed on the inside of the cd case. I haven't come across a genuine package that contains both 64bit and 32bit editions on one disc, those are pirated copies. Microsoft packages each edition separately, even if they were on a dual cd pack, the two editions are normally separate packages. I'm open for correction on that one though.



> My laptop is Toshiba C850. Can i format the hardrive and use my windows 8 disk to install and buy myself a windows 8 product code? Would you know how much is one of these?


The laptop comes with Windows 8 64bit pre-installed, so you should be fine using a Windows 8 64-bit dvd for re-installation. You can use your Windows 8 dvd if you believe it is not pirated software because there are risks involved with using pirated software, not to mention it's illegal, so that decision lies with you and forum rules do not allow us to assist with illegal stuff. You can search for Windows product media in any reputable local or online store of your choice for pricing details. If you buy from ebay, make sure you are buying from trusted vendors because anyone can sell stuff through ebay. [/quote] 



> I have never liked windows 8 anyway so could i buy windows 7 software with a product code and install this? Or would you recommend keeping windows 8?
> Sorry about the questions but not sure what to do now.


Keep asking :smile: I love to see good people make informed decisions. I cannot tell you whether to keep Windows 8 or downgrade to Seven. I personally have come to like Windows 8 and update 1 ain't bad either. It's my main OS for general use, but I still use Seven for my development environment. Heck, I still run XP for some old precious games :grin:. So you see, choice of OS is mostly yours to make coz it depends majorly on your taste and preference. In terms of stability, compatibility with programs and ease of use, I'd say Windows Seven is the second best OS after XP, but since support for XP is officially ended (product updates and customer support), it kind of places Seven on top of the list. If you are happier with Seven, go for it, it's not gonna be orphaned like XP anytime soon.

As for what to do now, I'd say you still have the option of restoring your laptop to factory state by applying the Windows image located inside the recovery partition, assuming the partition is still accessible. It may not be accessible to the corrupt 8.1 installation, but it may still be accessible to other utilities such as the Windows PE environment. To apply that image, all you need to do is boot off a Windows PE cd or usb drive and run the imagex utility. Let me get a copy of your laptop's manual and see if there is a manufacturer-supplied recovery utility, that will make things a lot more easier. If it's not there then the only options are to either use installation media or imagex. I'll request you to check accessibility of the recovery partition using live cd as suggested earlier. Only then will we know if you can use the install.wim image to restore your laptop.


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## ryan2032 (Apr 29, 2008)

Stancestans said:


> As for what to do now, I'd say you still have the option of restoring your laptop to factory state by applying the Windows image located inside the recovery partition, assuming the partition is still accessible. It may not be accessible to the corrupt 8.1 installation, but it may still be accessible to other utilities such as the Windows PE environment. To apply that image, all you need to do is boot off a Windows PE cd or usb drive and run the imagex utility. Let me get a copy of your laptop's manual and see if there is a manufacturer-supplied recovery utility, that will make things a lot more easier. If it's not there then the only options are to either use installation media or imagex. I'll request you to check accessibility of the recovery partition using live cd as suggested earlier. Only then will we know if you can use the install.wim image to restore your laptop.


Can you tell me how to do this? So i need to get another laptop, make a windows PE cd or usb stick and run Imagex utility on startup. I would need help on what to do from here thanks.


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## ryan2032 (Apr 29, 2008)

Stancestans said:


> If you bought genuine software, it would come with a valid product key for activation. That key is often printed on the inside of the cd case. I haven't come across a genuine package that contains both 64bit and 32bit editions on one disc, those are pirated copies. Microsoft packages each edition separately, even if they were on a dual cd pack, the two editions are normally separate packages. I'm open for correction on that one though.


I had to buy the Windows 8 disk with 32bit and 64bit editions because my laptop wasn't loading windows. It is a pirate copy.I was able to get on the options from startup like recovery, restore etc but none of these options worked anyway. I was thinking maybe i could format the hardrive and re-install windows with this disk and buy a windows 8 product code. Or just buy a real windows 7 product with code etc and be done with it.


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## ryan2032 (Apr 29, 2008)

Also why is it so hard to enter the bios on startup, i have to just keep pressing f8 and hope for the best, eventually it might work, is there any other ways. 
Also what would be the best way to format the hardrive is i decided to do that option?


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## Stancestans (Apr 26, 2009)

Earlier on I had suggested that you first check the accessibility of the recovery partition and its contents before we can help with Windows PE and ImageX. The recovery partition is of no use if inaccessible.


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## ryan2032 (Apr 29, 2008)

Stancestans said:


> Earlier on I had suggested that you first check the accessibility of the recovery partition and its contents before we can help with Windows PE and ImageX. The recovery partition is of no use if inaccessible.


How do i do this?


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## Stancestans (Apr 26, 2009)

ryan2032 said:


> How do i do this?


Boot from a live CD (Linux) or other boot CD of your choice (UBCD, Windows, etc) and copy the contents of the recovery partition to an external drive (HDD or thumb drive). _Command Prompt_'s *XCOPY* command will do the trick if using Windows media. You will need a drive that has enough free space to store all of the recovery partition's contents, which could easily approach 10GB of data, so make sure you first check how much space is used up on the recovery partition. If the contents are copied successfully, that will conform the recovery partition is still accessible; ready for use to restore the system, but if the copy process fails, that would mean the recovery partition is inaccessible and therefore unusable.


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## ryan2032 (Apr 29, 2008)

I am going to use UBCD, how do i find the recovery partition and copy it on here please?


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## ryan2032 (Apr 29, 2008)

Also if i wanted to format my laptop what would be the quickest way? Command prompt and and asking to format drive c? Then installing windows 7 from scratch if i decided to do that?


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## ryan2032 (Apr 29, 2008)

I dont really know what to do now. Sounds a complicated issue which i can't afford to pay a Technician to fix. Is there a easy way to format and install windows 7?


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