# Windows fails to boot after presumed crash (exhausted most options)



## KugarWeb (Sep 12, 2007)

Hi there,

So I was downloading some files earlier this evening and uninstalling some redundant software called PlayMemories from Sony, and left my PC to it. After a few hours I returned and an Automatic Repair screen had appeared saying it had failed to repair, with the message Log file: C:\windows\System32\Logfiles\Srt\SrtTrail.txt underneath. 

I can only presume this is as a result of a hardware failure or software crash.

I've tried the following so far:

1. Reset PC and attempt to run Automatic Repair - Failed
2. Go back to previous System Restore point - Failed
3. Attempted bootrec/rebuildbcd via Command Prompt but this returned "Total identified Windows installations: 0" message
4. Tried a Repair install of Windows 10 - Failed
5. Tried a Reset PC reinstall - Failed
6. Loaded Recovery install onto USB - Failed, black screen, does not go any further
7. Tried booting from DVD (I have the full version install DVD) - Failed, black screen, does not go any further
8. Tried entering BIOS but this just results in a black screen too
9. Tried chkdsk 😄 /r /x via Command Prompt which came back with "Chkdsk cannot dismount the volume because it is a system drive or there is an active paging file on it. Would you like to schedule this volume to be checked the next time the system restarts? Y/N", I selected N
10. Ran SFC /scannow via Command Prompt which began and ran a Verification then returned an error - "Windows Resource Protection could not perform the requested operation"

So now I'm at a complete loss of what to try. Everything I've tried appears to fail some way or another.

Any help please?

Cheers,

Andrew


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## KugarWeb (Sep 12, 2007)

I should also say the PC does appear to be getting through POST as I get a beep on startup, the American Megatrends logo appears and then it goes straight into Automatic Repair.


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## spunk.funk (May 13, 2010)

IN the Command Prompt, at the *C:* prompt type* DIR* and press Enter. If one of the files listed is Windows, you are in the Right Drive (the Windows drive may have changed drive letters in the *RE*) If not type *D:* Enter and type *DIR* and Enter etc until you get the right drive.
At the Windows drive prompt You can do Step *#9* again typing *chkdsk /R* and this time type a *Y* for Yes and reboot the computer. Check Disk should start at next bootup. This will take a long time, if it hangs for a very long time, or fails, you have too many bad sectors and the drive needs to be replaced.


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## KugarWeb (Sep 12, 2007)

Hi there,

Thanks for the quick reply.
'Windows' isn't specially listed, it does says 'Windows.' for several DLL file references.

I've tried to run the above but it says it cannot lock the current drive? See attached picture.

The drive is listed as X:\ and I can't change to any other drives even when going up to the root. When I tried changing to C:\ there's just a blank. D:\ returns "The device is not ready".

Cheers,

Andrew


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## spunk.funk (May 13, 2010)

*X:* drive is the temporary _RAM _drive, it is not Physical and it does not hold Windows. 
You can type the DIR command in _Every_ Drive letter(ie) E: DIR, F: DIR etc, until you find the Windows drive or you can type this: At command prompt (x: sources) type this exactly as written: 
*bcdedit |find “osdevice” *(Must inc *” *and the *|*), the *|* before _Find_ is the Upper case *\ *key) press enter. This will tell you what drive letter the OS is on. It may not be on the C: drive. 
Now type that drive letter, what ever it is, and then type *chkdsk /R* and press enter and type *Y *for Yes. and reboot if it asks. 
If no drives have Windows on it, then the HDD has failed. You can pull the HDD out of the computer and attach it to a working computer via a USB Adapter, *Dock *or *Enclosure* with a power adapter. Plug the power adapter in and put your ear next to it, if it spins up then try plugging it into the computer. If not, it has failed and needs to be replaced


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## KugarWeb (Sep 12, 2007)

spunk.funk said:


> *X:* drive is the temporary _RAM _drive, it is not Physical and it does not hold Windows.
> You can type the DIR command in _Every_ Drive letter(ie) E: DIR, F: DIR etc, until you find the Windows drive or you can type this: At command prompt (x: sources) type this exactly as written:
> *bcdedit |find “osdevice” *(Must inc *” *and the *|*), the *|* before _Find_ is the Upper case *\ *key) press enter. This will tell you what drive letter the OS is on. It may not be on the C: drive.
> Now type that drive letter, what ever it is, and then type *chkdsk /R* and press enter and type *Y *for Yes. and reboot if it asks.
> If no drives have Windows on it, then the HDD has failed. You can pull the HDD out of the computer and attach it to a working computer via a USB Adapter, *Dock *or *Enclosure* with a power adapter. Plug the power adapter in and put your ear next to it, if it spins up then try plugging it into the computer. If not, it has failed and needs to be replaced


Many thanks!
Just a quick comment the HDD that may have failed is an SSD (about 2 years old) - is it unusual for such a drive to fail so early in its life? It wasn't exactly a cheap drive brand either, SanDisk? I'll try the steps above but I'd be surprised if it has failed...


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## axe0 (Jun 15, 2016)

~2y old drive failing is not very strange. Although it shouldn't happen that soon, it's usually a sign that the drive went through quite a lot physically.


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## Stancestans (Apr 26, 2009)

The SSD may have failed or not, or Windows just took a hit! If the SSD has failed, it may still be under warranty. What was the result of *BCDEDIT | FIND "OSDEVICE" *?


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## KugarWeb (Sep 12, 2007)

axe0 said:


> ~2y old drive failing is not very strange. Although it shouldn't happen that soon, it's usually a sign that the drive went through quite a lot physically.


Hmm interesting, especially for a desktop SSD. Maybe I'll look into if it's got hot.



Stancestans said:


> The SSD may have failed or not, or Windows just took a hit! If the SSD has failed, it may still be under warranty. What was the result of BCDEDIT | FIND "OSDEVICE" ?


BCDEDIT| FIND "OSDEVICE" worked great, it found Windows on the C:\ drive so I've run the chkdsk which ran through 5 stages pretty quickly and attached is the result....


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## Stancestans (Apr 26, 2009)

KugarWeb said:


> I've tried the following so far:
> 
> 1. Reset PC and attempt to run Automatic Repair - Failed
> 2. Go back to previous System Restore point - Failed
> ...


CHKDSK found no problems on drive C; so the SSD is functional and accessible just fine. How did you try a Windows 10 repair install if the Windows installation on the SSD doesn't boot in the first place?


I find it strange that BIOS too wont load. Perhaps you're not pressing the correct key on time. Have you tried the manual boot device selection menu (F9 or F12) to boot from the Windows 10 DVD?


What make and model is your PC/motherboard?


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## KugarWeb (Sep 12, 2007)

Stancestans said:


> CHKDSK found no problems on drive C; so the SSD is functional and accessible just fine. How did you try a Windows 10 repair install if the Windows installation on the SSD doesn't boot in the first place?
> 
> 
> I find it strange that BIOS too wont load. Perhaps you're not pressing the correct key on time. Have you tried the manual boot device selection menu (F9 or F12) to boot from the Windows 10 DVD?
> ...


I tried doing Repair installs via the menu itself (presumably it was reading from the partition). I then tried the DVD option via the menu but this just had a blank screen.

I've since got it to boot from the DVD via F12 (couldn't remember the shortcut but assumed the above menu option would boot it up from there). However, once I try to use the "Repair your computer" option it says the drive is locked?

Please see my photos attached for my process.
Just so you know my motherboard make and model is Gigabyte Z77-D3H.

Let me know if you need any more information.

Cheers!


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## Stancestans (Apr 26, 2009)

Try selecting the SSD drive from the boot menu and see if Windows 10 loads. If it doesn't, check out the tutorial here https://www.dell.com/support/articl...cked-error-during-windows-10-recovery?lang=en or method three described here https://www.easeus.com/storage-media-recovery/unlock-hard-drive.html


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## Rich-M (May 2, 2007)

Sounds more likely that Windows 10 corrupted and needs to be reinstalled than the drive is bad though I have not been thrilled lately with San Disk flash drives or Ssd drives, not quite sure what is going on with them.
Again if we knew the make of motherboard we could tell you how to get into the bios.


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## KugarWeb (Sep 12, 2007)

Thanks Stancestans.
I tried selecting the SSD from the Boot Device menu but all it came up with was:
"Reboot and Select proper Boot device
or Insert Boot Media in selected Boot device and press a key"

Following the Dell website advice...see DellWebsiteAdvice.jpg

Then attempting to use DVD Writer (SATA SM) it came up with what you can see in SATADVDWriterSelection_BootDevice.jpg

Tried booting from DVD Writer via UEFI and it loaded up into the Windows installation. I'm just going through Method 3 as mentioned on the EaseUS website at the moment so will report back on progress.


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## KugarWeb (Sep 12, 2007)

Rich-M said:


> Sounds more likely that Windows 10 corrupted and needs to be reinstalled than the drive is bad though I have not been thrilled lately with San Disk flash drives or Ssd drives, not quite sure what is going on with them.
> Again if we knew the make of motherboard we could tell you how to get into the bios.


Hi Rich,

Yes I'm pretty sure the SSD is fine after checking using chkdsk earlier in the thread. Shame about what you say with SanDisk really, I always thought they were a quality brand but I guess some models slip through the net or they just cut corners to make the most profit.

Make of the motherboard is Gigabyte - a Z77-D3H


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## Stancestans (Apr 26, 2009)

You may have no option but to perform a clean installation of Windows, at least that would be the quickest and cleanest option. I hope your data is safe on another drive. You will need to delete ALL partitions on the SSD and let Windows setup recreate them afresh. You could grab the latest iso image of Windows 10 from Microsoft for free.


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## Rich-M (May 2, 2007)

Bios entry should be by tapping "Del" after pressing power button but here is someone else who had issues getting in:
Can't enter bios gigabyte Z77X D3H - Motherboards


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## KugarWeb (Sep 12, 2007)

Stancestans said:


> You may have no option but to perform a clean installation of Windows, at least that would be the quickest and cleanest option. I hope your data is safe on another drive. You will need to delete ALL partitions on the SSD and let Windows setup recreate them afresh. You could grab the latest iso image of Windows 10 from Microsoft for free.


Yes clean install it is I think! 
Thankfully I do regular backups of important files - mainly because the SSD is so small and only used for essential software, but also because I've learnt from the past about keeping backups of things (the last time I had a HDD fail but was able to salvage some files from it before it was RMA'd - didn't want to risk that or anything similar again!).

Thanks Rich - I believe it was F2 (managed to get into it eventually!).


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## spunk.funk (May 13, 2010)

You have 2 types of Boot options pictured in your Bios, the UEFI boot as well as a standard _Legacy_ boot for each drive. If you are selecting the_ Legacy_ boot, HP DVD Writer or San Disk, try the UEFI boot first with the San Disk _Move_ it to First Boot Device. If that fails, If you burned the DVD with the Media Creation tool, _Move_ the *UEFI HP DVD* to first boot device. 
If all else fails, then create a Bootable Windows USB Flash Drive installer with either the Media Creation tool or download the ISO image, and burn it with *Rufus*, in my signature. Unde_r Partition Scheme_, take the drop down arrow and change it to *GPT for UEFI Bios *(see Attached) select ISO image and browse it to your Windows ISO image. After burning, put the Flash Drive into the troubled computer and under the *Boot *options, it should list your UEFI Boot Flash drive, _move_ this to first boot device. _Save and Exit_.


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## KugarWeb (Sep 12, 2007)

Thanks!
Well the PC has been reset and all seems well now - guess it was just a bug in Windows. The only thing I can think is that the uninstall I left running messed something up...oh well!


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## spunk.funk (May 13, 2010)

Glad to hear you got it sorted!
If this solved your problem, please mark this thread Solved in the Thread Tools at the top. If any post in this thread helped you in particular, please click the *Like *link to the right in the post.


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## sigman (Mar 30, 2011)

Very interesting and instructive thread. My latest experience was a failure to open the desktop, just black screen. Restore function did not help. Used my wife's computer to Google the issue and came up with BOOTREC /FIXBOOT which worked. Didn't even think to access this site because it was my wife's computer.


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## Kauri (Feb 16, 2013)

I have had several customers with these problems since Windows 10 version 1803 was installed. Some are fortunate enough to get by with a System Restore. Others however have not been so lucky and a full rest or factory reset has been necessary. Glad you got it sorted . Just thought I would let you know that this is not an isolated incident.


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## jenae (Jun 17, 2008)

Hi, just a comment when running a chkdsk on an SSD you really only need to use the spotfix cmd or the /f parameter. Running a chkdsk /r does nothing more then run the /f(or spotfix) as the /r is ignored, (/r implies /f anyway), if trim is activated, which it will on a win 10 machine.


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## Geekomatic (Jul 19, 2010)

I've run across this a few times and once I get to the point of "reinstall", I always try ntfsfix booted from a live Linux Mint DVD. It manages to fix things about half of the time.

Also, if you can remove the drive and place it in an enclosure, you can run chkdsk /f on it.

For next time.


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## christophHoff (Jun 1, 2013)

Hmm, tough, does it post? If you can’t get to bios try taking out the motherboard battery and holding the power button to drain power. Put battery in and try to get to bios if it can post. Also listen for motherboard beeps, if it beeps count the beeps and look up the error.


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## sigman (Mar 30, 2011)

spunk.funk said:


> *X:* drive is the temporary _RAM _drive, it is not Physical and it does not hold Windows.
> You can type the DIR command in _Every_ Drive letter(ie) E: DIR, F: DIR etc, until you find the Windows drive or you can type this: At command prompt (x: sources) type this exactly as written:
> *bcdedit |find “osdevice” *(Must inc *” *and the *|*), the *|* before _Find_ is the Upper case *\ *key) press enter. This will tell you what drive letter the OS is on. It may not be on the C: drive.
> Now type that drive letter, what ever it is, and then type *chkdsk /R* and press enter and type *Y *for Yes. and reboot if it asks.
> If no drives have Windows on it, then the HDD has failed. You can pull the HDD out of the computer and attach it to a working computer via a USB Adapter, *Dock *or *Enclosure* with a power adapter. Plug the power adapter in and put your ear next to it, if it spins up then try plugging it into the computer. If not, it has failed and needs to be replaced



Just a note. The newest versions of USB drive enclosures (I have one) come with two USB cables attached, one for data and one for power. Check out Amazon.


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## Rich-M (May 2, 2007)

sigman said:


> Just a note. The newest versions of USB drive enclosures (I have one) come with two USB cables attached, one for data and one for power. Check out Amazon.


Actually that is a usb cable with two usb ports for weaker newer usb port usage and the cables you could always buy separately.


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## sigman (Mar 30, 2011)

Rich-M said:


> Actually that is a usb cable with two usb ports for weaker newer usb port usage and the cables you could always buy separately.


But the enclosure only has one USB port.


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## Rich-M (May 2, 2007)

The enclosure only needs one port the problem is weaker and weaker laptop Usb ports and tower front Usb ports, that is where you needs the two.


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## spunk.funk (May 13, 2010)

> The enclosure only needs one port the problem is weaker and weaker laptop Usb ports and tower front Usb ports, that is where you needs the two.


 As stated, the USB Enclosure has one Female USB B port and it may include USB Cable with one B jack end and a Y jack (ie) 2 USB A Male jacks on the other end, to provide more power from the computer or laptops USB ports to power the Enclosure. (see attached)


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