# 'Your PC ran into a problem and needs to restart . . INACCESSIBLE BOOT DEVICE



## asuslaptop (Dec 29, 2013)

Hi,

My laptop did an automatic update last night then got stuck on this reboot loop with a blue screen that reads 'your PC ran in to a problem and needs to restart. We're just collecting some error info and then we'll restart for you. (0% complete). 

The error it gives me in INACCESSIBLE BOOT DEVICE.

It won't start in safe mode, F9 also does nothing. I think it's a hardware issue? Asus hotline couldn't fix over the phone.

Cheers in advance


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## Old Rich (May 31, 2007)

You can run diagnostics on the hard drive by downloading Seatools  and making a bootable disc. Do the short and long test. 

If either test fails, the drive needs to be replaced. 

See this for how to make a bootable cd:

http://www.techsupportforum.com/forums/f149/how-to-burn-a-bootable-iso-file-341778.html


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## asuslaptop (Dec 29, 2013)

Thanks Rich,

Got it, will give it a go and let you know


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## punchgun7 (Jun 16, 2014)

My laptop just got a problem too, the dead blue screen just suddenly popped up and then inaccessible boot device. my HDD was broken, according to the IT shop I went to, and I lost all of my data....


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## Panther063 (Jul 13, 2009)

punchgun7 said:


> My laptop just got a problem too, the dead blue screen just suddenly popped up and then inaccessible boot device. my HDD was broken, according to the IT shop I went to, and I lost all of my data....


Are you posting in empathy for the OP, or are you looking for help for your problem?
If it is the former, I sympathize, it isn't nice losing data that cannot be replaced.
If it is the latter, please start your own thread and put as much detail in as possible regarding your system and symptoms.


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## BIGBEARJEDI (Aug 8, 2012)

Punchgun: That's too bad no one ever told you about making backups! If you went to school in the U.S. that's not too surprising, most of our primary and even secondary schools systems are not teaching students about this most basic computer necessity. I've been teaching Adults for 10 yrs., and in the Vocational World we have been trying to correct this. If you are outside of U.S., then you can blame it on your Government for not teaching you this. :sad:

Next, as Panther indicated, we sympathize for people who don't know enough about them to back them up, but we can't fix everything for everyone. That being said, there are some things you can do to recovery your data. :smile:This is called "Data Recovery", and you may not have learned that in school unless you took computer technology courses. Many liberal arts colleges (such as literature and arts degrees) of course do not require their students to graduate with basic computer knowledge. Hard to believe, right? :facepalm:

Now that I've indicted all the educational systems globally for not teaching you this stuff here's what you can try:
1). Buy or borrow a sata-to-usb drive adapter or "caddy" and remove your hard drive from the laptop and plug into another working computer you have or have access to such as another windows desktop or laptop comptuer. You can buy the caddy here: Vantec SATA/IDE to USB 2.0 Adapter CB-ISATAU2 - Newegg.com
You can then use a data recovery program such as Recuva, TestDisk, or GetDataBack to retrieve your data from the broken laptop hard drive over to the desktop or laptop internal hard drive. From there you can copy to a flash drive, cd/dvd discs, or online Cloud storage account. 
2) You can take to your local Computer Shop, and then can do basic Data Recovery for you. You can take the whole laptop in if you don't know how to remove the hard drive from the laptop; or just the drive if your laptop has the easy access panel on the bottom for easy user removal (FRU). They will charge you from $35-$95 typically in the U.S. to do this. They will also diagnose your hard drive and give you an estimate of how much it would cost to replace and reinstall your Windows and data onto it. 
3) The most costly step here; if you opt not to try step #1 yourself, nor step #2 (or you try #2, but the Shop you take it to can't get anything off of your hard drive, you can consider sending out to Professional Data Recovery. This is really quite expensive and starts at a whopping $250 and goes up from there. Whatever personal information you have lost is going to need to be *REALLY* valuable to you if you pursue this option. Examples of this might be _personal family photos or archived photos you scanned,_ income tax returns (personal and/or business), etc. If this is the case, that information can still be retrieved-for a hefty price! [THIS IS TRUE EVEN IF YOUR HARD DRIVE NO LONGER SPINS UP!]. If you get to this step, you need to know that there are only 2 companies in the U.S. that do this reliably--if you want their names, Post back, and I will tell you. Very few of our forum members get to this step and go forward, but I have done this on several occasions. Data Recovery percentages average between 70%-99% recovery success. 

Words to the wise.:wink::smile:

BIGBEARJEDI


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