Windows 10 will not boot.

[BEZ]

Hello,
I am working away (hence lack of activity here) and my Wi-Fi is located in the pub, it has it's good points but is far from convenient :-)

My pub computer is a Dell 11" XPS which started playing up the other night with issues including an unwanted language change. Out of convenience I let Windows perform a system reset which worked except three items needed to be manually loaded and it placed a list on my desktop, short of time I decided to deal with them later.

Unfortunately it now will not boot ...I made a Windows 10 USB ISO (UEFI) but it does not boot from that also.  I have no experience with UEFI so am unable to change the boot order to USB as you would with BIOS.
All I can access is F2 set up and F12 boot settings on a UEFI system.

I know this is not the forum but it is the only one I look at, and I know there are some computer geeks out there.

Anyone help out?


Cheers
Bez

[Bjørn Rørslett]

Oh dear. Hopefully you have tested already that the USB medium *is* bootable.

To get into the USB boot, turn the machine off, then plug in the bootable USB stick, start the machine and press F12. Hopefully the USB boot option now becomes available.

[Frank Fremerey]

Hi BEZ.

I am sure you have to decide UEFI or BIOS before installing Windows.

Windows will then setup accordingly. You cannot change horses in mid race. That will not work.

It is quite similar to AHCI or not in earlier BIOS versions, before UEFI came along.

So get your Firmware mode back to the state Windows was installed in and it should boot right away

Frank

[Bjørn Rørslett]

It was stated the machine used UEFI.

[Frank Fremerey]

http://en.community.dell.com/techcenter/os-applications/f/4613/t/19501016

[Bjørn Rørslett]

Not sure that Linux stuff might help poor BEZ?

I was taken back by the idea of a "pub computer"  though ....

If you have a spare disk drive and the Windows installation media, you could try a clean install on that disk (in another compatible PC), then swap out the drive with the bad Win10 on it. Use the latter as an external source to retrieve your documents later.

If you do a clean install of Windows 10, make sure you do NOT select the Express Setup (the default) as this will mandate automatic updates you later cannot control. Were these updates bug-free that'll be splendid and time-saving, but unfortunately, the reality is updates are sometimes quite buggy and can wreak havoc with the afflicted machine if Win10 enforces a bad update.

Microsoft has made it damned difficult to allow you to control updates as the alternative is shown in small print - early in the installation process -  and most people would miss it if they weren't aware of this critical point of no return. I did install Win10 to my test machine with the auto updates off, so now at least have some elementary control.

There are lots of arguments for making a physical disk clone of the system disk once the new OS is up and running. Annotate the disk with the date copied and store it somewhere safe. Then you have a fall-back if you ever need it. Store all data on a separate disk if possible, or failing that ensure you have up-to-date copies on a different storage device.

[Frank Fremerey]

If the stick is recognized as a bootable device and if the stick has a bootable system on it, the solution will work.

Good night & good luck.

[Øivind Tøien]

So you finally managed to get Win 10 installed on your test machine, Bjørn. Thanks for the tip on custom install - crazy that it cannot be changed later.

For anyone who want to just have a test installation to check out for a shorter period without all the problems of installing, Microsoft provides  pre-installed virtual machines (VMs) meant to be used for browser testing. Win 10/Edge was added recently (I have not had time to check it out yet).
https://dev.modern.ie/tools/vms/windows/

[BEZ]

Hello my good friends,
I am back in the pub and just had peri chicken and sipping a delightful pint of Guinnes.

I think the initial issue was probably caused by an automatic update.

I have performed a clean install of windows 10 on three workstations (different locations). And I have three cloned drives sat in drawers in the corresponding desks. But I have no important documents and minimal programs on my pub computer so foolishly do not even have a backup copy of the drive.

The XPS came with windows 8.1 which I hated so rushed into letting windows update to 10. So I am left with my unknown 8.1 code embedded in the motherboard and no knowledge of my new windows 10 code.
I would pull out the small 128gb hardrive and take advantage of a larger drive with Windows 10 installed, but I don't know my code to activate it.

For the record I made a bootable SD card of the Microsoft ISO download suitable for UEFI with "rufus". I have checked with another computer that the USB (SD card) is visible.
I have plugged in the USB dozens of times switching the XPS on and off but it does not get passed the DELL splash-screen. I have no useful settings to change in UEFI but I have randomly changed them anyway. I once managed to get into DOS but did not notice immediately and missed a 10 second window to choose a language???  I have not been able to repeat this.

The lovely barmaid has just finished pulling me a pint of Bitter so I need to go chat her up :-)

Cheers
Bez

[Bjørn Rørslett]

Øivind: it pays dividends to investigate the potential traps of any new OS. Microsoft is not playing the game to the customers' advantage, that is for sure.

BEZ: any valid win 7/8 installation will allow a free upgrade to win10.

[BEZ]

Bjørn,
Yes but to perform a clean install you need your activation code  ...on my workstations I did the automatic upgrade, found the new code with "Jellybean" and then used the code to install from a DVD ISO. It was extra hassle but worked.

Foolishly I don't know my windows 10 code or the 8.1 that is embedded on the motherboard. It would probably be possible to load 8.1 if I can find a download, then upgrade to 10.

Cheers
Bez

[Bjørn Rørslett]

A typical Catch 22 situation ...

Beg or borrow an existing win7/8.1 install and clone it to a new disk, then use that with a utility to retrieve the code from your non-responding unlucky machine, then do a clean install from a Win10 ISO DVD.

[BEZ]

I have Windows 7 but need 8.1 to correspond with the licence  ...Windows have closed the "digital river" server now so I don't know where to get it.
It would be easier to get the thing running as is, so I will keep trying to do that that first.

[Bjørn Rørslett]

I don't understand - a legit Win7 can be directly upgraded to Win10? That is the upgrade path I followed.

In fact on the test machine I purchased for the purpose of evaluating Win10, I first removed a dysfunctional Win 8.1 installed by the previous owner and loaded win7 as a clean install from a Microsoft-certified ISO. I was able to do this because the license code for original pre-loaded Win7 could be found (hidden under the battery so had to search for it). Strange if your Dell haven't the license written on a label somewhere on the casing.

I might need to safe-guard the Win7 (32 and 64 bits) ISOs I downloaded earlier from Microsoft then. If Microsoft has closed the service, these ISOs are slated to be valuable. BEZ, if you need the ISO, tell me and I'll burn a DVD for you and take with me to Germany.

[Frank Fremerey]

BEZ. The code was never in the motherboard. It was always on the drive. A typical Win 8.1 notebook features a
hidden partition for recovery. You can activate this partition with a recovery CD or USB drive or by pressing
a certain key during boot ... typical F11 or F12 ... depending on the Brand .... documented in the notebook's
manual.

I the reference is missing try to boot a partitioning program and find the hidden partition to reinstate the notebook
to factory settings.