Windows 10: Having problems getting computer to boot, would reinstalling Windows 10 be recommended?

Hi, I am having a major problem with my laptop and have been searching online (via a different computer obviously) for the the past few days for what the best solution might be, but I am still unsure so I wanted to ask on here for advice.

A few days ago, not long after installing some recent Windows 10 updates, my laptop (which has a 256GB SSD drive) crashed, and after trying to restart it, a "No Bootable Device" message appeared on screen. This has happened on a couple of occasions in the past, but a restart usually fixed the issue; this time however it has remained. From what I have read, this can sometimes mean the SSD drive has gone entirely and is not recoverable, but in other cases that there are solutions to fix the problem, or at least to be able to recover the data, so I wanted to try them before losing hope.

I have created a Windows 10 USB and selected the boot menu option to boot the computer through this, so I can at least now bypass the No Bootable device message and access some troubleshooting options. After starting the computer, when the Install option appears on screen for installing/reinstalling Windows 10, I have so far been selecting the option to repair the computer and access troubleshooting devices.

However, none of these have worked so far, and I have been wondering if I should try the option of proceeding on the Install menu instead and reinstalling Windows 10. From what I have read, doing this doesn't necessarily erase your files if you are careful with the options you select (I think you have to select the Custom Install option), and that your old data can be placed into a Windows.old folder on your computer.

However I am not certain about this (I was unclear if reinstalling only keeps files after upgrading, not after a No Bootable Device issue) and don't want to risk proceeding if I might lose my files. While most of them are backed up, my work from the last few weeks is not, and I can't afford to lose then as they include drafts of important documents I am writing for an application. I wanted to ask if others can confirm whether or not there is a successful method to reinstalling Windows 10 while keeping your old files, following a crash like this, or if there is a substantial risk that old files will be erased. (I also realise there is a possibility that the SSD may just have died entirely and it's not possible to get them back no matter what I do). I was also unsure how accessible the files in windows.old will be, are they straightforward to open - for example, if you open the folder and any subfolders, will you be able to locate and open a Microsoft Word document in the usual way, or would they be displayed differently?

Has anyone else attempted this after a similar crash and been able to rescue old files through a reinstall of Windows 10? I was actually considering getting a new laptop anyway before this happened, so I am less concerned about losing the computer itself, more than that I just need my files back. If this is too risky, does anyone have any other recommendations on retrieving files from a SSD drive like this? Thanks in advance for any advice.

submitted by /u/eloiysia
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Windows 10 upgrade problem, no input accepted

I really hate having to come here and ask for help, but I really am stumped. It hurts my geek pride. I have a PC with fairly modern hardware in it. It has a p8p67 pro in it. I have tried upgrading windows 10 on it twice now. Both times I have had the same result.

After windows finishes upgrading it goes to the log in/set up screen. I can't do anything. No keyboard or mouse input is accepted.

I will list some, or hopefully all, of the troubleshooting steps I have tried:

• Move keyboard and mouse to different USB ports.
• Try different keyboard or mouse.
• Restart computer, repeatedly.
• Google for related issues.
• Update Bios, because why not.
• Create boot media and revert to windows 7.

The windows 10 system restore boot media works fine with keyboard and mouse. All USB ports work in windows 7. I don't know what is wrong. I suspect that windows 10 is lacking a driver of some sort, but since the computer accepts no input I have no way of checking for which driver let alone installing it.

Please help me figure this out. If I have to revert back to windows 7 again, I am not going to get it upgraded to windows 10. Thank you in advanced.

 

How to reinstall Windows 10 if my computers used the free upgrade from 7 and 8?

Will windows 10 still accept the license keys from 7 and 8 now if I reinstall my computer?

Does Microsoft keep a list of users who upgraded to Win 10 using their 7 and 8 keys so that when users need to reinstall windows 10 the old keys would work?

Do I need to call in Microsoft to ask them to activate my Windows 10 when I give them my win 7 keys?

Both computers are laptops. The windows 7 machine had the serial printed on the back, and I needed to enter that when I upgraded to 10. The windows 8 machine had the serial built in inside its boot system so I didn't need to enter the key when I upgraded to 10, but I did manage to write down the keys using a fetcher program.

 

windows 10 boot problems

I had windows 10 installed on my old laptop, I also had a boot problem, but my HDD just stopped spinning and I was unable to load windows.
It still had the Asus factory recovery partition which I used to reinstall windows 7.
I found out that my HDD was fine in windows 7, nothing wrong with it, staying with windows 7 SP1 on this laptop and I stay with windows 8.1 on my main laptop.
No windows 10 for me!