Windows 10: Major Booting Problems

I tried to install W10 on a second hard drive while my main HD was connected. Major problems now.



I could not reboot my main HD, and I could not boot my second drive. I wiped my second HD and tried to install W10 again, but no luck. Tried to repair my main HD with a USB drive with W10. No luck. Got an error.



Somehow I finally got my main HD to reboot. I'm afraid to reboot now. *Wink



Not sure if I should unplug my second HD I tried to install W10 on while computer's running. Trying to go to previous build didn't help. Think I may have a system image on an external drive. If I boot from my USB and plug in an external drive with that backup image, will that re-write my main drive completely and take me back to that system image state? System Reserve and all?

Any other ideas?



Thanks.

:)

 

start menu stopped working

Cannot get start menu to pop up. Worked till yesterday, now won't. Turned off computer and back on - still won't work

 

MAJOR, MAJOR OPERATING PROBLEMS

1. I interpret 'fully patched' to simply mean that all of the Windows (&Office) Updates have been allowed to install.

In Task Manager the main fields that you'd want to monitor are CPU usage and Hard disk activity. Any processes which are using a high percentage of either of those during one of your "not responding" episodes would be implicated in the issue. I presume you
would be using the extended Task Manager screen, not the default abbreviated one.

As far as the problems you've described, they mostly seem to be centered on a single suite of applications, which implies that something (files, services) that is used in common by those applications, or is interacting with them, could be the (or a) cause
of the problem. MS Edge is not necessarily excluded from that scenario however it suggests that another common factor may be involved, which is the computer's network connection. Interruptions or delays in network communications during file operations could
cause the software using that file to stall (stop responding) even while other programs continue to function normally.

Topping my list of usual suspects for causing network or file loading delays would be Defender or any other antivirus product. Next would be any application or process that "calls home" periodically, ie. makes spontaneous network connections to report to
or transfer data with external websites. First off make sure that only one antivirus product is running on the computer. Few of them can coexist with each other without causing problems. Hypothetically, AV's that continuously scan the inbound and outbound
data streams, especially if the AV is also constantly interacting with its own Cloud based functions while scanning, could possibly introduce enough delay in data transfer to interfere with the application being used.

 

Hi, taking a wild guess, but a safe one, if you haven't done anything dramatic to your first disk, then I would suggest with only that in your PC that you consider using Macrium Reflect's handy Fix Boot utility if you still have difficulty with it.

Try shutting down then disconnecting your other drive, then see if you can reboot.

E.g.
Fix Boot Problems

More up to date:
Fixing Windows boot problems - KnowledgeBase v7 - Macrium Reflect Knowledgebase - KnowledgeBase v7 - Macrium Reflect Knowledgebase

 

is that Macrium Reflect different than a USB drive with W10 installation files?
i

 

Macrium reflect is a Drive Imaging software, it allows you to make a mirror copy of your current computers configuration, with your personal files, programs and settings the way you have it now. Making an image will save this configuration, if you can't boot from your HDD for any reason, you can restore this image and be back in business with the same configuration as the day you created the image.
The Windows 10 Installer, is just that, Windows with none of your files or programs.
If you want to install Windows to a different HDD then Unplug the old HDD. When you install Windows, to a single drive, Windows creates a Hidden System Reserved partition in the front of the C: Drive which holds all of the Boot information. If you have a drive installed with Windows on it already, and try to install to a second drive, Windows will use the old drives Hidden System Reserved Partition while it installs to the second drive. So, after install, if you remove the old HDD, Windows will not boot because it doesn't have access to the System Reserved partition.
If you unplug the old HDD and then install Windows to the new HDD, Windows will create a new Hidden System Reserved Partition. After install, you can plug in the old drive. Boot into Setup (Bios) go to the Boot tab, make sure the New HDD is the First Boot Device and the old HDD is second or lower in the boot order. Save and Exit. This should boot the new HDD.

 

ok...I already have a mirror image of the drive. It is 142GB in size. Is there a way to make a back-up without all my reams data? I have that backed up separately as well. I really don't want to lose my installed programs, as I may not have all the installation DVDs and would be a pain.

Also, that system image is on my password-protected WD Passport external HD. Does Windows give an opportunity to give the password to access the drive?

Thanks.

 

No, I'm not talking about disk imaging here, but one particular helpful utility on the boot disk that is called Fix Boot.

That- and only that- is what the links I posted are about.

Fix Boot fixes boot problems - it has nothing to do with Macrium's disk imaging function.

Indeed- if you are lucky- you may not even need it. But it's there if you do have boot problems with your main system disk.

 

If you want to fix the boot, you can use Macrium's or Minitool Partition Wizard and click on the left panel Partition Recovery or Rebuild MBR.

 

This is the current state, if that is of any value.
.

 

From your screen shot above. Windows was installed using GPT disk layout. To rebuild the BCD, open Admin Command Prompt and type:

mountvol U: /S
bcdboot c:\Windows /s U: /f UEFI

reboot

 

Back in business! Lesson learned. *Smile It didn't boot, but then the Macrium boot tool seemed to be the fix. (I forgot to type in those 2 commands as suggested. But I think the tool did that automatically)

So what is the best way to back up my system that preserves my installed programs? Is a back-up image of my entire HD the only way?

Thanks much.

 

Periodic disk imaging (base image - slowest and largest) then periodically a differential image (smaller, faster) is a typical pattern.

Note too that the act of imaging also helps to verify your disk- at least the used part.

Also strongly recommended- keep personal data off C:

You should also look to remove unnecessary Windows partitions as noted earlier.