Windows 10: OEM Windows is broken. Should I repair or wipe disk and start again?

Yesterday I took delivery of a Lenovo Yoga 710. It got off to an immediate bad start when it got stuck as I setting up my user account and I had to force a reboot. Then I found that file sharing was broken due to permission problems even though I spent hours and hours posting on and trawling through forums and double and triple checking my settings. And then the Start menu and search tool stopped working on all accounts on the machine and the Start button troubleshooter has been of no help. What's more, when I tried to roll back to a restore point, this failed with an "unspecified error".

Should I give up and simple erase the disk and start again with a fresh install of Windows, or should I persevere with trying to turn this mess into a workable operating system? I know that if I wipe the disk I will lose the software that came bundled, the most interesting of which was a limited subscription to Office 365, but are there other things such as drivers which will cause me more serious headaches?

:)

 

Installing Windows 10 over Ubuntu

You could wipe the disk like so:

• Use the command RecoveryDrive.exe on some other Windows 10 machine to create a bootable Windows 10 repair flash disk. Do NOT copy the System files.
• Use this disk to boot your machine into a Command Prompt.
• Type these commands to wipe the disk:
  
  diskpart
  
  select disk 0
  
  clean
  
  exit

You should now be able to install Windows.

 

Windows 10 stuck on a reboot loop.

Sorry but I have been through the exact same thing you either have to track down an OEM install disk or get one from MS not sure if they charge or not had to totally wipe my machine and start over

 

Hi, your simplest option would be to use the manufacturer's restore partition and restore your PC to exactly how it was when you bought it.

The first thing you then do is to install Macrium Reflect (free) and start routinely creating and updating system and disk images, create its boot medium. You will need external storage for images at least equal to and preferably double the amount of data you are imaging.

That way you can restore an image after something breaks (or you break sthg!).

Once you have created your first base image (larger and slower than the rest) start removing trialware you don't want. Update your image when complete.

Create a separate partition.. that's where it's a really good idea to put your personal data- separate from the OS.

Install your favourite programs- periodically update your disk image. And so on.

Creating disk images lets you restore Windows and all your disks and partitions to a previous working state, quickly and probably without technical help.

You can recover from:
- a failed disk drive (restore to a new one)
- ransomware (which encrypts your disk)
- user error
- unrecoverable problems from failed updates to problem programs
- unbootable PC (hardware faults aside)

Images also act as a full backup- you can extract files too.

You can even use images to help you move more easily and quickly to a new PC.
Can be used with Laplink software to transfer your build automatically to another PC

Imaging can even help you sleep at night knowing you have a second chance.

Many here recommend Macrium Reflect (free) as a good robust solution and more reliable than some others. It’s
- more feature rich
- more flexible
- more reliable
than Windows Backup and Restore system images.

It's well supported with videos, help and a responsive forum.

There are other such programs, free/commercial, some with simpler interfaces, but Macrium R is one of the most robust and reliable.

How long does it take?
SSD+ USB3 - maybe 15 mins for the first system image, less thereafter
HDD + USB2 - maybe 40-50 mins
That’s with little personal data, few programs installed.
- of course, depends how much you have on C:
(You can and should image all your partitions and disks)

Once you've created your first image, keep it updated with e.g. differential imaging- which images just changes from the first image, more quickly, and creates a smaller image file.

You need a backup medium - say- twice as large as the total amount of data you are imaging to keep a reasonable number of differential images. This will vary dependent on the number of images you keep, so is only a rough practical guide.

Some comment that system restore isn't always reliable; if it works and solves the problem, great. But sometimes restores won't work or fail. And of course a restore point only covers a limited number of aspects of the system. That’s where disk imaging comes in.

 

Thanks for your suggestions. The trouble is that even though the computer arrived with a "Lenovo" partition, it only contains drivers and one application. There is no Windows there, and the installation of Windows on the C drive was already broken before I even would have had a chance to prepare a backup. If I can't repair it then I have no option but to do a clean install of vanilla Windows 10.

 

Is this a brand new computer purchased at retail? If so, I would take it back.

If you bought it used, I would always do a clean install anyway to get rid of whatever errors the previous owner introduced.

 

I am then guessing this is a second hand machine.

In that case, run a disk check before you waste too much time
Use Crystal Diskinfo (free/portable...) to check the disk. You can also run Macrorit Diskscanner (free) to check the surface if you like.

(if unbootable, boot using Kyhi's boot DVD /drive available from the top of the Software and Apps section here)

If it's used, wipe and clean install. As it's running Win 10, activation should be automatic.

 

"The trouble is that even though the computer arrived with a "Lenovo" partition, it only contains drivers and one application. There is no Windows there"

Windows may be hidden. How big is the partition ? If over 10 gb, it's there with mfr progs. Go to Recovery panel and reinstall from there.
If this is second hand machine and/or you can't use Lenovo recovery, then clean install and start fresh. Any mfr drivers and progs should be on their support site to add later.

 

I bought the computer new. There is quite a lot of unexplained space in the Lenovo partition so I'll have another go at looking at how to reinstall the OS. I think I may have tried already and it failed.

If that doesn't work, is the consensus here that I should send it back to the retailer? By the time I've shipped it back, been refunded what I paid and ordered a replacement, that could be close to three weeks, which is a long time when there are projects I want to be getting on with. Is there really much advantage to having Lenovo's version of the OS as opposed to Microsoft's?

 

I just tried to reset the PC, but I got the error "There was a problem resetting your PC".

 

Here's one reference to a Lenovo Yoga and recovery:
Solved: Yoga 2 Pro Full System Recovery - Lenovo Community

For precise instructions regarding your particular PC, unless there's a hardware fault, see the manufacturer's site and get support there or from their forum. It's a new PC so you're entitled to product specific support,

Else return it whence bought.

Using the manufacturer's recovery partition means you get the OS and drivers for your particular PC - and all the trialware and garbage.

A clean install of Win 10 means appropriate drivers are downloaded (hopefully - and maybe newer ones) and no garbage.

As time goes on, a clean install of Win 10 could be a later build than the recovery partition.

For future reference: the very first thing you do so you can dig yourself out of many holes bar hardware failure other than than the disk itself is to
a. Get yourself a copy of Macrium Reflect (free) and create a disk image or images of your working configuration.
b. Enable system restore.

Creating disk images lets you restore Windows and all your disks and partitions to a previous working state, quickly and probably without technical help.

You can recover from:
- a failed disk drive (restore to a new one)
- ransomware (which encrypts your disk)
- user error
- unrecoverable problems from failed updates to problem programs
- unbootable PC (hardware faults aside)

Images also act as a full backup- you can extract files too.

You can even use images to help you move more easily and quickly to a new PC.
Can be used with Laplink software to transfer your build automatically to another PC

Imaging can even help you sleep at night knowing you have a second chance.

Many here recommend Macrium Reflect (free) as a good robust solution and more reliable than some others. It’s
- more feature rich
- more flexible
- more reliable
than Windows Backup and Restore system images.

It's well supported with videos, help and a responsive forum.

There are other such programs, free/commercial, some with simpler interfaces, but Macrium R is one of the most robust and reliable.

How long does it take?
SSD+ USB3 - maybe 15 mins for the first system image, less thereafter
HDD + USB2 - maybe 40-50 mins
That’s with little personal data, few programs installed.
- of course, depends how much you have on C:
(You can and should image all your partitions and disks)

Once you've created your first image, keep it updated with e.g. differential imaging- which images just changes from the first image, more quickly, and creates a smaller image file.

You need a backup medium - say- twice as large as the total amount of data you are imaging to keep a reasonable number of differential images. This will vary dependent on the number of images you keep, so is only a rough practical guide.

Some comment that system restore isn't always reliable; if it works and solves the problem, great. But sometimes restores won't work or fail. And of course a restore point only covers a limited number of aspects of the system. That’s where disk imaging comes in.

 

"I just tried to reset the PC, but I got the error "There was a problem resetting your PC"."

I see this is a laptop. Try a quick hard reset. Press & hold down power button until completely shut off. Disconnect everything- battery, cables, power cord, usb connects, etc. Press & hold power button for 5 sec about 3 times. Connect power cable and power On. Should either Restart or attempt Repair. I agree you should send back if doesn't work. This is case that it is worth few extra dollars to buy from place with physical store nearby like Walmart or Best Buy. Good Luck

 

What I do when I buy a new off-the-shelf computer is boot it from a Macrium Reflect Free rescue flash drive, create an image backup of the hard drive, then wipe it and do a clean install of vanilla Windows 10. The only problem you have is wiping out the factory software on the computer without a means to restore it may cause reluctance on the part of the manufacturer to cover a problem under warranty (even though it shouldn't matter).

 

I finally discovered on the Lenovo forums that I needed to run something called Onekey Recovery to do a factory reset (which is why the Windows recovery tools didn't work). I ran this and now everything seems to be working as it should. Thanks everyone very much for helping me work through the possibilities.