Windows 10: Win 10 pro - lock-out, then complete failure - post 48Hr 'roll-back', post 'update failure'...

Hello guys and girls …

I am fortunate in having more than one 22 computers at my disposal, thus critical failures are just 'off-line' time issues. Having a number means I do updates in blocks six to eight computers - concurrent x 4~6 hours do monthly preventative maintenance at the same time/session. As a rule, one in six concurrent updates will fail. Not usually an MS fault - rather transmission 'spikes' in the telecommunication source portals feeding the LANs. Like a static chatter on the car radio during a favorite song, only the IT version means a critical file/chain transmission/receival error.


This issue involves a HP Z400 Xeon 3.6GHz x 40GB ram - running Windows 10 pro full, not upgrade - installed on the HDD - 1TB. Avast antiVir pro, IObit utilities pro assorted, HP agent & DNS jumper … as active TSRs.


There was a problem doing the update failed, probably because of line interference or 'shunting' Node servers by telcos - not MS's fault. Not a drama, because usually it works if retried in a day or two and the other five went OK.


It still would not update properly 24 hours later; so I decided to take the computer back to its "last good" system/driver shadow restore, two days before the update attempt.


That went OK/well no problems or interruptions; however when I went back to start the Z400 after the process had completed was working on other computers; the graphics drivers had reverted to semi-standard MS 640 x 480 and it was asking for a password not the log-on PIN. {provided as a fault insight - I know you just type in the user/administrator password, then reset the graphics ... but it should not have been like that, so was the first indicator of dramas ahead...}.


I have a set series of passwords/administrator passwords, designed for different usage and application risk environment specific. The "administrator" and "log-on" passwords for Win 10x HP, Dell, Toshiba & Lenovo machines are 'common'.


The new roll-back two days 'password' screen would not accept the normal administrator/owner log-on passwords; nor would it let me use the HP verified administrator internet log-on.


It should have reason that is there/for such instances.


It would not accept the PIN, nor would it accept any other of my passwords or sequences thought it might have grabbed one from a PW file, and installed it in the wrong place during the roll-back.


Next I tried to reboot into set-up intending to use a HP system recovery usb, or do a recovery from an external back-up HDD usb port; at which point the system failed completely.


The HDD is OK, but will not boot to anything; thus the correct solution next try in sequence is to try a clean install of Win 10x from a usb thumb drive {because it cannot link to the net or HP's servers/LAN cards are down/off-line = manual medium from folder = usb boot and installer}.


My questions/request for help are thus:


1. "Is there a WWW page/place where I can download must be MS genuine, not third party a thumb drive Windows 10 pro recovery file/files?;

{{ I think there is, but do not know where/url.}}

or,

2. not preferred as its much harder/time-intensive Is there a WWW page/place where I can download must be MS genuine, not third party ISO installer full?

{{not a drama to download and mount to CD/DVD - on this MP350 GL6 dual xeon or another system - however the mount/burn means another hour of messing about - USB thumb drive would be faster.}}

3. I assume a full reinstall will reset the admin/access password to default. If not - please advise?

{{I'll be taking the HDD out of the Z400 to hot-swap it into one of the servers likely this one for disk integrity checking; thus can recover-move the critical non-system files and data; then reformat it …. however it is preferable faster to just leave the other data in place and just reinstall the operating system/win10x.


nb. Were it not for Covid19, the z400 would already be in the IT department/techs and/or fixed; however were are all 'isolated', so you have to dust-off old skills and not be lazy … to do-it/fix-it yourself.


Thank you in advance for suggestions and advice. Be well, keep safe and - importantly - stay happy. Covid19 will pass likely later than sooner, [12>36 months] but it will pass and things will return to normal. Stress and worry are more likely to do you harm than Covid immediate threat … so Be Happy.


Cheers,


Rick Finney,

Dean of Applied Sciences, SYLVR.


ps. For students … laugh all you like, but it shows some of us can actually do it - not just talk about it. Also Saturday afternoon, Dr Mike Brett and I were trying our hand at concreting a pot-hole in the carpark - successfully we think. If cars are down holes this week, we might have to reconsider. Last night I helped a neighbor paint a wall and fix some plaster holes … so the Covid lock-down provides the opportunity to get out and do things or try to.

:)

 

BSOD crashes and failure to posts

Having multiple bsod crashes including Memory Management, IRQL not less or equal. Also having failure to post issues.

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Windows 8 failure configuring updates and reverting

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"Great post! I found a similar one. I would like to point out that you may want to edit your OP...

1. Step 1 should read to disable AUTOMATIC updates, not disable manual updates.

2. KB2871398 should really read KB2871389

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It was a helpful post. Thanks!

 

Is Windows-10 Auto Update -> Failure to restart common? Any solution other than rolling back updates?

I installed a legit DVD copy of Win-10 on an AMD machine that had been running for years on Win-7, but eventually succumbed to graphics-driver hell. Win-10 works OK (including graphics), but in the year or so I've had it, it has auto-updated itself into unbootableness 4-5 times. (It auto-updates early in the morning, and I find it unresponsive or boot-looping when I wake up.)

I did a complete reinstall once, but the last two times I just rolled back one restore point. However, it looks like MS forces the update on me again after a few days, and wrecks my machine again. (Fortunately, the rollback doesn't seem to rollback user files, so it's not as bad as it could be.)

Unfortunately, I don't know how to troubleshoot the failure-to-boot problem (it's not anything that can be fixed by CHKDSK), so for the moment, I'm stuck rolling the system back a couple of weeks, every week or two.

My questions:

• Is this a common problem that other Win-10 users are experiencing?
  
• Is there some way to figure out what the actual problem is, so I can fix it?