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Desktop computer won't boot to Windows

PrettyBoyFlizzy

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After a power outage (despite having a UPS backup system) my desktop computer crashed and is stuck on the black screen with:

Reboot and Select proper Boot Device or Insert Boot Media in selected device and press a Key

It's an Acer with Windows 10.

After researching, I created both a boot USB and a boot CD and set the boot order to check those drives first, still nothing. Can't boot to safe mode either. Seems this is a common problem with Windows 10 on desktops too.

I don't want to take it to anyone - don't know anyone to take it to, not going to Best Buy that's for sure. So my question are:

If I reinstall Windows 10, will I lose all of my files? That's my biggest fear. Is there a way to remove the hard drive and have someone get the data off before the reinstall?

Or, can I have this hard drive inserted into a new computer? (I guess if the hard drive crashed though, it may not be accessible at all...)


Any other suggestions for getting out of this boot mode or is my hard drive shot?

I really hate Windows 10 and if I end up buying another system or reformatting the hard drive, I'd really like to go back to Windows 7, if possible. Looking online for new desktops with Windows 7 just in case.
 

KarenKing

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After a power outage (despite having a UPS backup system) my desktop computer crashed and is stuck on the black screen with:

Reboot and Select proper Boot Device or Insert Boot Media in selected device and press a Key

It's an Acer with Windows 10.

After researching, I created both a boot USB and a boot CD and set the boot order to check those drives first, still nothing. Can't boot to safe mode either. Seems this is a common problem with Windows 10 on desktops too.

I don't want to take it to anyone - don't know anyone to take it to, not going to Best Buy that's for sure. So my question are:

If I reinstall Windows 10, will I lose all of my files? That's my biggest fear. Is there a way to remove the hard drive and have someone get the data off before the reinstall?

Or, can I have this hard drive inserted into a new computer? (I guess if the hard drive crashed though, it may not be accessible at all...)


Any other suggestions for getting out of this boot mode or is my hard drive shot?

I really hate Windows 10 and if I end up buying another system or reformatting the hard drive, I'd really like to go back to Windows 7, if possible. Looking online for new desktops with Windows 7 just in case.

when you used the boot usb/cd did it even detect the hard drive? That error message indicates the BIOS can't even detect the hard drive and/or the boot partition for Windows.
 

Maz Kanata

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If you have ran the diagnostics tool and the hard drive cannot be detected, then you will need to replace the hard drive and reinstall windows. The boot device won't work with a damaged hard drive.

If you were to re-install Windows 10, then you might lose 'some' of your files.
 

Livvy Lane

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My best advice would be to take out the hard drive and try to connect it to another computer using an SATA to USB adaptor. See if you can access the files that way, and if so, back up everything, then put the hard drive back into the desktop before you try to re-install windows. If you're not comfortable doing the above, then it really is best that you take it to a professional. Skip Best Buy or a big chain and find some place local.
 

EYEdentity

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After a power outage (despite having a UPS backup system) my desktop computer crashed and is stuck on the black screen with:

Reboot and Select proper Boot Device or Insert Boot Media in selected device and press a Key

It's an Acer with Windows 10.

After researching, I created both a boot USB and a boot CD and set the boot order to check those drives first, still nothing. Can't boot to safe mode either. Seems this is a common problem with Windows 10 on desktops too.

I don't want to take it to anyone - don't know anyone to take it to, not going to Best Buy that's for sure. So my question are:

If I reinstall Windows 10, will I lose all of my files? That's my biggest fear. Is there a way to remove the hard drive and have someone get the data off before the reinstall?

Or, can I have this hard drive inserted into a new computer? (I guess if the hard drive crashed though, it may not be accessible at all...)


Any other suggestions for getting out of this boot mode or is my hard drive shot?

I really hate Windows 10 and if I end up buying another system or reformatting the hard drive, I'd really like to go back to Windows 7, if possible. Looking online for new desktops with Windows 7 just in case.
1. If you reinstall Windows you will absolutely lose all your files

2. You can repair Windows 10 without reinstalling it. Google how to do that

3. If the hard drive is not dead, you can pull your hard drive from that computer and simply add it to another computer. Even if there is an issue with Windows booting up on your current drive, you should still be able to read all the files on it using another computer - thats if the drive isnt dead
 

PrettyBoyFlizzy

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when you used the boot usb/cd did it even detect the hard drive? That error message indicates the BIOS can't even detect the hard drive and/or the boot partition for Windows.

Not sure if it detected the hard drive but I could hear the cd drive spinning so it definitely knows the boot cd is in, however, it didn't boot.

If you have ran the diagnostics tool and the hard drive cannot be detected, then you will need to replace the hard drive and reinstall windows. The boot device won't work with a damaged hard drive.

If you were to re-install Windows 10, then you might lose 'some' of your files.

How do I run the diag tool from BIOS? That's the only thing I can get into is BIOS.

It's so weird that it happened because the power backup would have prevented a surge and provides 3 hours of power so it wouldn't have even felt the blackout. I can't believe it just crashed while sitting there.

My best advice would be to take out the hard drive and try to connect it to another computer using an SATA to USB adaptor. See if you can access the files that way, and if so, back up everything, then put the hard drive back into the desktop before you try to re-install windows. If you're not comfortable doing the above, then it really is best that you take it to a professional. Skip Best Buy or a big chain and find some place local.

Dang, I donated my other tower but it was a Win 7. Been regretting it ever since! I don't have another desktop to connect it to - could I connect it to a laptop? I just want my files, lol. I can deal with reinstalling everything if I must but I don't want to lose my data.

I might have to break down and trust someone else with it. It just creeps me out to have some possible weirdo looking at my stuff, lol. Photos, if they get it booted then my email account will just open without logging in, etc. Wonder if they'll fix it while I wait...

1. If you reinstall Windows you will absolutely lose all your files

2. You can repair Windows 10 without reinstalling it. Google how to do that

3. If the hard drive is not dead, you can pull your hard drive from that computer and simply add it to another computer. Even if there is an issue with Windows booting up on your current drive, you should still be able to read all the files on it using another computer - thats if the drive isnt dead

Since they don't give you Windows cds with purchase anymore, I'll have to explore how to create a Win repair disk. Hadn't tried that yet but also since it doesn't seem to boot from cd, I wonder if it will boot from the Win repair disk?
 

PrettyBoyFlizzy

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We still use desktop computers in 2021?

Haha, yes and they better not ever stop making/supporting them! I have TREE monitors connected to this baby, it's my love, 32 gig memory, my most prized possession (still trying to decide where my grandbabies go on that list, lmao).

But seriously, laptops can't do everything. I need my big monitors for my design work. I even have external monitors hooked to my laptops.
 

PrettyBoyFlizzy

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I went online to look for another, just in case, although this one is only 4 years old. I just don't wanna lose my data but I do hate going through all of the installs. I'll have to try to find out what all I had on there. My previous desktop crashed but I had warning that it was about to happen so I was able to move everything to an external drive before it died.

Once I get this resolved, I'll need some type of setup to store externally instead of on my hard drive cuz I can't do this again.
 

schneidz

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i would boot up with something like fedora live-u.s.b. and see if it can mount your hard drive.
maybe photorec/testdisk can recover some files.
 

PrettyBoyFlizzy

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Your first mistake was relying on windows 10, upgrade to windows 8.1 or windows 7.

I agree. I hate it. I kept Win 7 as long as I could until the system died on me. Now it's hard as hell to buy a system with Win 7. Can I go back? Seems like a lot of the programs also started forcing you to upgrade to 10.

i would boot up with something like fedora live-u.s.b. and see if it can mount your hard drive.
maybe photorec/testdisk can recover some files.

Thanks, I'll try those. Seems like an issue is that it's not recognizing my boot options but I've changed the order and saved, there's no other way to get it to switch. There's something about Boot Priority in BIOS but it doesn't allow me to change it, however, I've changed the boot order.
 

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Not sure if it detected the hard drive but I could hear the cd drive spinning so it definitely knows the boot cd is in, however, it didn't boot.



How do I run the diag tool from BIOS? That's the only thing I can get into is BIOS.

It's so weird that it happened because the power backup would have prevented a surge and provides 3 hours of power so it wouldn't have even felt the blackout. I can't believe it just crashed while sitting there.



Dang, I donated my other tower but it was a Win 7. Been regretting it ever since! I don't have another desktop to connect it to - could I connect it to a laptop? I just want my files, lol. I can deal with reinstalling everything if I must but I don't want to lose my data.

I might have to break down and trust someone else with it. It just creeps me out to have some possible weirdo looking at my stuff, lol. Photos, if they get it booted then my email account will just open without logging in, etc. Wonder if they'll fix it while I wait...



Since they don't give you Windows cds with purchase anymore, I'll have to explore how to create a Win repair disk. Hadn't tried that yet but also since it doesn't seem to boot from cd, I wonder if it will boot from the Win repair disk?only
Windows on a USB Thumbdrive is the 2021 equivalent of Windows on a CD. The concept is the same, the storage system is different
 

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I agree. I hate it. I kept Win 7 as long as I could until the system died on me. Now it's hard as hell to buy a system with Win 7. Can I go back? Seems like a lot of the programs also started forcing you to upgrade to 10.

I had a windows vista laptop that worked perfectly fine until they released windows 10 and raped it.

That windows 10 update completely trashed that laptop, and I still haven't forgiven them for it.

They even had the audacity to give me a new laptop with windows 10 pre-installed on it as compensation.

Anyway,

The desktops and laptops made today come with windows 10 installed on them, and they won't allow you to easily upgrade to windows 7. If you want to buy a new PC you'll have to take it to an expert and get them to install windows 7 on it for you.

However, If you use ebay you can find tons of sellers on there who sell laptops and desktops with windows 7 pre-installed.

I didn't see anything I liked, so I personally brought a PC made before 2016-2017 and installed windows 8 on it successfully.

If your PC previously had windows 7 on it then you should definitely be able to go back.


Occasionally, windows will try to sneak in a few updates without you noticing. I tried to turn off my updates, but whenever I restarted my PC they would be mysteriously turned on again.

If you want to stop force updates use command prompt to permanently stop them AND delete all windows update files.
Windows will still send new updates once a while, so remember to always delete them whenever you can.
 

bumbooras

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feel like i'm in a bizzarro world with all these windows 7 recommendations. windows 10 is faster than windows 7 on the same hardware. almost always includes the manufacturers drivers (something windows 7 didn't), it manages resources better, and can still get security updates from microsoft. you'll have to pay for security updates if you continue using windows 7.
 

I Can Register

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Registry's probably corrupted. It can be fixed. Before wiping and reinstalling, try booting from a Windows 10 Installer USB and run Startup Repair.

Random registry issues are one of the reasons I stopped using Windows a long time ago.
 

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I went online to look for another, just in case, although this one is only 4 years old. I just don't wanna lose my data but I do hate going through all of the installs. I'll have to try to find out what all I had on there. My previous desktop crashed but I had warning that it was about to happen so I was able to move everything to an external drive before it died.

Once I get this resolved, I'll need some type of setup to store externally instead of on my hard drive cuz I can't do this again.
When you go to reboot, before it does anything (like check for CD’s spinning), you should be able to press either F2 (on some older machines,), or F3 at the top. This should break the machine and get you into the pre-boot section.

Here you should see a list of available actions. One should be boot from disk (or drive). You should be able to put in either the USB for a boot. Then once it boots successfully in safe mode, you should be able to re-boot.

I’m going off old ways of doing it, I never installed Windows 10, it allows MS too much access to your machine and puts things on that you may not want or need. I am not powering NASA. My machines do what I need.
 

PrettyBoyFlizzy

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Okay I'm back. After trying literally EVERYTHING, I ended up taking it to the shop. Hated doing that because you're so exposed and vulnerable. The idea of some stranger getting access to my computer was so disturbing. I almost would rather just trash the damn thing than let a stranger get into it.

Anyway, his diagnosis was that the hard drive had failed and there was no repair. Needed a new HD. He said he could recover a large amount of data but what he actually "recovered" was simply the Dropbox folder, nothing else. I don't even know why he was able to get that one but I didn't need it since everything is already on Dropbox. I'm mourning the loss of my Downloads/Documents/Pictures/Music folders.

He did give me back my old HD so I'm wondering if there's a way I can look at it myself and see if I can find more files? Should I try someone else or just give it up?
 

schneidz

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He did give me back my old HD so I'm wondering if there's a way I can look at it myself and see if I can find more files? Should I try someone else or just give it up?
a data restoration corporation like iron mountain may be able to restore some of the files but it probably costs a few grand or so.
 

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