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#21
Understand. I am going to reinstall Windows instead. Thank you for your help up to this point. I appreciate your effort on my behalf.
I just hope that I don't run into more problems during the install.
Understand. I am going to reinstall Windows instead. Thank you for your help up to this point. I appreciate your effort on my behalf.
I just hope that I don't run into more problems during the install.
Probably a good idea. You can try the repair install first which will not remove any of your data or programs or preferably a clean install will make your system run better.
Windows 10 Repair Install
How to Perform a Repair Upgrade Using the Windows 10 ISO file - Microsoft Community
How to Clean install Windows 10 from USB
How to Do a Clean Install of Windows 10
12 Things You Should Do Before Installing Windows 10 April Update (Version 1803)12 Things You Should Do Before Installing Windows 10 April Update (Version 1803)
Other tips
1. Create an image backup with the program below or at least backup your important files.
Macrium Reflect free
Macrium Software | Macrium Reflect Free
How to use
How to create a disk image
2. Backup your drivers using double driver
3. Create a report of the software installed and licenses using Belarc Advisor
Thank you for the links. I fear I may be in a place I cannot recover from as the refresh or reinstall options are not available to me from the Recovery Environment. For some reason, the USB boot option disappeared from the BIOS, so I can't boot anything from the USB ports. Mind you, the Macrium Reflect Recovery USB boots into its program.
I downloaded the Windows Creation Tool and it booted from a USB port. The only option available to me from it is to do a completely fresh install of Windows. I am not going to do that as I will lose the Lenovo stuff I want to keep. I will now try the Lenovo Recovery Partition.
That did not work as it took me back to the Recovery Environment screen, with no options to Refresh or Install from there.
Was able to install Windows through the Creation Tool. Now, when I choose the Lenovo Recovery, I can get into it. Recovered from that partition and am back to Out Of Box experience. Phew.
Now, before I connect to the Internet, I must make sure that the System Restore works and fix it if it doesn't.
In a couple of days, I will contact Lenovo to see what can be done to get back the USB boot option in the BIOS.
Thanks for the help. I appreciate it.
Last edited by theoldfarter; 04 Jul 2018 at 01:04.
I phoned Lenovo support and explained to the person that I can't boot from a bootable USB stick. I told him that I had done a Factory Restore. I went into the BIOS and told him that the USB boot option is not showing. He did not know why so he got me to flash the BIOS to the latest one. That made no difference. He still did not know why. I explained that before the Factory Restore, I had moved the USB boot choice to be first boot so why is it different now? The conversation finished. I started looking on the Lenovo support forum and came across this: "When attempting to boot from a USB drive, connect the USB drive to the system before entering the BIOS, or it may not show up in the boot order." I did that and the USB boot option was there but was the second boot, under the 1st boot SSD. I moved it up to the top and tested. With the laptop off, I insert the USB stick, boot and it boots into the Macrium environment. Yahoo.....
Should I approach Lenovo for a job? I now know more than the support tech. lol
Alls well that ends well.... as my Mum used to say :)
That all sounds good. Good work. I highly recommend using Macrium Reflect for a complete backup plan regularly so if problems like this happen in the future you can easily revert to a working backup quickly and easily. System Restore cannot be trusted. Please mark solved and let us know if you need anything else.