OS origin for Laptop or Windows 10

My NE 522 came with Windows 8 64-bit but when I was informed that I could upgrade to Windows 10 for free I jumped on it. I remember having to stair-step to 8.1 then 10 during installation. Everything seemed to be fine for a few months then the BSOD. I managed to get it going again for a short time and now the Laptop is not operational. At startup I get the Gateway logo then a blue screen saying "Default boot device missing..." I get past this using the "recovery" stick I made just after purchase but I get "Choose keyboard layout" then "Troubleshoot or Turn off" as options. I have used the Troubleshoot Path to get to the command prompt. I also can get through POST and access the InsydeH20 startup utility (BIOS) which I use to unfreeze the HDD password (not sure why it keep freezing). Refresh, Reset, Restore and Automatic Repair all fail. From command prompt I access x:\Program Files <x86>> desktop.ini and see one HDD (Boot) with 27.6 MB free of 30.0 MB. I also see the Removable Storage devices.

The top of the command window says "Microsoft Windows [Version 6.2.9200]" Does this mean Windows is installed?
If I have lost the OS how should I attempt to re-install, Win8 then upgrade or straight to Win10?

AFRet96 said:

If I have lost the OS how should I attempt to re-install, Win8 then upgrade or straight to Win10?

No need for Win8, you can go straight to a clean install of Windows 10. Your successful upgrade from 8 to 10 has recorded a Digital Licence tied to your PC's hardware on Microsoft's activation servers. Do a clean install of 10 (making sure you install the same version as you had before, Home or Pro) and when it asks for a key skip this with the 'I don't have one' or 'register later' option. Once installed your Digital Licence will automatically activate the new install.

spunk said:

Hold the power button until the computer shuts off. Wait 15 seconds and power it back up. It will show the "Getting Files Ready" message again, but will shortly finish the installation.

this did finish some type of installation process but I now get the gateway logo then a blank black screen. I am going to try to "clean install" again.

AFRet96 said:

this did finish some type of installation process but I now get the gateway logo then a blank black screen. I am going to try to "clean install" again.

Remove all unnecessary USB devices before you try again. Some have been known to cause an install to hang. You can reconnect them once the install is complete.

Thank you Bree. I heard a saying once that holds true for me at times, "some people need practical advice. My anxiousness clearly got the best of me so I rushed it and did not allow the process to finish.

I was able to use my "recovery usb stick" to get to cmd.exe. I will now clear the unlabeled primary partition and clean install again.

how do I select "license acceptance" if I have lost the ability to use a cursor?

Can't be 100% this works in 10 but try using Tab to highlight Accept and hit Enter.

AFRet96 said:

how do I select "license acceptance" if I have lost the ability to use a cursor?

Use the Tab key to move from one item to the next, when you have selected the one you want hit 'enter'.