Nearly brand new Windows 10 won't boot


  1. Posts : 5
    Windows 10
       #1

    Nearly brand new Windows 10 won't boot


    A few days ago I bought an HP Pavilion 510-p030 with Windows 10. For some reason the Windows bootup quickly broke. The computer was "idling" when things went wrong. I came home and saw the screen black. I powered it off, back on, and it failed to boot.

    When I try to boot, I see the animated circular dots and the HP logo for awhile. Then it goes to black screen. If I leave the machine on, sometimes it cycles back through and starts over. There are no error messages, but it never boots properly.

    I can get to BIOS and Windows Recovery, but no bootup to Windows.

    In the short time that the computer worked, I did not activate an Administrator account. I did not make a Windows 10 recovery disc or drive, and I did not make a system repair disc.

    I tried to run Bootrec.exe from the command prompt in Windows Recovery Tools (that are on the computer's hard drive). It only allows the Administrator account to use the command prompt in the recovery tools. I don't know the password for Administrator, so I'm stuck. Other possible tasks that might be helpful are also locked because they need administrator privileges.

    Without administrator privileges, the recovery tools do allow restoring Windows 10 to factory condition, which I did. That doesn't fix the bootup problem. I also restored the BIOS to factory specs, and that didn't help either.

    How do I get Windows 10 to boot again?
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 18,424
    Windows 11 Pro
       #2

    First it is very puzzling that you don't have an account with administrator privileges because the very first account you create out of the box gets administrator privileges by default. Did you actually remove your own administrator privileges from the first (and sounds like only) account you created to login with?

    Where did you buy the laptop from? Was it new? If so, take it back.
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 5
    Windows 10
    Thread Starter
       #3

    I assume that my account had administrator privileges. However, when I ran the Recovery Tools, many of them required logging on as Administrator to work. My account didn't show up. As an act of desperation, I tried resetting Windows to factory specs, which would have removed my account. So whether I had admin privileges is now moot.

    I'm not ready to take the computer back. I want to spend some time trying to fix it myself. Surely there's some way to attempt to diagnose and attempt to repair the Windows boot loader.
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 18,424
    Windows 11 Pro
       #4

    You can do a clean install of Windows 10 but that will erase all the factory restore options.
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 4,752
    Windows 11 Pro 64 Bit 22H2
       #5

    If this is a brand new computer you shouldn't have to do anything. If it is failing to boot, then take it back and get another one, it's under warranty.
    If this is a Used computer that is new to you, do you have Windows Install Media?
    You can also set this back to Factory Default settings which should make you the administrator, by restarting the computer and pressing the ESC key then doing first the Diagnostics, then System Reset
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 5
    Windows 10
    Thread Starter
       #6

    I bought the computer brand new from Office Depot on December 17. I was busy and didn't take it out of box until around Dec 20. It tore up on Dec 23.

    To NavyLCDR, I can't do a "clean install" of Windows 10 because I never created backup media. I didn't know this was an option. The last computer I bought had Windows 8, which at the time did not allow backing up the system to portable storage media! I didn't know they had changed the policy.

    Although I can't do a clean install, I did a restore to factory default from the Recovery Tools on the computer's hard drive. This completed without complaint, but the computer still doesn't boot. It only makes changes to the partition containing Windows (according to the messages). The problem is with booting up.

    To spunk, who wrote that I "shouldn't have to do anything," I would say that disconnecting it, boxing it up, and driving back to the store is doing something. I would much prefer some trick that would repair the problem with booting to Windows.
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 5
    Windows 10
    Thread Starter
       #7

    I think my computer is sicker than I first imagined. For example, it won't reinstall/restore Windows 10 to factory specs from the "regular" Recovery Tools. But HP has a special menu tree in the Recovery Tools that allows restoration to factory specs. The HP version works, but the "Windows" version of restore breaks down.

    Also, I have a couple of live usb drives that can boot to Linux directly from the usb drive. They worked before this breakdown, but now they don't. So even if I had portable media with Windows or Windows Recovery Tools, it's unclear that I could even use them.

    By the way, I did not change any of the partitions or attempt to install Linux on the computer. I was planning on installing Linux at some point (and keep Windows 10), but the computer's ability to boot tore up first!
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 18,424
    Windows 11 Pro
       #8

    You can download Windows 10:
    https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/...-download.html

    Then make a bootable USB flash drive to install it:
    https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/...dows-10-a.html

    But all you would be able to do with it is install vanilla Windows 10, not the factory software.
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 5
    Windows 10
    Thread Starter
       #9

    NavyLCDR said:
    You can download Windows 10:
    https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/...-download.html

    Then make a bootable USB flash drive to install it:
    https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/...dows-10-a.html

    But all you would be able to do with it is install vanilla Windows 10, not the factory software.
    I don't think this is an option because the computer won't boot to a flash drive either. (I just discovered this a couple of hours ago.) Plus, I don't have another computer running Windows 7, 8, or 10, so Windows doesn't let me download the iso!
      My Computer


 

  Related Discussions
Our Sites
Site Links
About Us
Windows 10 Forums is an independent web site and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Microsoft Corporation. "Windows 10" and related materials are trademarks of Microsoft Corp.

© Designer Media Ltd
All times are GMT -5. The time now is 12:30.
Find Us




Windows 10 Forums