PC reset during possible Win10 install, and now PC won't boot

Hi all,

Hoping somebody can help. I think my PC was trying to install Windows 10 when I did some Windows Updates recently. I use the word "think" because I never signed up for the free upgrade and I never agreed for Windows 10 to be installed on my PC and I don't recall seeing anything about Windows 10 in the Windows Updates that were being installed... but, from some Googling, I've learned that Microsoft is apparently getting more persistent and sneakier about this. Great. =/

So, I install these updates and when my PC restarts, I see what looks like the log-in screen for a second, along with some text that's not usually there that I think says "System Event Manager" or something like that before the screen goes black. I can still see my mouse, though, but it doesn't look like it normally does - instead appearing in the bigger version that suggests my graphics have been disabled or reset. Doing some more Googling after the fact, I've learned that this is a common problem with Windows 10. Unfortunately, when it happened, I had no idea that I was potentially installing Windows 10, so after I few minutes, I force shut my computer off. When I tried to restart after, I get the following error message: "Reboot and Select proper Boot device or Insert Boot Media in selected Boot device and press a key". If I go into my Bios, everything's still in the proper boot sequence, but manually choosing my SSD (that should have my OS on it) to boot from leads to the same error. If I try to use my Windows 7 disc to repair, I get this error message: "This version of System Recovery Options is not compatible with the version of Windows you are trying to repair. Try using a recovery disc that is compatible with this version of Windows."

It seems to me that, thanks to my interruption of an installation I didn't know was going on, my PC might now be stuck somewhere between Windows 7 and Windows 10. Is this possible? If so, might I be able to use a Windows 10 iso download to complete/repair the installation in the same manner I used to be able to go into the Recovery Console via my Windows 7 disc? I'm trying to avoid having to wipe my SSD and start fresh with Windows 7 again, if at all possible.

Thanks for reading!

Hi, simrick! Thanks for the links! I'm waiting on a USB drive to show up tomorrow, and then I'm going to give Easy Recovery Essentials a try first. If that doesn't get me anywhere, this will be my next step in the hopes that I can finish whatever install I might have interrupted and get my computer up and running again.

Easy Recovery Essentials to the rescue, thank goodness! Able to boot into Windows 7 again, and all of my stuff is still intact. Hooray! :)