Windows 8 will not boot up.
I have a Acer laptop on my bench with Windows 8 and I think the customer some how used up all of the free space on the hard drive and now the computer will not boot up. The computer was also suspected of having a virus because they let the Antivirus program expire.
Upon booting the display says the "pc ran into a problem and needs to be restarted then it displays "Preparing automatic repair" which continues to be in a infinite loop. The hard drive LED is active during this time.
I draw the conclusion that the computer is out of free space because when I tried to boot with Kapersky rescue disk (KRD) and tried to update it, it told that that there was no free space and it was going to store the updates in memory. Note: I had to adjust the BIOS to use legacy options to boot to the KRD CD. So I ran a KRD rootkit virus check anyhow with the old definitions (jan 2013) which did not find any viruses however the system still could have infections. So I bailed out of the full scan with KRD and attempted to boot to a Windows 7 recovery disk and it said something to the effect that the operating system was not compatible.
Is there a way to get to a command prompt and delete some files to allow the system to boot up?
I have tried pressing F8 on boot up but it never prompts me for options.
This is my first experience with trouble shooting a Win 8 computer
Can you recommend some useful tools that a tech should have for start up problems such as a disk that can be made from a downloadable ISO file.
I don't have a windows 8 OS disk. I do have a USB memory stick that I made a win 8 recovery boot disk from a Dell laptop. When I booted to it it looked liked it wanted to reinstall the OS and it was from a Dell Laptop and it didn't seem like the right path to follow.
At this point all I have is a black screen and it's in the ACER loop of trying to repair windows. Any advice would be appreciated.
Upon booting the display says the "pc ran into a problem and needs to be restarted then it displays "Preparing automatic repair" which continues to be in a infinite loop. The hard drive LED is active during this time.
I draw the conclusion that the computer is out of free space because when I tried to boot with Kapersky rescue disk (KRD) and tried to update it, it told that that there was no free space and it was going to store the updates in memory. Note: I had to adjust the BIOS to use legacy options to boot to the KRD CD. So I ran a KRD rootkit virus check anyhow with the old definitions (jan 2013) which did not find any viruses however the system still could have infections. So I bailed out of the full scan with KRD and attempted to boot to a Windows 7 recovery disk and it said something to the effect that the operating system was not compatible.
Is there a way to get to a command prompt and delete some files to allow the system to boot up?
I have tried pressing F8 on boot up but it never prompts me for options.
This is my first experience with trouble shooting a Win 8 computer
Can you recommend some useful tools that a tech should have for start up problems such as a disk that can be made from a downloadable ISO file.
I don't have a windows 8 OS disk. I do have a USB memory stick that I made a win 8 recovery boot disk from a Dell laptop. When I booted to it it looked liked it wanted to reinstall the OS and it was from a Dell Laptop and it didn't seem like the right path to follow.
At this point all I have is a black screen and it's in the ACER loop of trying to repair windows. Any advice would be appreciated.
tailoreddigital
To delete some files just pull out the drive and connect it to another system.
F8 does not work in Windows 8.
If the computer fails to boot up two times in a row, it will automatically boot up to the recovery screen.
If the computer fails to boot up two times in a row, it will automatically boot up to the recovery screen.
ASKER
Tailoreddigital:
I attempted to access the drive in another computer running win7. The drive mounts ok but does not allow me access to the data. It said the drive needed to be formatted. I have attached a screen shot of the disk management screen. Any suggestions like trying to use a jumper pin?
AAdih: Thanks for the update regarding F8. Are you suggesting that more will happen if I just let it play out with the recovery attempts?
I attempted to access the drive in another computer running win7. The drive mounts ok but does not allow me access to the data. It said the drive needed to be formatted. I have attached a screen shot of the disk management screen. Any suggestions like trying to use a jumper pin?
AAdih: Thanks for the update regarding F8. Are you suggesting that more will happen if I just let it play out with the recovery attempts?
No. Try from the Dell USB recovery disk, either restoring the PC or other ways mentioned in the microsoft link I posted above.
ASKER
I've tried all of the above and no joy. My Dell USB memory stick did not allow for any of the choices listed above in the microsoft link. It tried to repair and then presented the option to reinstall the OS. I called ACER and they instructed me to send it back.
I plugged in a ACRONIS Boot disk and made a backup.
I guess I'll send it back unless anyone can come up with a solution.
I plugged in a ACRONIS Boot disk and made a backup.
I guess I'll send it back unless anyone can come up with a solution.
>> The drive mounts ok but does not allow me access to the data. It said the drive needed to be formatted << maybe the disk has problems
i suggest to run some diags first - to be sure about the basics
Download the UBCD, make the cd, and boot from it
Here 2 links, one to the general site, and a direct link to the download
since the downloaded file is an ISO file, you need to use an ISO burning tool
if you don't have that software, install cdburnerXP : http://cdburnerxp.se/
For disk Diagnostics run the disk diag for your disk brand (eg seagate diag for seagate drive) from the HDD section - long diag !
http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/ ultimate boot cd
http://ubcd.mirror.fusa.be/ubcd521.iso direct link UBCD
i suggest to run some diags first - to be sure about the basics
Download the UBCD, make the cd, and boot from it
Here 2 links, one to the general site, and a direct link to the download
since the downloaded file is an ISO file, you need to use an ISO burning tool
if you don't have that software, install cdburnerXP : http://cdburnerxp.se/
For disk Diagnostics run the disk diag for your disk brand (eg seagate diag for seagate drive) from the HDD section - long diag !
http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/ ultimate boot cd
http://ubcd.mirror.fusa.be/ubcd521.iso direct link UBCD
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ASKER
Lack of knowledge on my part, I'm going to close this issue. Also since it was covered by warranty I just sent it back. I suspect the hard drive was failing.