Upgrade to Windows 10 Failed

I apologize in advance, I haven't directly look at my friend's laptop yet just spoken to him over the phone. A friend was trying to upgrade his Windows 7 Pro laptop to Windows 10. He did it through Windows Update and said after about an hour after the install, the screen went black but the fans were still running. He left it on thinking maybe it was rebooting but it eventually powered off after another hour. When he turned it back on, he said he got the Windows 10 splash screen and then it said it was reverting back to an old configuration or something. After rebooting it launched the Startup Repair. I told him to just do a system restore but he said it shows no restore points. I am getting the laptop tonight to take a look but didn't know if there was anything you guys may know ahead of time. Thanks!
itgolferAsked:
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pjamCommented:
If you can get back to Windows 7, I would not use Windows update but the windows Media Creation tool you can get at:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10
Use a common setting for the resolution like 1280x1024 as it sounds like his video driver is the issue.
go to the laptop website and download latest drivers before starting.  While yo are there see if the have any Windows 10 drivers and save to USB.
I have been afraid to update my computers so far just because of these issues.  build 1511 has reportedly been a problem.
itgolferAuthor Commented:
Thanks for the input. I had a similar issue trying to update mine as it kept looking like the upgrade was complete but then would say it needed to revert back. However, I had restore points to restore back to but, for some reason, his is not showing any. That's the main issue now, not being able to get it back to Windows 7.
pjamCommented:
That could be a problem, do you have a restore disk or partition.  Stat from scratch, not fun but may be only option.
Hopefully he backed up his files before proceeding.
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itgolferAuthor Commented:
I'm just confused on why there are no restore points. They're supposed to be created automatically before Windows Updates and hardware/software changes.
pjamCommented:
Just remember, this is the company that blew up Outlook twice this Winter already.  Don't be surprised at any thing.  :)
itgolferAuthor Commented:
I know, it's just frustrating how a simple upgrade can ruin everything.
JohnBusiness Consultant (Owner)Commented:
A friend was trying to upgrade his Windows 7 Pro laptop to Windows 10  Not every Windows 7 machine can be upgraded even if Windows says it will work. I have such a machine in my basement. Your friend's machine may not be Windows 10 compliant.
McKnifeCommented:
I guess it completed its process of reverting to win7 (just a guess, we cannot know) but something went wrong. So you might be able to repair it offline or you might not. To do these repairs, you'd need to be an expert, that's for sure, because they are done offline. We might succeed in instructing you - or maybe not.
So this is the point where you should decide what to try: If I were you/him, I'd install clean after rescuing my files. The files can be rescued quite easily from the windows setup disk (or setup USB stick) like shown here: http://www.macrium.com/help/v5/How_to/Rescue/Create_a_Standard_Windows_PE_Rescue_Environment.htm - it offers even an explorer like file manager for the rescue operations.
After having rescued the data, use your win7 key to install win10 1511 fresh.
http://www.macrium.com/reflectfree.aspx is the freeware for it.

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itgolferAuthor Commented:
OK, I've finally had a chance to look at the laptop. When I boot it up, it gives me the option for the multiple safe modes or to start Windows normally. Starting normally just reboots the laptop and if I choose any of the safe mode options, it loads the drivers until it gets to classpnp.sys.

Obviously, I'd prefer to not wipe the computer just because they'll have to reinstall programs but it may come to that. Using a Windows 7 disk, would a repair fix anything?
JohnBusiness Consultant (Owner)Commented:
If you have Windows 7 running and have the Windows DVD, you can start from it and select the Repair option. You should not lose anything but you should back up first anyway.
McKnifeCommented:
The setup disks offers startup repair, not full repair. Sure, try the startup repair, but I guess that will not work since it is already starting, but just not completing the boot process. The startup repair is only useful if booting does not begin.

itgolfer, How much time will reinstalling those applications mean? If its's a fast system and it takes less than two hours, you should do that. Repair options to an offline system are limited, but I'll show those: http://lifehacker.com/5597854/use-system-file-checker-to-repair-your-unbootable-windows-pc
itgolferAuthor Commented:
So, I tried the startup repair but after about 30 minutes it said it couldn't repair Windows. A couple of the root causes it found are below. Not sure if it's even worth doing more work on it. I can copy everything off and reinstall those applications, which aren't much, I would have just liked to get it back to it's original state.

Root cause found:
Boot status indicates that the OS booted successfully

Root cause found:
Unspecified changes to system configuration might have caused the problem.

Root cause found:
Startup repair has tried serveral times but still cannot determine the cause of the problem.
McKnifeCommented:
I told you, you have no problem with the startup process "Boot status indicates that the OS booted successfully", you should not have wasted time on this but instead try my suggestion which you did not comment on, yet :) http://lifehacker.com/5597854/use-system-file-checker-to-repair-your-unbootable-windows-pc
Or just start over fresh after recovering the data which was planned for you before:
--
The files can be rescued quite easily from the windows setup disk (or setup USB stick) like shown here: http://www.macrium.com/help/v5/How_to/Rescue/Create_a_Standard_Windows_PE_Rescue_Environment.htm - it offers even an explorer like file manager for the rescue operations.
After having rescued the data, use your win7 key to install win10 1511 fresh.
http://www.macrium.com/reflectfree.aspx is the freeware for it.
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