Privacy policy. This article is intended for use by support agents and IT professionals. If you're looking for more general information about recovery options, see Recovery options in Windows There are several reasons why a Windows-based computer may have problems during startup. To troubleshoot boot problems, first determine in which of the following phases the computer gets stuck:.
This pre-boot process ends when a valid system disk is detected. Windows Boot Manager finds and starts the Windows loader Winload. The kernel passes control to the session manager process Smss.
Here is a summary of the boot sequence, what will be seen on the display, and typical boot problems at that point in the sequence. Before starting troubleshooting, you have to understand the outline of the boot process and display status to ensure that the issue is properly identified at the beginning of the engagement. Click to enlarge.
Each phase has a different approach to troubleshooting. This article provides troubleshooting techniques for problems that occur during the first three phases.
If the computer repeatedly boots to the recovery options, run the following command at a command prompt to break the cycle:. Check whether the hard disk drive light on the physical computer is working. If it is not working, this indicates that the startup process is stuck at the BIOS phase.
Press the NumLock key to see whether the indicator light toggles on and off. If it does not, this indicates that the startup process is stuck at BIOS. If the screen is completely black except for a blinking cursor, or if you receive one of the following error codes, this indicates that the boot process is stuck in the Boot Loader phase:. The Startup Repair tool automatically fixes many common problems.
The tool also lets you quickly diagnose and repair more complex startup problems. When the computer detects a startup problem, the computer starts the Startup Repair tool.
When the tool starts, it performs diagnostics. These diagnostics include analyzing startup log files to determine the cause of the problem. When the Startup Repair tool determines the cause, the tool tries to fix the problem automatically. Start the system to the installation media for the installed version of Windows.
For more information, see Create installation media for Windows. The Startup Repair tool generates a log file to help you understand the startup problems and the repairs that were made. You can find the log file in the following location:. For more information, see A Stop error occurs, or the computer stops responding when you try to start Windows Vista or Windows 7. If the corruption in the MBR affects the partition table, running Fixmbr may not fix the problem.
If methods 1, 2 and 3 do not fix the problem, replace the Bootmgr file from drive C to the System Reserved partition. To do this, follow these steps:. If Windows cannot load the system registry hive into memory, you must restore the system hive. If the problem persists, you may want to restore the system state backup to an alternative location, and then retrieve the registry hives to be replaced.
Starting in Windows 10, version , Windows no longer automatically backs up the system registry to the RegBack folder. This change is by design, and is intended to help reduce the overall disk footprint size of Windows.
To recover a system with a corrupt registry hive, Microsoft recommends that you use a system restore point. For more details, check this article. If the system gets stuck during the kernel phase, you experience multiple symptoms or receive multiple error messages. These include, but are not limited to, the following:. For example, "0xC2" , "0xB" , "inaccessible boot device" and so on. The screen is stuck at the "spinning wheel" rolling dots "system busy" icon.
If either of these options works, use Event Viewer to help identify and diagnose the cause of the boot problem. Search the community and support articles Windows Windows 10 Search Community member. Please help Modified title from: Problem. This thread is locked. You can follow the question or vote as helpful, but you cannot reply to this thread.
I have the same question Report abuse. Details required :. Cancel Submit. User Moderator. Hello Steven, Acknowledging the details that you have provided. Here are some things that we can try when you're unable to boot into safe mode: Remove any recently added hardware. Restart your device and long press the Power Button to force shutdown the device when logo comes out, then you can enter Recovery Environment.
Select Advanced options. Select Startup Settings. Click Restart. The words Safe Mode appear in the corners of your monitor to identify which Windows mode you're using. Recovery options in Windows 10 We'd also like to confirm what is the make and model of your Windows 10 device? We'll be waiting for your update. How satisfied are you with this reply? Thanks for your feedback, it helps us improve the site. In reply to A. User's post on December 27, Alienware XR In reply to StevenLadd1's post on December 27, Cannot get F5 orF8 to work.
Also cannot get to software boot options. In reply to StevenLadd1's post on December 28, Thank you for getting back to us, Steven. Here is how to do it: On a working PC, go to the Microsoft software download website. Download the media creation tool and then run it. Select Create installation media for another PC. Choose a language, edition, and architecture bit or bit. Follow the steps to create installation media, and then select Finish.
