Windows 10 dead, can't find the cause ?

[TarnaBar]

I ll make it fast, I never had big problems with my win 10, only some taskbar buttons not working failed updates or video driver gone missing. But last night it got completly fronzen. When I log in the CPU usage in task manager is at max but if you go to resource monitor il looks fairly fine. UAC is not showing up on any admin app, Mcaffe looks dead. And I cant seem to access mot of the system apps. Recovery is not working not even HP factory reset. Not from bios not from safe mode any recovery is dead. Maybe possibily only the reset button on safe mode works but asks me for a USB key as the recovery partition is probably dead. On safe mode most functions work and the system looks fine and no high load. I did and still doing some HP bios tests for my HDD but so far nor smart or other things have found erorrs. Even tough my hard disk is doing some wierd noise on idle or when I boot windows normally but it s not a clicking noise it s more like a continuous not so loud *vruuumm* you can barely hear it but it s there and on safe mode I can t hear it that much.

My guess would be a virus or a very corrupt windows at this point having done some nasty power button reboots while he was stuck/dead. I get a lot of strange errors while trying to look around,now I cant even access my wifi card or ethernet, the recovery from windows, the one from bios either the windows ones or the hp ones, I can't open basic apps as settings or antivirus or chrome or edge, UAC is not loading and skips, the only thing to seem working is win+r run command very well and cmd but not admin cmd. 
Still no errors from HP bios tests, my second guess is a faulty hdd but the computer is **bleep** new like 4 months ago. 
I tries most recovery options or tried to find suspicious processes or folders around but nothing. 
Same mode works up to a certain degree and I'd be more than happy to factory reset with hp and have all their settings and apps. But my last try is to reset windows with a USB and install everything else from their website. 

Anyone has an idea? I have been boiling my brains all night 😞

[mdklassen]

> my second guess is a faulty HDD, but the computer is **bleep** new like 4 months ago. 

That would be my first guess.

Physically remove the disk-drive from the computer.

Connect it as a secondary disk-drive in a desktop computer.

On that computer, Google-search for "download free SPECCY".

Download and install and run SPECCY.

Expand the "Storage" section, to view the S.M.A.R.T. -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S.M.A.R.T.     statistics for the secondary disk-drive.

Experiment: find a "spare" disk-drive, and connect it into the problematic computer.

Install Windows onto it, to see if your hardware works fine with the different disk-drive.

If it does, then you have more "evidence" that your disk-drive is suspect.

Note that both SEAGATE and WESTERN DIGITAL have disk-drive "diagnostic" programs, that do a lot more than viewing the S.M.A.R.T. statistics.  Free to download, from their web-site.

[TarnaBar]

Ok..

So I did the last thing possible and to reinstall Windows from scratch. No other recovery option worked or repair.

Now I have a fresh clean Windows home and it looks just fine, the strange sounds are gone and the computer runs smooth. SMART and DTS tests on bios the medium velocity ones we're ok, I might try later to the a comprenshive one just to be sure, overnight.

So maybe it was a virus after all? There were like very strange errors and denials on any admin app, antivirus or defenders which is quite strange as most other apps like notes, cmd, word, the simple ones worked just fine.

So I might have another question under the same treaed if anyone doesn't mind. I forgot, sadly to save the OEM Windows 10 Pro key the desktop had before reinstalling everything from scratch, does anyone know if I can get it back by any means? Or should I talk with the customers service or should have it written down somewhere? I don't remeber having any CD or Windows related document from the box.

[mdklassen]

> I forgot to save the OEM Windows 10 Pro key the desktop had before reinstalling everything from scratch.

This is not a problem.

When you first "activated" Windows 10, you were granted a "digital entitlement" to reinstall Windows 10, on the same hardware, at any time, at no cost to you.

When reinstalling Windows, when asked for the 25-character product-key, just click "skip" or "I do not have one".

When Windows connects to the Internet, your entitlement will be leveraged to silently "activate" Windows 10.

[TarnaBar]

I know about that, prblem is it was allready installed when I bought it, and now that I did a reinstall with Windows Home, it has this one but seems to not recognize this system as the previous one and auto-upgrade.

Perhaps do you have any idea how should I upgrade manually or specify in windows account that this system is the previous one that is still saved on my account?

[mdklassen · Accepted solution]

>> I forgot to save the OEM Windows 10 Pro key the desktop had ...

> I did a reinstall with Windows Home, it has this one but seems to not recognize this system as the previous one

Yes, "Home" and "Pro" are not the same.  You painted yourself into a corner.

> how should I upgrade ?

See: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

Choose to download Windows 10 Pro, and install this version.  It should automatically activate.

[TarnaBar]

Ok, you were right I did it to myself.

Sadly it was a pretty chaotic repair as I got confused about everything.

I'll make a win10pro usb and upgrade instead of a fresh install.

Thank you for your help and time ^^ . Too kind.