Boot loop

[Stuart17]

I restarted my laptop and it is now stuck in a loop, the hp logo comes up and then for a fraction of a second the below screen appears, then it restarts again, following the same loop. Does anyone know how I can resolve this?

Thanks

[iomare]

Hi,

First, I would check if the hardware is good. (the hard drive mainly)

Turn off the PC by holding the power button. Turn on PC and repeatedly keep pressing ESC until the startup menu appears and then press F2 to enter diagnostics. Try the fast test, or at least the hard drive test.

See if there are any hardware errors.

Let me know,

David

[Stuart17]

Thanks for the advice, I tried the quick test and there were no errors, I will run the full test and let you know.

Thanks

Stuart

[iomare]

And it is still doing the same once you start the PC?

David

[Stuart17]

Yes, exactly the same, although right now it’s running the full test - 3 hours to go!

Thanks

Stuart

[Stuart17]

OK, the full test is done - passed. When I come out of the menu and it restarts, it goes straight back into the loop. What would you recommend next?

Many thanks for your help.

Stuart

[iomare · Accepted solution]

You're welcome Stuart.

Do you have important data on the PC you need to recover?

Personally, I would just reinstall the latest version of Windows 10 on the device after recovering data if need be.

Here is a guide:

Download media creation tool from Microsoft on PC (different PC), run and create a bootable pendrive with the OS on it. (there is an explanation on the Microsoft web page on how to create the pendrive). Create the drive with Windows 10 Home 64-bit edition. Windows will automatically activate once installed and connected to the Internet.

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

If you choose this option you will need to use the pendrive to perform a clean install of Windows 10. You might need to disable fastboot and secure boot in BIOS (probably not). So, insert the pendrive in the PC and turn off the PC by holding the power button. Press the power button and immediately keep pressing ESC until the startup menu appears and then press F9 and choose the pendrive in the boot menu. Once it boots from pendrive follow the procedure to install Windows. Choose custom install and delete all partitions. Install in unallocated space.

When finished installing allow Windows to completely update and find all or most drivers. You can follow this process by going into settings > Security and update > click on Verify for updates. You might need to reboot a couple of times.

 I recommend installing HP support assistant which will help keep your drivers up to date and much more. You can download the latest version from here.

https://www8.hp.com/us/en/campaigns/hpsupportassistant/hpsupport.html

Once completely updated you can go into device manager and see if there are any missing drivers (there will be yellow exclamation mark next to the device). You can find these drivers and software on HP support page for your product.

You can also use this USB to try to repair the installation you have once the install menu appears to click on repair this PC where you can try startup repair or you can try removal of the latest updates if the option is available.

Let me know if you need further help with any of the above,

David

[Stuart17]

Hi, thanks for this explanation but unfortunately I don’t have access to another PC, is there any other option?

Thanks

Stuart

[Stuart17]

Thanks for the advice on this David, my problem has now been resolved...for the time being anyway. In case anyone is in the same position, here's what I did:

- I ordered a CD from ebay (about £3) with the file on it that you suggested I download

- When I booted up I couldn't get it to reinstall Windows - when I got to the part where it starts to copy files it failed for  some reason

- So, I tried the windows troubleshooting guide on the CD and uninstalled the "quality updates" (as opposed to the feature updates)

- Once that was done my laptop restarted and was back to the state it was in before the boot loop occurred

So, I think the best idea will be to reinstall windows with the download at some point as per your instructions above, as if the updates that were causing the problem are automatically reinstalled I will doubtless get the same problem, but for now I'm back up and running.

Thanks for the help, much appreciated.

[iomare]

Great, Glad you solved your problem.

Now that you have access to the PC at least create the USB drive with the latest Windows 10 version on it so you can use it if necessary.

I do not know the specs of the PC (as you did not provide the full Model number ) , but you could probably put a cheap SSD in it and have a good performance boost to the system.

Take care,

David