how do I get to F8 for auto repair

[black_lap]

I got to repair once but can't seem to get back to it - I want to try reload windows but save my files.  this is on hp laptop 17t-by000

[WAWood]

@black_lap 

Reloading Windows will not only NOT save your files, it will erase all of them.  Not a good solution.

All you will be able to recover at best from the drive is personal data. You will not be able to recover settings, website information (including user accounts and passwords) or applications.

Your best bet for recovering data now is to do the following:
1) Remove the disk drive from the old PC. If this is a SATA hard drive or a SATA SSD, this is a simple thing to do. If this is an m.2 SSD, that could be either screwed to the motherboard or soldered to the motherboard. If the second, you would need to have a techician remove it for you, or you risk seriously damaging the PC doing it yourself.
2) If you have a desktop PC with a spare hard drive connector, then connect the old drive to that. If the old drive is a SATA drive, connect both the power cable and the data cable. (This adapter is illustrated below) If the old drive is an m.2 SSD, you will need a USB-to-mSATA cable.

3) Try to retrieve the files and folders you want to save from the old drive and copy them to the new PC.

If this does not work, then you need to do the following:
1) Download and install this utility on a working PC
https://www.minitool.com/data-recovery-software/free-for-windows.html

2) Run the data recovery utility to see what can be retrieved from the old drive.

If that tool does not find what you need, an alternative is Recuva http://www.piriform.com/recuva

And, if that does not work well, the best tool out there is this one, but only the demo version is free https://www.runtime.org/data-recovery-software.htm

[Paul_Tikkanen · Accepted solution]

Hi, @black_lap 

Here is how you can get into the auto repair in W10.

There will be an option to reset the PC and keep your files.

Watch this video...

How to Enter Windows 10 Safe Mode When Windows Cannot Boot Normally - YouTube

What you may want to do before resetting the PC is to select the option to boot into safe mode if the PC will let you, plug a portable hard drive into the USB port, and copy your files to the portable hard drive before proceeding further.

[black_lap]

Thanks WAWood for offering a solution, however before I saw your reply I was able to get into auto repair and did a windows repair with files saved.  This did not fix my problem which is black screen with cursor after log in.  I did follow some instructions from next reply and was able to get in and copy my files which were saved

[black_lap]

Thanks Paul for your post. I did go into safe mode and were able to copy my files to a thumb drive.  Many thanks.  I looked at video which helped me get into safe mode.  I just now need to decide how to fix problem as reloading windows did not work.  explorer.exe appears to be missing.  My original problem was black/blank screen with cursor after logging in.  I have tried various solutions offered on internet.

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.

I have a couple of suggestions for you...

1. See if Installing this software patch resolves the problem.

HP Image Enhancement for System Logon

This package provides an update to HP image prevents/fix long system logon process.

https://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp82001-82500/sp82019.exe

2. If suggestion 1 doesn't work, and since you were able to recover your files, either use the HP cloud recovery tool to create a bootable USB recovery drive that will factory reset the PC, or clean install W10 using the Media creation tool and manually install the drivers and available software from your notebook's support page.

Here is the info link for how to use the cloud recovery tool...

HP Consumer PCs - Using the HP Cloud Recovery Tool (Windows 10, 7) | HP® Customer Support

Media creation tool:

Download Windows 10 (microsoft.com)

Your notebook's driver support page...

HP Notebook - 17t-by000 CTO Software and Driver Downloads | HP® Customer Support

[black_lap]

Thanks for your suggestions - It'll be a few days before I can try that.  I'll post results

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.