So here's the deal: my wife did a Windows update on her PC (it was an update and shut down), and after that, when she tried to boot it up again, it wouldn't go into Windows. We tried repairing the installation, but it couldn't find Windows. I managed to roll back a quality update, but the feature update wouldn't budge. I even attempted a clean install of Windows 11 with a USB stick, but it said her PC didn't meet the system requirements, which doesn't make sense since it's been running for a year without any issues. I reset the CMOS battery and everything, but no luck. I also have a spare SSD and was going to try that, but I wanted to check with you all for tips first. I'm worried that it might be a Windows corruption or a failing SSD, but I really hope it's not the motherboard itself. I can still access the BIOS, but when trying to boot from a drive with Rufus, the drives don't show up. After some back and forth, I managed to bypass the Windows 11 requirements and got it running, but it's back to the same issue. Any thoughts on whether my motherboard might be toast?
2 Answers
Honestly, I’ve been in a similar boat before. A Windows update totally wrecked my motherboard, even though it was working fine with Windows 11 before that. I did some digging and found out it was a known issue with that specific update. Ended up having to buy a whole new PC, which sucked.
Have you considered rolling back to Windows 10? If you still have a Windows 10 install, you could use the Media Creation Tool to set up a bootable USB and see if that works. I’ve heard of several people having issues booting after the latest Windows 11 update, so it might not be just your setup.
I think I can make a Windows 10 bootable USB with the media creation tool. I’ll give it a shot! It’s crazy how a small update can turn PCs into paperweights, right?
A whole new PC? Ouch! I’m hoping I can just replace the motherboard instead. Was it the most recent update that caused the trouble for you?