I recently faced a major issue with my Windows 10 system after a feature update. After it crashed, I tried the automatic self-repair, which took ages (like, I'm talking 5 hours for a scandisk repair). Now, my system only loads up to a black screen with a mouse cursor, so definitely looking for a more effective fix.
I can access the recovery environment by cutting the power just right, but unfortunately, the command prompt doesn't recognize my C: drive. When I boot from a Windows 10 USB, it detects the installation resources on the X: drive and the USB on C:, but still no sign of the actual hard drive. I suspect it might need a specific driver, which I downloaded from Dell's website based on my laptop's model. However, it doesn't seem to be making a difference. Am I loading it incorrectly? Do I need to use any special tricks with pnputil to make my drive show up?
The ideal scenario is to get the recovery USB to recognize the hard drive so I can recover my files. By the way, is there a way to boot into Safe Mode directly from this black screen? It seems silly that you have to reboot into Safe Mode after booting up. When I hit the Shift key, it offers Sticky Keys options, indicating that Windows is functioning to some extent. Any tricks to bypass a corrupt graphics driver without bringing up the Task Manager? I'm also a bit hesitant about switching the BIOS from RAID to AHCI due to fears of needing a fresh OS install. Thanks in advance for any insights!
3 Answers
Sounds like that RAID mode might be causing some issues for Windows. When you boot from your Win10 USB, try using the 'Load Driver' option to install the Intel RST driver. Honestly, if you mainly need your files back, a Linux live USB might be the easiest way to recover them. Setting BIOS to AHCI could work, but be careful as Windows might have problems booting afterward. Once your drive is visible, you can use a command like 'bcdedit /set {default} safeboot minimal' in CMD to try and force Safe Mode.
If you're using the Win10 install stick, boot it into recovery mode and try some commands in terminal. First, use 'diskpart' to check your disks and volumes. If you see your disk there, select it and reassign it a letter to access it. If that doesn't work, you might have to rebuild the bootloader with 'bcdboot C:Windows /s S: /f UEFI' or run a series of 'bootrec' commands if you're stuck in a legacy boot mode. Give it a shot!
Switching to AHCI could potentially resolve your issues, but it’s tricky if your system is genuinely on RAID. Just be cautious! If you proceed, remember you might face driver issues during boot. Do you really need RAID, though? Most systems nowadays only need AHCI. It might be worth looking into whether it’s safe to switch back if you encounter any issues, but it’s definitely a valid option.
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