I turned off my computer normally, but when I tried to power it back on hours later, it got stuck on the loading screen for two minutes without making any progress. I ended up forcing a shutdown by holding the power button, doing that twice until the Windows recovery screen appeared. After waiting about 20 minutes, I was left with just a black screen.
On my third attempt, I finally saw a message that said "Scanning and repairing drive," and after another 10 minutes, Windows booted up. However, when I opened the Start menu to shut down, the shutdown button didn't work. I had to resort to using Alt+F4 to shut down, but it got stuck on the "Shutting down" screen indefinitely. Again, I forced a shutdown.
For two days, I've tried finding a solution but haven't had much luck. I attempted to fix or reinstall Windows using a bootable USB, but it only showed a purple screen with no actual installation window appearing. Before this, I had a blue screen error indicating a recovery issue after a normal boot, which prompted me to format my original SSD (where Windows was installed) and install on another SSD. I confirmed the old SSD still works fine.
Now, even after waiting 30 minutes, when I enter my password on the Windows login screen, it goes black after I hit Enter. The bootable USB behaves the same way. I did manage to boot into Windows eventually, but it took around 30 minutes for the system to fully load.
2 Answers
Also, consider checking for any crash dump files if you can get into Windows again. Those logs can give insight into any BSOD issues you might have had. You can find them in C:WindowsMinidump. Just zip them and upload to a file sharing site to share with someone who can help analyze them!
It sounds like your computer might be having issues with your hard drives. Have you thought about disconnecting the old drive and trying to boot with just the new SSD? Sometimes, problems with older drives can interfere with the boot process, especially if they're starting to fail. It's worth a shot! Also, make sure your BIOS settings are correct.
That's a good idea! If the old drive is causing issues, it could be affecting the boot sequence. If you haven't done it yet, just start up with the new SSD connected and see if it speeds things up.
Yup, having those dump files will definitely help in troubleshooting! Just make sure you have enough to work with, like more than one, for a clearer picture.