I have a Dell Precision 7550 that starts Windows 11 normally, but about one or two minutes after booting it encounters a critical error and restarts. This happens whether I sign in or remain at the login screen. I previously had to create a recovery USB drive after a startup problem around September 17, 2026. At the time, I rolled back a Windows update and disabled automatic updates. I am now experiencing a similar crash loop. Disabling startup applications made Windows respond a little faster, but it did not prevent the restart. I cannot reliably access Safe Mode or the recovery tools. Shift+Restart opens the recovery menu, but the laptop powers off after about a minute. Enter and F8 only make the screen blink, while F1 starts Windows normally. Booting from a newly recreated recovery USB also returns to the same recovery menu, and choosing Windows Boot Manager starts the unstable Windows installation. What troubleshooting steps should I try, and how can I back up my files before reinstalling Windows if necessary?
1 Answer
At this point, the Windows installation may be too damaged for the built-in recovery tools to repair. Before doing anything destructive, boot from a separate live USB operating system and copy your important files to an external drive. Then use a properly created Windows installation USB to perform a clean installation. If the crashes continue after reinstalling, test the hardware—especially the RAM and SSD—because a failing component could be causing the repeated failures.
Using a live USB to back up the files first is a good idea—I had overlooked that. After the backup, I may set up separate partitions for Windows, Linux, and storage during the reinstall.