Yesterday I booted from a USB drive to install a fresh copy of Windows. I accidentally selected "Repair your PC," and since then I haven't been able to return to the normal Windows Setup screen. The computer reaches the blue installation-media screen and then repeatedly reboots. I've recreated the installer and tried multiple USB drives, but the same reboot loop happens. Even Shift+F10 causes the system to restart before I can open DiskPart. What can I try to regain access to the installer and reformat the main drive?
2 Answers
Since the system reboots even before Shift+F10 can open Command Prompt, the issue may be occurring while the installer loads rather than being caused by the previous repair selection. Try a known-good Linux or GParted USB to determine whether the computer can boot other installation media. If that also fails, check the BIOS settings, USB port, RAM, and storage drive. If you do reach Windows Setup, Shift+F10 can open DiskPart, but double-check the disk number before using any clean or format command because those operations are destructive.
If you’re planning to wipe the main drive, try booting a separate Linux installer or GParted Live USB and use it to check or reformat the disk. You can also temporarily remove the main drive from the BIOS boot priority—disable it from the boot order, not the storage controller—then boot the Windows installer and format the drive from Setup. Be careful, since formatting will erase its contents.
Removing the main drive from the boot order didn’t help. The installer still won’t come back and the computer remains stuck in the reboot loop.
Shift+F10 also triggers an immediate reboot, so I can’t reach DiskPart. I’m going to try booting from a Linux installer next.