I've been having a serious issue with my 7-year-old HP Pavilion Gaming Laptop running Windows 11. After a recent update, my computer booted up with problems. I couldn't open the Start menu either from the physical Windows key or the virtual icon; instead, it just showed a loading icon and then nothing happened. I managed to access settings through a right-click but that just resulted in a loading screen that quickly closed. Frustrated, I factory reset the laptop without keeping any personal files, thinking that would help, but the problem persists. Now, I can't connect to any network, can't open settings at all, and the only thing I can do is access the Command Prompt. I tried running a disk check with 'chkdsk /f /r', but it claimed the disk was in use and didn't resolve the issue afterward. I'm out of ideas on how to fix this!
2 Answers
Great news! I figured out that I could use the Command Prompt to connect to Wi-Fi. Once I was connected, I was able to download Windows and create a boot drive, which finally resolved the issues I was experiencing. Just ensure to have everything ready before starting the installation.
It sounds like there might have been a corruption during the update process. Reinstalling Windows from a USB drive could definitely help. If your laptop initially came with Windows 10, you could consider downgrading, as it might be more stable for older systems. This way, you could alleviate some potential compatibility issues with Windows 11.
Just a heads up, if you're trying to reinstall from a USB and don’t have Wi-Fi on the laptop, you might need to set up the USB with the installation files on another computer first. Create the bootable drive using the Windows Media Creation Tool or a similar method. Always a good backup plan!