Windows 10 hangs on startup - caught in recovery loop

Hi there,

Yesterday my laptop randomly locked up and completely stopped responding, so I turned it off, then back on again.

Startup usually takes a while, but this time it was a bit longer, then the Windows 10 Recovery screen came up. Nothing I've attempted thus far has worked

-the Windows disk repair utility fails

-I don't have a previous restore point

-reverting to an older build failed

-when I managed to boot into safe mode, I got this error: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B71_4lzkrznadklKMTRlZExJLWM

(this is an image file on google drive)

-I'd rather not attempt a full Windows reset except as a last resort

I followed some other instructions on this site to test memory, which involved booting from a USB drive, and now that process is totally hanging. So far, I'm unable to get back to the recovery options screen. 

To clarify: I see the startup logo, the circle of dots that shows the system is loading, and then a blank screen.

Update: I allowed the computer to sit at the blank screen for a while, and finally it went back into recovery mode. It currently seems caught in a loop in which it attempts to repair disk errors, then restarts, then repeats.

I'm usually pretty good at troubleshooting issues like this, but I have to admit I'm completely stumped.

The computer is an Asus G55VW. Bios ver, 217.

Thanks so much! I appreciate all you do!

Edited by davidyates, 10 December 2016 - 03:04 PM.

Did you ever get the memory test to run?  If so, what results did it show.
Are you able to get into the computer and remove the hard drive?  If so, does the memory test work better without the hard drive installed?

Have you backed up your stuff (I suspect a hard drive problem here)?

Try this free hard drive diagnostic:  http://www.carrona.org/hddiag.html

Let us know the results and we'll move on from there.

No luck on the memory test. The one suggested on this site doesn't seem to run on Windows 10?

To run hddiag, I'll have to pick up a CD to burn. I haven't had any around in ages.

It's quite an involved process to get the hard drive out of this computer. If that seems like a necessary next step, I will.

I've managed to access a command prompt via the recovery window, and I've been transferring important files in case anything goes wrong or I have to do a clean install.

Thanks,

david

I moved the hard drive to an external enclosure so I can test it from another computer.

It has passed MOST diagnostics but failed the HGST utility's (WinDFT) SMART extended test: "Smartselftest: Read Element Failure"

I'm guessing this means I need to replace the hd?

Edited by davidyates, 13 December 2016 - 02:30 AM.

The memory test for UEFI systems (that I suggest) is MemTest86 - NOT MemTest86+
The plain MemTest86 is able to boot on UEFI systems without changing any settings.

Can you try another test on the hard drive?  Try the Seagate Seatools or Western Digital Data LifeGuard tests (both can be run on an attached drive from within Windows)

If not, then you have to wonder if you can trust this hard drive to save your data.
If you can't trust it, then a new hard drive is the way to go.  They're relatively cheap these days, and may help your peace of mind.

Okay, I'm running memtest86 now. So far, 2 out of 4 passes. It's taking a while.

I also have Western Digital Lifeguard scanning the hard drive. The first basic tests passed. The extended test looks like it will take quite a while - it's showing 300 hours until completion. At first I thought this was the case due to USB power management, but I turned off Windows' ability to power down USB devices, and i  can feel the drive running, so..... I guess I'll wait!

UPDATE: I've disabled all low power settings for USB ports, so that shouldn't be interfering with the tests. But I've just noticed that the test consistently seems to hang on one particular sector. So perhaps that's a part of the issue?

Edited by davidyates, 14 December 2016 - 02:51 PM.

Western Digital Lifeguard result:
 

Test Option: EXTENDED TEST Model Number: Hitachi HTS727575A9E364 Unit Serial Number: J3740084J1NLBE Firmware Number: JF4OA200 Capacity: 750.16 GB SMART Status: PASS Test Result: FAIL Test Error Code: 08-Unable to repair bad sectors. Test Time: 12:42:38, December 14, 2016

The extended test by the Seagate tool also failed.

If this is the case, my next issue will be to figure out how to install Windows 10 on a new HD when my old HD had Win 8 pre-installed and then upgraded to 10.

(All memtest86 tests passed.)

Edited by davidyates, 14 December 2016 - 08:19 PM.

Yes, it looks like the hard drive.

You can easily reinstall W10 using- this Microsoft site (use the Media Creation Tool):  https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10/

it's free and will install the latest version of W10 on your system

It should automatically activate, as long as your current copy was activated - as the activation info is stored on the Microsoft servers.

If it asks for a product key, you can skip it (twice I think) and it'll  activate anyway once you connect to the internet

Here's the procedure to follow to install a clean copy of Windows 10

1)  On the original copy of W10 (if possible) - Open a command prompt and type in "slmgr /xpr" (without the quotes) and press Enter

If you get a small window that says that W10 is permanently activated, it's OK to proceed
If not, you'll need to get the product key for your original OS (must be Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 10)
If you can't do this - don't worry.  If you've been using W10 on the internet, it's likely to have been permanently activated - and you can continue with these steps

2)  Go here and use the "Need to create a USB, DVD or ISO?" method:  https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10/

When installing W10 (if it's permanently activated) you'll skip the first time that it asks for a product key, and will tell it to do it later the second time that it asks for a product key.
Once you're into Windows (and connected to the internet), it'll automatically activate.

If you didn't get it permanently activated, then just enter the product key from the previous OS and activate in the usual way.

NOTE:  Keep the flash drive/DVD in a safe place in order to use it as a recovery drive/repair drive in the future.