Locked how to: win10 wont boot + broken screen

[se7engz]

so my partners computer just stopped booting the other day and it stays stuck on a black screen. is there any way i can get all the files and contents off of it and then do a fresh install? can i hook it up to another laptop and will be able to see whats on it or run a diagnostic?
any help would be appreciated

 

[hamabe]

Might be a hardware issue, since the device doesn't power up.
A clean install might not be necessary if it's a desktop
you can check by replacing parts, power supply, cables or ram or have it serviced by local tech.

You can get the files from the storage drives if you open it up and connect it to another device.
You can't get to the files, if the drives were encrypted.
Data recovery is possible on encrypted drives, but not without that encryption key or password.

 

[InaccurateFool]

if it's a laptop pull the hard drive and use a sata to USB cable to pull data from the drive if it's not encrypted

 

[Phrankie]

If the boot manager is working then you can use windows PE to open your pc and save your important files and do a clean install without booting your system

 

[pleiadians]

Download a bootable usb like strelec or andhev from here and boot to this to examine the state of your hard drive. You can check if the drive can still be read or is failing. If the drive is fine, you can use the disk to help repair windows. If the disk is readable then you should be able to recover the data.

 

[Sharrow]

I tend to do this type of job like so..

1. Pull the laptop Hdd.. put it into a Sata caddy... Or IDE caddy if it's an antique..

2. Plug that into a working machine via USB..

3. Test the drive with Hard Disk Sentinel or similar on working machine..

4. If drive is borked - try and recover files with Stellar Data Recovery Pro or similar.. replace with new drive and fresh install on laptop..replace backed-up files.

If drive is good - then copy needed files to working machine's Hdd/backup Hdd.. wipe the drive and drop on a new OS..replace backed-up files if necessary..

I'm a pro-tech and work with lots of machines. I find this is usually the quickest way to work, mainly because sorting out OS/app/driver/viral/malware issues can take ages sometimes..and I'm on the clock..

It's best to use USB3 if you have access to that on the working box/caddy, as file transfer is sooo much faster..

Anyway - the above answers from other people also work well..

Goodluck!

 

[se7engz]

thank you to everyone who took the time to help diagnose my issue! i really appreciate the effort. i will try some of these suggestions and will come back to update on my progress.

the people here at teamos are some of the most upstanding humans, i seriously have had numerous problems fixed from posts by other teamos members. i cant express enough how grateful i am to be a part of this forum!

 

[se7engz]

Download a bootable usb like strelec or andhev from here and boot to this to examine the state of your hard drive. You can check if the drive can still be read or is failing. If the drive is fine, you can use the disk to help repair windows. If the disk is readable then you should be able to recover the data.

so this was my first option but i dont think i can even get to the boot menu. i turn on the computer and cant see much the screen goes kinda black and then stays black so i am not sure this is an option. whats the reason the computer would just not boot out the blue? it was dropped recently but after it still turned on then maybe threee or four days later it just stopped booting.

 

[pleiadians]

Can you plug in an external monitor or tv?

 

[Quetzalcoatl]

First, is it a desktop or a laptop? Servicing differs for both. So please clarify that.

Assuming it is laptop since you said you have dropped it.

Power on the laptop and check if you can hear the fan & harddisk working.

Try going to boot menu (you told this has already failed, but nevertheless try) [this is to check the display not the hard disk itself]

Connect to external monitor (preferably TV)

Wait for few minutes (time taken may vary depending on the system. Since it is your friend laptop, ask them how long does the system normally take to get to the windows desktop after boot up)

Press the projector button 4 times (there are two methods for this to work, generally it is F4 key and some machine does this job by simply pressing F4 whilst others work by pressing the combo of fn+F4 key) try both way if you don't know if you had changed the preference. Projector optiond are 1. Main screen 2. Second Screen 3. Duplicate 4. Combine both screen (idk the order, best to try all 4)

If you see windows desktop in external monitor, it is most likely the main display is the problem.

 

[Quetzalcoatl]

Another method

If you are confident in removing the hard drive in your laptop by yourself (difficulty depends on models, some has just a screw to unscrew before you can remove the hard drive while other need the entire bottom case to be remove before the hard disk can be seen) in that case, it will be much better to assist if you share the bottom case image of your laptop here (since the model may vary depending on region, it is best to check the image of the problematic laptop itself)

If you have an internal hdd case use that to pulg the hdd into a working laptop and boot from the plugged in hdd, if it works, then plugged hdd and its content are safe and you can rule out this hdd from the part that might pose as a problem.

Update your status, so as to narrow down what might be problem. It might either be Display, RAM, or something else. If you follow these two method and see hdd working, then definitely your hdd isn't at fault.

 

[Jimmy Collaros]

I tend to do this type of job like so..

1. Pull the laptop Hdd.. put it into a Sata caddy... Or IDE caddy if it's an antique..

2. Plug that into a working machine via USB..

3. Test the drive with Hard Disk Sentinel or similar on working machine..

4. If drive is borked - try and recover files with Stellar Data Recovery Pro or similar.. replace with new drive and fresh install on laptop..replace backed-up files.

If drive is good - then copy needed files to working machine's Hdd/backup Hdd.. wipe the drive and drop on a new OS..replace backed-up files if necessary..

I'm a pro-tech and work with lots of machines. I find this is usually the quickest way to work, mainly because sorting out OS/app/driver/viral/malware issues can take ages sometimes..and I'm on the clock..

It's best to use USB3 if you have access to that on the working box/caddy, as file transfer is sooo much faster..

Anyway - the above answers from other people also work well..

Goodluck!

Look at your posts in light mode.. Nothing is shown

 

[vdogeek]

Look at your posts in light mode.. Nothing is shown

I fixed it amigo!

 

[SiteWizard]

I tend to do this type of job like so..

1. Pull the laptop Hdd.. put it into a Sata caddy... Or IDE caddy if it's an antique..

2. Plug that into a working machine via USB..

3. Test the drive with Hard Disk Sentinel or similar on working machine..

4. If drive is borked - try and recover files with Stellar Data Recovery Pro or similar.. replace with new drive and fresh install on laptop..replace backed-up files.

If drive is good - then copy needed files to working machine's Hdd/backup Hdd.. wipe the drive and drop on a new OS..replace backed-up files if necessary..

I'm a pro-tech and work with lots of machines. I find this is usually the quickest way to work, mainly because sorting out OS/app/driver/viral/malware issues can take ages sometimes..and I'm on the clock..

It's best to use USB3 if you have access to that on the working box/caddy, as file transfer is sooo much faster..

Anyway - the above answers from other people also work well..

Goodluck!

@se7engz you can also place a window version and press repair .. done ...
except doing all the hard work...simple that way the HDD will be formatted and the new partition will be made and used for the new windows that will be installed

 

[Sharrow]

Look at your posts in light mode.. Nothing is shown

I had no idea. I changed the colour so I can see it clearly myself..

I fixed it amigo!

Thank you matey!!

I would at this stage be concerned that there may be component damage since it was dropped..primarily the screen.

Try an external monitor. The unit should at least display the BIOS. Hit either F2, Escape or possibly another key.. Google 'your laptop model & BIOS key' to find out if it's a different key. 99% of the time it's F2/escape.

If it displays to the external monitor, then it would be likely that there is damage to the laptop screen, possibly the screen cable may have become detatched from the laptop mobo but that would be quite unlikely.

If the screen is dead, that's a replacement... But not usually a technically difficult job to do.. Youtube/iFixit may have a tutorial on it.

If you can get access to the RAM then remove them and clean them (try a pencil eraser on the gold connections this works very well). There can be flea power at the RAM connections which can lead to a non-booting machine.
I've brought dozens of laptops back to life - just by removing and replacing back the original RAM.

For the moment - try the external screen, and maybe post us back the model & some images of the base etc..

Goodluck mate!!