Are there any special tips from an expert for Windows Restore "options"?
Are there any special tips from an expert for Windows Restore "options"?
**UPDATE** Problem resolved. Unsure how, a fluke to be sure. Seemed to occur after enter DOS commands on MBR and BCD. Not certain what I did but follow-up items on preventing this to follow.
Well, I find myself coming to the internet for help once again.
Computer: OMEN 13 laptop with most recent Win 10 OS and upgraded SSD drive and memory. First time in owning it I've had a catastrophic software failure and I keep it relatively 'clean' and not with ten years of software piled up.
I was finding the system to slowly be a little slow to boot up and it sometimes seemed to bog down under heavy use so I did some housecleaning with Glary and Revo and experimented with start-up sequences and programs. Something got glitched in that process and I tried undoing my work but matters seemed worse. I had created several restore spots as I installed and uninstalled and with the first restore action, the computer came back with an unsuccessful restore operation stating that a file was unable to be restored. So I tried different restore points and none would work - even the restore points that were made a week ago or before I messed things up. The reason was always the same HOWEVER the file was often different.So far these files were named something along the lines of "windowsapp.tmp.BAK" and they were in my "G" drive. This was strange since I recall my G drive being the one assigned to "Google Drive". I do not have a complete understanding how Restore works but I did use Revo Reg Cleaner on moderate and deep scan options and a lot of files that were deleted were ".tmp" and ".BAK" files.
One other screw up I encountered that was semi self-induced was 'delayed launching' with Glary utilities. I tried seeing if many non-essential start-up programs would speed up boot times if I delayed their post boot launch. It did not. Problem arose those when several of the delayed entries somehow disappeared and even if I went into the program and deselected/reselected "run on windows start-up", they still would not start and I had now completely lost track of what those programs were. So I made matters worse by using a back up of my registry that was only a week old and importing it in its entirety into the registry, hoping that the missing startup entries would re-populate into the task manager start up or glary so I could record them and then restore my registry back to its current state.
It worked BUT, the registry did not successfully restore to the current one I had just backed up stating that an entry or two was locked. I didn't think it was a big deal. I was wrong.
When I rebooted, it went straight into a boot screen that said to put in my recovery disk. There was no option to troubleshoot or repair etc. Like I said, first time seeing this issue with this OMEN laptop. I have two other HP laptops I use for light duty /travel and when I have had issues with them, there always seemed to be a troubleshoot screen that I could access restore or other options without installing a USB recovery disk.
So, I tried that option. First, I tried Hiron's Drive but didn't know what to do with it. Then I found a recovery drive I made when M$ warned us all to make recovery drives for when WIn 10 was no longer supported.
That's where I am now. As I type this, I am going from restore point to the next and I keep getting the same error: windowsapp.tmp.BAK to the G: drive.
So....the computer will not start in any capacity unless I hit F9 and change the boot order to a recovery USB. I get the usual options at this point and have been selecting system restore and going through each subsequentlky older restore points all with the same unsuccessful result. I DO have a Hiron's Boot USB but not sure what I can use from it since I don't know what is currently wrong with my laptop. The computer DID successfully this morning on it's own and I have a copy of the registry that I have access to if I use the Hiron's Boot drive to get into my laptop's drives. Buit, I don't know how or where to install it or if that's even possible. Is this an MBR issue?
My next concern is why do none of my restore points work? Even if I did screw all of them up by erasing .tmp or BAK files using Revo, the restore point I created this morning immediately after boot up should still work I would think.
This is where I need your advice. I really
Do Not
want to reinstall windows. If memory serves, all installed programs are no longer installed and all settings are gone. Seems like too long a path to travel. I'd rather do a clean reinstall (like formatting the drive first after backing up Documents) and data.
I appreciate you taking the time to read this and would appreciate your advice just as much.
Thanks
You mean you don't want to reinstall Windows, but you prefer a fresh installation instead.
Welcome to the forums, newcomer! Besides the issue at the end of your thread, I recommend reinstalling the OS in offline mode. Install all required drivers manually for your laptop and avoid modifying the registry. The registry after Windows 8 has been quite strict and often caused the OS to crash.
I think I can grasp the uncertainty. I don’t want to reinstall or repair Windows since it’s not what I need right now. It seems we’re just adding a new layer of Windows on top of the existing one, and if I really have to start over, I’d prefer a fresh drive format. This is essentially my last option. Thanks.
Windows 10 differs from Windows 7 in that it doesn't permit installing a repaired version of Windows on top of itself during boot from an install media. Windows 8+ restricts this to the desktop of a functioning Windows system, since Microsoft believes the operating system is stable and shouldn't be altered. If you're stuck with a severely outdated or broken Windows desktop, the options are either a clean installation or restoring it to factory settings, both of which would erase your current programs and configurations.
Could not insert an image. This link will provide screenshots of the problem. I’ll pause troubleshooting for now, as it seems there’s an issue with the two small drives (G and *) in the photos. It looks like Windows is attempting to boot from the G drive, which might be a straightforward fix. I don’t know how those drives were created.