Restarting Windows while preserving files (boot loop)
Restarting Windows while preserving files (boot loop)
Hello, I made a mistake while trying to fix a disk drive issue. I followed instructions, changed registry settings, and now my Windows 10 is stuck in a boot loop. A blue screen appears with the message "inaccessible boot device." Although I created a backup of the registry, restoring it from the command line didn’t work. I think reinstalling Windows would be the best option at this point. I wanted to verify a few things before losing my photos and documents. My system has four drives, none of which are in RAID. The most important data isn’t stored on the Windows SSD, so I plan to remove all other drives except the Windows SSD. I do have some files on the SSD and can use a SATA-USB port to back up it to my laptop.
Three questions: If I take out the three non-essential drives, reinstall Windows on the SSD, and then plug them back in, will everything appear correctly and be accessible? If something fails during the Windows reinstall, would I be able to perform a clean install on the SSD and restore data from a backup? Would it be wise to also back up the remaining three drives before starting the reinstall? My SATA-USB port only fits 2.5" drives, which would slow things down significantly. I’m really hoping this will get everything back up quickly.
Please let me know if you notice any problems with my approach or if you have a better solution in mind. Thank you for your help!
Connect the looped drive to another PC, remove your files, then reinstall Windows for full security. Alternatively, you can use a bootable drive and attempt repairs from there. For version 2, a fresh installation from another PC is possible. For version 3, always back up data; the SATA connector works regardless of drive size and doesn’t need to fit in the bay—it just needs to be connected for backing up.
Disconnect all devices except your boot drive. Start from a live Linux USB, mount your boot drive, transfer data to the cloud, USB, another hard drive, etc. Clear your boot drive entirely and reinstall it. Afterward, you should be able to reinsert the remaining drives and mount them in Windows.
1) Yes, thats the recommended way of doing it. 2) I cannot answer that since I don't know what kind of backup you have. 3) No, its 100% unnecessary. As long as all the drives except the one you're installing to are physically disconnected until Windows is installed there's no need to do anything else to them. Why? Thats more work that unplugging 3 sata cables and doing the reinstall in situ. Also the connectors might be the same but the housing might be made to only fit a 2.5" drive.
Thanks all! I’m glad you found the help useful. It makes sense to back everything up before switching systems. Appreciate the clear explanation!
I'm not sure what you're referring to, I just said bootable drive. It doesn't matter what you put on it—it's still a bootable drive. For your question: removing a SATA cable once and then plugging it in on another computer is similar to downloading a file and saving it to a USB, which isn't too complicated. The connectors are generally the same; SATA is universal, but performance drops with each generation. You can temporarily fit any drive size in the PC, even if the second one only fits a 2.5-inch drive. It's just placed on the side for short-term use, not for long-term storage. You don't need to re-secure the drive every time you remove it—it works like plugging a USB into a port.
Well, once everything was back on track, I felt relieved not to have backed up those extra drives right away. My three drives hold a lot of data—several terabytes across them—and because my laptop or cloud storage isn’t large enough, I’d need to use spare hard drives. Transferring all that at full speed would take 2 to 3 days, not including switching drives. In reality, it would be even longer. Plus, the external enclosure I used doesn’t fit a 3.5" drive physically, so I could’ve removed parts of it, but I preferred keeping it intact.
It was comforting to know the data would be safe if there was any chance of loss. Of course, backups are useful, but this experience is more about personal luck than a solid plan. If anyone reading this knows my story, I’m not sure I’ll face the same situation again. Thanks for your support and guidance!
I see why you're confused. Just use a bootable Ubuntu installation and move files from your C drive to another storage device. You don't have to use a laptop or change any drivers. Second, if you altered the registry and suspect that's causing the loop, you can search for a bootable registry tool and restore the previous settings. Alternatively, with a laptop, you can transfer the hive file from your computer into the registry editor, make the necessary changes, then exit the hive (though this might be more involved than using a bootable editor).
Great suggestion regarding copying files from C to another drive. It would have been more efficient. I tried using the bootable registry editor and attempted to apply a backup of the registry, but encountered an issue and couldn't resolve it that way.