A common error that can lead to temporary data loss is when Windows will not boot up properly on your computer. If this happens you can lose access to your important files. This problem usually means there is either a software or a hardware problem.
Imagine this, after a hard day’s work, you save your data and turn off your computer. The next day, you get up and intend to get even more done, when you find that Windows will not boot up on your computer.
Data loss due to your files becoming inaccessible because Windows will not boot up properly can be stressful; luckily, it might not necessarily be permanent. In this post, we are going to go through a few reasons why your Windows is not booting up and what you can do about it.
Scenario 1: You are getting a blank screen when powering up
If your computer is powering up, but you are getting a blank screen with a message that states that there is “no bootable device”, it could be there is a problem in the computer’s boot order settings.
Go to your computer’s UEFI firmware or BIOS setup screen. Find the boot order screen; this should have a list of the boot devices. If your hard drive is not listed, this could mean it has failed. If your hard drive is listed, however, you should check that it is set to Boot Option 1.
If your hard drive is there and listed as Boot Option 1 but it is still not booting up, try to run Startup Repair. This option will be available at the BIOS setup screen.
Scenario 2: Your computer starts booting up but freezes
If you computer powers up and begins to boot but freezes before it completes, you could have a hardware or software problem.
If it is a software problem, you can fix it by using Startup Repair. If that doesn’t work, it might help to reinstall Windows. If neither of these works, you have a hardware problem.
Scenario 3: You are getting a blue screen and error messages
If you computer doesn’t boot up, or doesn’t boot up all the way and instead you see a blue screen with a message that there was an error, you might have a hardware or software problem.
To find out what the problem is, boot you computer into safe mode. When in safe mode, Window’s doesn’t load hardware drivers or software that is set to start automatically during startup. From there, remove or uninstall any hardware drivers that your recently installed. If you haven’t installed anything, try scanning for malware and performing a system restore. One of these three things might fix the software problem and your Windows should boot normally.
If neither of these three fixes result in Window’s booting up normally, try reinstalling. If that doesn’t work, you are probably facing a hardware problem.
All these scenarios are fixable if they can be traced to software problems, however, sometimes the reason that your computer is not booting up is because of a hardware problem. If it is a hardware problem, the best thing you can do it find the most recent backup of your computer and reinstall it in another machine.
You can ensure that you have regular backups of your data by installing a backup program like either DataNumen Disk Image or DataNumen Backup.