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I have an old company laptop that I was wiped and given to me on which I installed Win7 and later upgraded to Win10 when it was free to do.
The other day it started doing an update and ended up failing to boot with the message 'operating system not found'. My mate wonders if the company triggered it to be wiped but not sure how or why they'd do this after so long.
What should I do now? It would be nice to get back the data on there but nothing really important as mostly backed up. I could reinstall Win7 but then I couldn't get back to Win10 for free? So maybe I should buy a Win10 license?
Or is there a way to sort this out?
hard drive failed.
If it was wiped before being given to you then there should not be a way they can trigger a further wipe. Sounds more like the update failed.
Sounds more like disk failure/mbr corrupt.
1st, check in the bios that it detects your hdd.
2nd, try to repair MBR with disk utility such as EaseUS.
Hard disk is OK according to my mate's testing but he's suggesting it's been wiped which if true the update wouldn't have done I think.
what testing?
I doubt very much that its been wiped by your company.
If you've put a fresh copy of Windows on it, then the company won't be able to get at it.
Does sound like a corruption /hard disk issue, if the update failed at a crucial point it could well cause this issue.
There are some repair tools you can run from a Windows installation disk, I'd probably try that first.
Download the installer on another machine, run it. Licensing isn't an issue, you don't need to worry about W7 or buying anything.
If that fails, the hard disk is likely toast.
Can you take the drive out & mount it in a caddy to see if your files are available?
If you plug the caddy into another computer, you should just be able to access the docs through Explorer.
I'd do this first, then worry about the operating system later.
But, I am far from an expert at all things computer!
The Windows 10 upgrade did that to my desktop. I was never able to find out exactly why, but I strongly suspect it was confused by it having multiple disks with an odd boot order, so I think it ended up putting bits of itself across two disks. Gave up and reverted to Win 7 but I'm considering trying again.
My mate has some good diagnostic and repair tools but I think he must be wrong about the disk being wiped. If I get a Windows 10 install disk can I use that to see if it'll repair what's there?
In my experience with that error for W10 upgrades you're looking at a fresh install. Repairing won't work.
As you've already upgraded to W10 on your licence you will be able install 10 without upgrading via 7 or paying.
It'll accept my Win 7 license? This assumes I can find it....
It'll accept my Win 7 license? This assumes I can find it....
Win7 would probably have a sticker on the case, but your Win10 allowance will be tied to your MS log-in and the BIOS, so it's more than likely a fresh Win10 install will just work.
As above, it sounds a classic HDD Failure, in theory your former employer could deactivate your Win Key, but I really doubt it, in any case it would still work.
Personally, I'd buy an SSD with enough storage for your needs and build it afresh with Win10.
the machine will be registered on MS's servers after you upgraded automatically ( and the fact you were receiving updates confirms this ). download an install from MS and put it on a bootable USB stick ( use 'rufus', it's pretty easy ), then install fresh.
"operating system not found"
I got that a couple of weeks ago on my laptop - Win7. Google it + youtube, there's a vid that tells you how to tell it where to look.
2 min job, if it's the same problem I had.
download an install from MS and put it on a bootable USB stick ( use 'rufus', it's pretty easy ), then install fresh.
[url= https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/software-download/windows10 ]Media creation tool[/url].
2 min job, if it's the same problem I had.
If. It could be one of a few things, as others have said.
Thanks - not too bothered about what's on there so will try a fresh install. Not sure I have an account though - will it just recognise my machine as licensed?
I have had that issue a couple of times when I’ve had a dual boot Linux machine, the MBR seems to get blasted when windows updates and just needed to be reinstated.
Yeh it might just be the Master boot record broke, not uncommon, worth attempting a fix before a new install:
The instructions are:
Boot from the windows DVD (or the recovery USB)
At the Welcome screen, click Repair your computer
Choose Troubleshoot
Choose Command Prompt
When the Command Prompt loads, type the following commands:
bootrec /FixMbr
bootrec /FixBoot
bootrec /ScanOs
bootrec /RebuildBcd
Press Enter after each command and wait for each operation to finish
Remove the DVD from the disk tray
Type exit
will it just recognise my machine as licensed?
Yes.
Similar thing happened to mine, stuck in a recovery-restore loop. Took out the HD and got my data off, then downloaded and created a bootable iso of Windows 10 on another computer (used iso to usb, make sure usb stick is recognised by bios on broken computer) did a clean install, reinstalled drivers from manuf website, reinstalled programs and put data back on. Took forever and involved me getting really pi55ed off with MS, but is done now.
Mac now wants to update to High Sierra, but it can bu66er off
How did you get on, mudshark?
If. It could be one of a few things, as others have said.
Yes cougar, "if". Don't know why you needed to restate that? It's one of a number of possible causes and solutions, and given it's quick and easy thing to try, why not try it?
All installed now and all seems good - just did what Cougar said thanks.
Annoyingly I have several drive partitions for some reason - merged some using the windows tool so now have 2 drives - couldn't turn into 1 though, any ideas?
The extra partitions seem to vary depending on the manufacturer, they generally contain boot and recovery files. Generally best not to mess with them, good chance of bricking your machine.
The extra partitions are probably remnants of the old install. I'd need to see Disk Manager to advise.
Easiest way would be to blow it all away and start again. Boot from the media, do a custom install, delete all the partitions and install into 'unpartitioned space.'
couldn't turn into 1 though, any ideas?
You might need to delete the unwanted partition, and then expand your primary partition to take up the space.