Laptop not getting to welcome screen

Si_Clist

I have a two year old Lenovo laptop running up-to-date Windows 10. Over the last few weeks, seemingly at random, it's started acting up on startup. What happens is that I press the go button, the page comes up with the Lenovo logo, that goes blank, and then nothing. After a while the laptop goes totally silent, but all I get is a blank screen - it never gets to the welcome screen. Don't know if it means anything, but while it's doing that, the tiny white LED in the NumLock key is lit.

If I force it to shut down by keeping the go button depressed, count to 10 and then start it up, 9 times out of 10 it'll start perfectly normally, though sometimes it seems to take a bit longer than usual to get to the welcome screen.

Any ideas please?

DoaM

Could be the boot sector on the HDD is getting corrupted?

Or the HDD is on it's way out?

Or the CMOS (button) battery on the motherboard is on it's way out?

I hope you have recent backups of all your data (music, photos, files etc.)

Si_Clist

Oh dear. Time to check the backups then, and cross fingers before checking when the guarantee runs/ran out ...

debitcardmayhem

Have a look in Event Viewer it may give you a clue , e.g. before you force it down. Also it could be start up tasks waiting for internet access or Anti Virus etc.

grumpycrab

What I'd possibly do...(PS. What's exact laptop model)
1. Backup data
2. Remove hard drive; check hard drive
3. Clean install to cheap SSD. Does it work...
Edit. Does it have a fan? Can you still hear/feel the fan?

Si_Clist

Data is backed up and laptop is a two year old Ideapad 110, the gaurantee of which ran out last month (of course). I can't feel any wind coming out of it like I can with the wife's Toshiba laptop, but I guess it's the fan working that I can hear in the background.


When it starts up but never gets to the welcome screen, it gurgles away quietly for a minute or two then goes silent except for the quiet steady fan noise in the background.


I'll look into Event Viewer (which is new to me) ...

that

Si_Clist wrote: »

I'll look into Event Viewer (which is new to me) ...

start > type 'eve' and select 'Event Viewer' > the program is split int 3 columns, on the left most column expand 'Wndows Logs', click 'System' > look up and down in the middle column for red ones, but keep an eye on the amber ones too.

Ignore the red DCom or DistributedCom ones.

Not every red one is bad, but it just did not work. Click on a red one and in the grey lower bit and a more informative message appears, which is often Greek to many. Go to google and type 'event id 10016 windows 10' which in my case is a useless DCom one and i find that "These 10016 events are recorded when Microsoft components tries to access DCOM components without the required permissions. In this case, this is expected and by design."

EveryWhere

Try the Startup Repair function in the first instance; https://www.windowscentral.com/how-use-startup-repair-fix-boot-problems-windows-10

Si_Clist

Thanks for that. I had no idea any of these tools existed!


Quick question, though. On a quick read through "Startup repair", I note the instruction starting "As soon as the Windows logo appears on your screen, press the power button". However, I never see the Windows logo - it goes straight from the initial Lenovo logo to the welcome screen. So if I do need to follow those instrucutions, at what point would I press the power button?

grumpycrab

Getting to Advanced options (containing Startup repair) can be achieved in a number of ways...if you can get into Windows, Shift+Restart is probably the easiest (see options 1 and 2 here, but detail may be slightly different depending on Windows10 version...)
https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/2294-boot-advanced-startup-options-windows-10-a.html

Si_Clist

I just ran HD Sentinel, which is all it looks like I'm going to get done today, and FWIW the results are encouraging ...


Performance 100%
Health 100%
No action needed


with an estimated remaining lifetime of > 1000 days