Computer won’t start

that

From Heedtheadvice excellent list

8) Know how to restore. Understand the limitations of the backup method, and what can be restored. Have multiple, regular backups from different dates, not just one. Acknowledge that items backed up will go faulty or bad over time just by sitting there on a shelf.

EveryWhere

mikeopvc wrote: »

Wow thank you very much �������� that worked, it has started up and I can see my desktop as normal, the power cut must have happened while it was configuring the new updates as that’s what came up first.

I could really do with sorting out my computer as this happens too often and one day I fear I’ll never get it going again, how can I diagnose what the problem is? I think I’d like to factory reset and fit a new hard drive if possible, how do I go about doing this please?

Thanks

So you are still running Windows 7?

Maybe this is a good time to purchase an SSD and install Windows 10 Pro on it. It's a free upgrade for you. https://uk.crucial.com/gbr/en/ct250mx500ssd1
We'll leave your original HDD intact, in so you can go back to it if necessary.

You'll also need an empty USB Flash drive of at least 8 GB that you can use to create the installation media.

Let us know when you have everything at hand and we'll go through the steps necessary.

We'll need to create Windows 10 installation media, in order to take a snapshot of your current Windows 7 installation, before we attempt to clean install Windows 10 to the SSD.

mikeopvc

Thanks for the replies, had some time away and just got back.

mikeopvc

grumpycrab wrote: »

before you start, have you got a backup plan?

I do have a back up, I back up once a week onto my seagate external drive

mikeopvc

Heedtheadvice wrote: »

Good news. Now you are back up and running you should do some sensible things.


1 Do a backup. If all else fails you can then load your backup to get back to the current working state - an alternative to 'last known good configuration' that makes a copy of everything so it would not matter what you loose and includes not just windows but any apps you have installed.

Later on, if you do more diagnostic work, maybe fix any problems found, virus check, do updates etc. you can repeat. My suggestion is download Macrium Reflect, make a recovery disk or stick and do full disk backup (every partition) to a clean external hard drive. Low cost and can save hours of worry and work. Future backups can be a bit less rigerous and shorter.



2 Full Virus check/clean using your current software and then also Malware bytes (download if you do not have it, the free or trial version) get it running with default actions/quaranteen if anything found. Ensure before running that all the antivirus app, its data is and Malwarebytes is updated before running the checks or you might be wasting your time.



3 Do a full hard disk check. Disk manufacturers web sites have them for free. That will give you confidence in disk working state. Seagate's ones are those I use.


4 check bios version and update if needs be.


5 set a restore point (easy quick revert in case things go wrong) do your Windows updates, set updates to download automatically is an option - same for any apps that auto check.



6 if any changes have been made do the full backup process again.


7 set up a schedule to do a system backup and a separate data backup. Consider to your new hard drive and to the cloud.


Now that might seem quite a lot so take it step by step. It will help to ensure your pc and it's stored data are more secure and can be recovered easily if there are future problems. Some will argue that it is overkill a bit (and suggest other things I have missed such as updated drivers, browser updates add-ons etc) but it takes not too much work, is low cost and if you loose use of your PC or valuable data you will not regret it!


Several posters can tell you how to do each step.

That all looks a bit daunting to me, I suppose taking it one step at a time it won't be so bad and I do need to sort this computer out.

mikeopvc

that wrote: »

From Heedtheadvice excellent list

8) Know how to restore. Understand the limitations of the backup method, and what can be restored. Have multiple, regular backups from different dates, not just one. Acknowledge that items backed up will go faulty or bad over time just by sitting there on a shelf.

I don't really know how to restore, I am backing up every week

mikeopvc

EveryWhere wrote: »

So you are still running Windows 7?

Maybe this is a good time to purchase an SSD and install Windows 10 Pro on it. It's a free upgrade for you. https://uk.crucial.com/gbr/en/ct250mx500ssd1
We'll leave your original HDD intact, in so you can go back to it if necessary.

You'll also need an empty USB Flash drive of at least 8 GB that you can use to create the installation media.

Let us know when you have everything at hand and we'll go through the steps necessary.

We'll need to create Windows 10 installation media, in order to take a snapshot of your current Windows 7 installation, before we attempt to clean install Windows 10 to the SSD.

This is the main problem for me, Windows 10 I mean, it was an automatic windows 10 upgrade that started all the problems a few years ago, apparently Dell say that my particular computer is not compatible with windows 10 so now I have something called "Never 10" which prevents an automatic download of windows 10.

Does that make sense?



I'm not sure if I have done the pic right but I've tried to attach a pic of the never 10 thing

mikeopvc

mikeopvc

Looks like the link for the pic is not there sorry

EveryWhere

mikeopvc wrote: »

This is the main problem for me, Windows 10 I mean, it was an automatic windows 10 upgrade that started all the problems a few years ago, apparently Dell say that my particular computer is not compatible with windows 10 so now I have something called "Never 10" which prevents an automatic download of windows 10.

Does that make sense?



I'm not sure if I have done the pic right but I've tried to attach a pic of the never 10 thing

Your PC is more than fine for Windows 10. Often the issue is with trying to upgrade to Windows 10 over the top of a previous installation of another operating system. A clean install will take care of that.
DELL only state that because they don't supply Drivers for Windows 10 via their website. But that doesn't mean that it won't work. It will.
But best to run a clean install. Which is what will happen if you do so to a new solid state drive.

The specification is still good. So the fitting of a good quality SSD and installing Windows 10 Pro to it will improve the performance considerably.
Do not worry about it not working. It will.

We can talk you through the process.

What edition of Windows 7 are you running and what version and edition of Windows is indicated on the Microsoft COA sticker on the device?