Wont boot up, wont repair, cant reset all because I improperly turned off

[newgranny]

What:  Dell Inspiron 22 - 3000 Series All-in-One - Model: 3277

Display:  21.5 inch FHD Touch Display with Webcam

Performance:  Intel Core i3-713OU Processor - 20GB Total Memory - 1TB Hard Drive - Integrated Intel HD Graphics

Software:  Windows 10 - Norton Security (unit came with McAfee LiveSafe installed, I uninstalled it months ago)

Includes:  Wireless-AC & Bluetooth - HDMI, USB3.1, & MCR - Waves MaxxAudio Pro - Wireless Keyboard & Mouse

4GB DRAM Memory & 16GB Intel Optane Memory.


Okay.  This might be long but my experience has been that techie people are like doctors in that patients need to tell everything about their symptoms as well as what happened before the symptoms, then the doctor decides what is relevant and what is not.

So, here we go.

I use this computer for personal things.  I watch (and sometimes save) tons of videos. I watch streaming online, upload hundreds of photos and memes (quite a few are saved in folders on my desktop).  I sell on eBay.  I research everything I sell before I list it, so I look at lots of graphic-heavy pages.  When photos on these pages start not opening, I clean out my browser via settings, close the browser and open a new one to continue my searching.

I am on Facebook and email frequently.  I do not use Word or Excel or anything like that.

I like to play the Mahjong game that came installed on this computer while I have a YouTube (or other) video running in the background (listening to it).  I frequently have a video playing in the background while I am doing something else in another browser window.

The only time this becomes a problem is when I am playing Mahjong while a video is running.  If it has been a couple hours or so (with both running at the same time) sometimes everything will freeze up and everything will go black for a few minutes but it usually resolves itself.  Then, I will close all browser windows, clean the cache, then I can start all over again without a problem.  I just have to remember to close the game and the browser windows every now and then so I do not run into this problem.

It is a pain in the *censored* and I am extremely disappointed that this happens in a Dell.  I have had many Dell computers over the years and this has never happened before.  But, I digress.

Anyway, the night before last night I had a video running and was playing Mahjong.  Both had been up for about an hour.  My husband called me upstairs to help him with something and when I came back downstairs my computer screen was black.  Not pitch black like when it is turned off, not that dark, but the shade of black that tells me my computer has (once again) frozen up.

This might be a good time to mention I use the colored bubbles screen saver that kicks in after 20 minutes (?).  There were no bubbles on the screen, just the black.  Also, my computer is set up when I am idle for a long time, the log on screen appears (with a variety of outdoor scenery pics that changes each day).  I do not like this, I wish this would only show up at log on not when I am away from my computer.

So, when I realized my computer was frozen, I moved my mouse back and forth.  The log on screen (the scenery pic where I put my pin number) did not appear, nothing happened.  I left-clicked my mouse a few times, nothing happened.

Frustrated, I held the power button until it turned off (hoping to reset and unfreeze my computer).

Now before you yell at me, doing this on other computers in the past (not frequently, I know this is not a good way to turn off a computer) has never been a problem.  What normally would happen is when I turned my computer back on, I would sit through a black screen that scrolled all the things it was checking to be sure the computer was okay (because of the way I turned it off) before allowing me to log back into Windows.

I fully expected that to happen this time ... BUT NOOOOOO ... this computer gives me a black screen saying PREPARING AUTOMATIC REPAIR and then another black screen saying DIAGNOSING PROBLEM then it changes to a blue screen that says:

AUTOMATIC REPAIR

YOUR PC DID NOT START CORRECTLY
Press Restart to restart your PC, wich can sometimes fix the problem.  You can also press Advance Options to try other options to repair your PC.

Restarting did not fix it.

So, I chose Advanced Options, which brought me to a blue screen that has more options:

CONTINUE
Exit and continue to Windows Recovery Environment

* Same Result*

USE ANOTHER OPERATING SYSTEM
Continue with another installed version of Windows

I clicked on that and my two choices are:

WINDOWS RECOVERY ENVIRONMENT
and
WINDOWS 10

* Same Result for Both *

and underneath those two options is a link that says:

CHANGE DEFAULTS

The options here are CHANGE THE TIMER and CHOOSE A DEFAULT OPERATING SYSTEM Current default: Windows Recovery Environment.

I did nothing here and went back to the ADVANCED OPTIONS screen.

This time I chose TROUBLESHOOT
Reset your PC or see advanced options

The TROUBLESHOOT options are:

RESET THIS PC
Lets you choose to keep or remove your personal files, and then reinstalls Windows.

I chose KEEP MY FILES, entered my BitLocker recovery key ... annnnnnnd .... nothing, did not work.  It goes up to about 40% then stops and says it could not reset my computer.

The other option is to REMOVE EVERYTHING which I will not do.  I have hundreds of photos on this computer, maybe over a thousand, that I cannot replace.

Yeah, yeah I know.  Why did I not upload a back to the Cloud?  Because it is not a mysterious place up in the clouds but, rather,  a bunch of computers at some company.  I do not trust it.  One of these days, some savvy hacker is going to hack into the various Cloud services and delete everything, corrupt it, or hold it for ransom.  No thanks.

When I bought this computer a couple years ago, I assumed it had a CD-ROM/DVD read/write drive or two or three on it.  Why?  Because when they first came out there was one drive on the computer.  Then, improved models had two.  I didnt even realize this computer did not have one until I wanted to pop a DVD movie in it to watch it.

A couple months ago, my computer would not let me in.  At the log in screen (with the pretty scenery pic), it kept saying my pin number was wrong.  I tried everything I could think of to get in and, in the end, I reset my computer (keeping my files).  It worked fine.  I was upset because I had about 80 links bookmarked that I lost (I was not synced to save them), but I got over it.

I do not understand why it will not let me reset it this time.

Back at the TROUBLESHOOT screen, the other option is FACTORY IMAGE RESTORE.  Again, I do not want to do this.

It is probably important to let you know ... after I tried all of the above things ... I powered the computer down (safely) and unplugged it from the wall.

I did not want to do it earlier in my efforts because we use our cell phone mobile hotspot for an internet connection and I knew once I had done that I would no longer have an internet connection and would not be able to turn it on again on the computer.  When I plugged it back in and turned it on, I got the same result as all the other things I have tried: nothing, no change.

So.  Here we are.

Are there any brave techie souls out there who are willing to help me?

-granny-

p.s.  On a positive note, I do have a 128GB ScanDisk Ultra USB 3.0 Flash Drive on hand (in case it can be used to back up my files ... if it is even possible at this point) and I promise I will start doing regular back-ups even if I have to scrape my pennies together to buy an external device to do it.

[Lisa_maree]

Thankyou for all the information very help full.
As the computer is running bit locker apart from hardware checks which are available in the bios options, I would test the memory and the Hard drive.
If they check out all ok try disabling the Optane memory how to do this is explained here  https://dl.dell.com/topicspdf/inspiron-22-3277-aio_users-guide_en-us.pdf
And see if that allows windows to boot.
I suspect the 1 TB hard drive. You would be better removing the optane memory and installing a SATA solid state hard drive Like a Crucial 1 TB  CT1000MX500SSD1.

[newgranny]

Thank you for your response.  How do I do this since windows will not open?  All I have access to are the blue screens I have listed in my post.  Is there a way to do this from there?

[Geek-9pm]

Yes, there is more to do. Use another PC to make a bookable OS that does not need a had drive to run. That can be use to startup up agnostic programs.

One that is still in use is Puppy Linux.
Puppy Linux Installation and Usage.
https://puppylinux.com/install.html

In any Linux, once you have downloaded the ISO image and verified its authenticity by checking its md5sum you can burn it to a DVD or a CD using any Linux optical burning tool. Just make sure you burn it as an image and not data otherwise it will not be bootable.

You can also burn it with most Widows CD burners that can do a bookable media.
This BIOS must allow any OS to boot up.
This is the best I can say to you at this point. 

[newgranny]

Thank you for your response!

Unfortunately, words like BOOKABLE and AGNOSTIC are like reading Greek to me ... I have no idea what they mean with regard to computers.

I am an old lady.  Not as old as Betty White was but old enough, and, I do not understand computer things unless they are spelled out to me step-by-step on what to do and where to find it and how to do it.

If you have the patience to deal with this old lady are you willing to give it a try??

[BC_Programmer]

bookable = bootable

agnostic = diagnostic

Geek-9pm uses a dictation tool to write posts and sometimes it writes out confusing words.

Thank you for your response.  How do I do this since windows will not open?  All I have access to are the blue screens I have listed in my post.  Is there a way to do this from there?

The settings described are in the BIOS Setup Program. You enter that by pressing F2 at the right time when prompted when the computer is first turning on and showing the Dell Logo.

I would guess that the HDD itself may be failing, though. If you are very lucky it's just a bit of corruption though. When it comes to HDDs having problems, I've learned to never be hopeful, as that always leads to  disappointment.

If the data is truly important you need to take it to somebody more technically inclined with the expertise to possibly get those important files you want to keep and put them on your Flash Drive. Though the drive being encrypted makes that a tricky proposition.

[Geek-9pm]

Thanks BC  for correcting my mistakes.   

 Now ask for me, I am an old man who has been using computers for many many years. But now that the technology is just getting too fast for me.
My remarks about The Puppy Linux operating system where intended to be a helpful tool for almost anybody that has some difficulty with understanding computer hardware. That particular program has been worked over by volunteers so that it usually works the first time on almost any computer that’s equipped with an Intel processor or the equivalent made by somebody else.
At the moment I am dictating this on another voice recognition system that I am trying out. Even though it is new to me, it is easier to use than Windows 10. Of course, I am actually using Windows 10 as I dictate this, but I am not using the dictation that is built into Windows 10. This is an alternative program made by another company and if it works out good for me I’ll tell other people more about it. Right now, it is too soon to tell he was going to be the best choice.
Anyway, here on this Farm you will find many people willing to help you for free. Nowadays it’s hard to find almost anything that really is free.
Hope you get your computer to working soon. 

[Lisa_maree]

H again,

To access the built in diagnostics  you carry out the instructions as described here

https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/en-ae/000181163/how-to-enter-the-built-in-diagnostics-32-bit-diagnostics-supportassist-epsa-epsa-and-psa

If the diagnostics pass then there is a problem with Windows which we can address after you have checked the hardware.

[BC_Programmer]

Geek, under normal circumstances, Linux would be a reasonable (if perhaps advanced!) option. But, in this case, the drive is encrypted with Bitlocker, so it won't be accessible from Linux for the purpose of file recovery.

[newgranny]

Thank you all for your responses, your suggestions are quite helpful!

I restarted the computer and held down the F12 key at the initial Dell screen and it opened a blue screen where I chose DIAGNOSTICS.  I read the instructions that Lisa_maree provided in the link from Dell to be sure I was doing it right, then I ran the hardware diagnostics.  It took about 5 minutes to complete and it said everything checked out okay (paraphrasing).

Then, it asked me if I wanted it to check memory and said it was reccommended so I said YES.  It was going to take a few hours to complete so I let it run overnight and I went to bed.  Well, guess what?  I woke up this morning to a box that says ALL TESTS PASSED.  VALIDATION :89949.  WOO HOO!!!

Now what should I do?

[newgranny]

I tried to reset to an earlier date and it failed.  The pop up box reccommended I run chkdsk /R.  There is a box that says COMMAND PROMPT  ... should I click on that box and run chkdsk /R???

[patio]

Yes...Note there is a space between chkdsk and the /r switch...
Do not interrupt it.

[newgranny]

I clicked on the command prompt box and it opened a black box that says:

Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.19041.1]
(c) 2019 Microsoft Corporation.  All rights reserved.

x:/windows/system32> and curser is flashing.

** What is x: drive?  I am not chkdsking c: drive?  Do I type the command where the curser is flashing or hit enter and go to the next line?  Please tell me exactly what to type so I do not screw this up **

[newgranny]

I figured out how to run chkdsk.  Nothing changed.  I went to the Dell website, found and downloaded their Dell OS Recovery Tool (thinking I could back download it onto my husbands notebook, plug it into my Dell Inspiron, back up my files, and reinstall Windows 10).

The problem is ... I kept getting a message while running the tool (at the end of Step 3):

The ISO file is currupt or damaged.

And, the program stopped.  A dozen times.  Ugh.

I contacted someone from Dell via their Facebook page, via telephone, and via their community forum on their website.  All three times, I was told I have to talk to a rep and it will be fee based because my computer is out of warranty.  Even though the problem is I am having a problem with their FREE download.

I am normally a calm person but this really ticked me off!  I ended up yelling at the last person so I dont think I will be getting any help from them.

If anyone knows what else I can do, please let me know.

Thank you.

[BC_Programmer]

Did you run the tool as Administrator? That is all I can think of regarding that tool.

However, it might be good luck it did not work, since the Dell Recovery Tool completely wipes the existing data on the drive. From what I've understood that isn't what you want, or you could have done the clean reset option available in the Windows Startup repair menus it throws you into.

1. You said you ran chkdsk. Looking through what has been noted here, did you run it on your harddrive? It looks like you noted there was that X: drive. X: drive is a "fake" drive that contains what is known as the preboot environment for diagnostics, it basically built in memory when you boot into it. chkdsk usually runs against the current drive by default, so maybe it ran against this In-memory drive? To run it against the hard drive, you want to get to that "black box" again- the Command Prompt, for reference and use this command:

Code: [Select]

chkdsk C: /r

2. Once you are sure it ran against the HDD (it will take a *very* long time, typically several hours, though I've seen it run for as long as 12.) see if the system will now boot normally.


3. If not, we can try the System file checker. In the same command prompt:

Code: [Select]

sfc /scannow
It should tell you if there were integrity problems, and what it does about them. Now I must confess it has been a while since I've had to run the sfc tool so I don't know if it might get stuck because it wants to repair a file but wants a DVD or CD or something, I have to imagine they updated that since I last used it to get that information from other sources but it will at least indicate if it finds a corrupted file.

If it still throws you into the same "recovery" menu after restarting, there is more you can try from within the aforementioned command prompt:

Code: [Select]

bootrec /rebuildbcd

This will take some time to complete. It scans the disk for Windows installations and attempts to rebuild the Windows "Boot Configuration Data". It might say "Number of WIndows Installations found: 0". Don't worry about that. Or, well... you can worry about that because it's not ideal but it might be fixed by the next two commands:

Code: [Select]

bootrec /fixmbr

and

Code: [Select]

bootrec /fixboot

And then reboot. Maybe it will let you in.

Fundamentally you've got two options here: either fix the existing Windows Installation (Which is what we are hoping to do above), or, find some way to back up the contents of the drive you want to keep, and then do a clean install of Windows.

The way I do the latter, I remove the Drive from the computer in question, attach it to another machine (either directly where possible or using an external enclosure device) and then I use Macrium Reflect to make an Image of the drive. Then I wipe the drive and reinstall the Operating System. If there is information/data I want from the old drive, I can grab it from the image file I made. This could include stuff I hadn't even considered or forgot was on the drive until months later.

However this approach is of course quite a bit more technically challenging and requires extra equipment in your case (I doubt you have a SATA USB Enclosure sitting around...)