Solved Computer crashed halfway through GPU drivers update. Now it won't boot

[rymdsylt]

Hi!

I posted this a few hours ago but in the wrong sub forum. Here I am at it again, hopefully in the right section and with a few more details.


I updated to my latest GPU driver and my computer crashed halfway through. After that it won't boot. I can see the Windows logo for a few seconds after the animation is done, but after that the computer restarts and Windows says that I should run the repair tool. This has happened before when I updated my GPU driver(Nvidia GeForce version 344.11, release date 2014 Sep 18, if that matters) and Windows repair tool fixed it that time. But this time I'm out of luck.

I've been looking around on the internet but haven't found a solution. Windows repair says that the root cause is error code 0x490. The solutions I've found didn't help(set disk to active in Diskpart and various bootrec/bootsec attempts). I thought I had a restore point to restore to but the repair tool says I don't, so that isn't an option.

DISKPART says that "Boot disk = 0". It also looks like the boot manager somehow disappeared since Windows can't find any disk with Windows installed on it(according to bootrec/bootsec).

I can access the command prompt via a boot-CD and via Windows built-in repair tool. If I need to run some other commands to either output more info for you to trouble shoot on, or fix via the prompt(which I believe and hope is possible), I'm all up for it. Just let me know what to do.

Regard,
Marcus

 

[MajorG]

Marcus, do you have a built in GPU on your Motherboard?
You can try disconnecting your current GPU and connecting your monitor to the built in one.
Maybe this will prevent the system trying to use the driver.

BTW, did you try also booting into windows in safe mode?

 

[rymdsylt]

Marcus, do you have a built in GPU on your Motherboard?
You can try disconnecting your current GPU and connecting your monitor to the built in one.
Maybe this will prevent the system trying to use the driver.

BTW, did you try also booting into windows in safe mode?

Unfortunately, I do not have a built in GPU. I was looking for that earlier but saw that my motherboard doesn't have one.

I've tried getting into safe mode but whatever I press during the boot screen won't take me there.

Let's say I manage to boot up into safe mode. My guess is that I should pick safe mode with internet over safe mode with out internet. Once I'm in, what should I do? The diskpart and bootrec/bootsec commands again?

Regards,
Marcus

 

[rymdsylt]

Alright, so I managed to get into safe mode(by spam-pressing F8 during boot up. I got in before the POST-screen was displayed). I'm a bit ashamed that I didn't try that earlier...

I'm gonna follow the guides here on sevenforums regarding Diskpart and bootrec/bootsec. I'll update the thread a bit later.

 

[rymdsylt]

Bootrec isn't recognized, it says.
Diskpart finally says that the "Boot disk"-flag is set to "Yes" now.

 

[rymdsylt]

While selecting to boot into safe mode with or without internet, I instead tried to use "start with last known working drivers". I'm now back online on my computer.

I uninstalled the drivers and am going to install the new ones again, this time hoping it'll work like intended.

Thank you MajorG for your tip about safe boot.

Regards,
Marcus

 

[MajorG]

While selecting to boot into safe mode with or without internet, I instead tried to use "start with last known working drivers". I'm now back online on my computer.

I uninstalled the drivers and am going to install the new ones again, this time hoping it'll work like intended.

Thank you MajorG for your tip about safe boot.

Regards,
Marcus

Good work mate.
Was happy to help