Stuck In Bootloop After Windows 10 Update Attempt

maaybraak · 22 Nov 2015

I recently attempted to update my father's laptop, which is a Dell Inspiron N5050, from Windows 7 to Windows 10. I did this by clicking the link for the free update that showed up on the bottom task bar. At first, it seemed to take well, as I was able to play 1 round of War Thunder without any issues. However, after that first round, it started rebooting constantly, and initiated the computer repair program that comes with Windows 10. I attempted every option that was available to no avail. I tried to go back to Windows 7 via the restore point that was supposed to have been created but wasn't, and a message stated that it couldn't find a restore point to restore to. So, after that, it began a bootloop, in which it would boot up, show the Dell Inspiron page with the F2: Setup and F12: Boot Options showing up, then it goes to the black screen of death. After the black screen, it just reboots and starts this process over again with the Dell Inspiron page and the F2/F12 options and so on. I downloaded a copy of Windows 10 and burned it to a disk from the Microsoft website and attempted to just reinstall Windows 10 on top of the bad one. Again, there were no results as the computer is unable to even read the disk in the CD/DVD Rom drive. So here I am, stuck in a perpetual boot loop, getting NO HELP from customer support unless I activate a "support plan" for $200 that I do not have to spend. Can someone please help me?

matts6887 · 22 Nov 2015

as much as i hate to say it; it sounds like something "bricked" the system as in made it useless. Are the documents etc backed up on this system? I only ask because it sounds like you may have to completely redo everything from fresh again as it seems like the file system got corrupted which could be why it is rebooting in a loop like that. take a look at the following link which may help you out:

Startup Repair Infinite Loop Recovery

fuzzypete · 23 Nov 2015

There are two possibilities
1. A recent driver is incompatible with Win 10 I would suspect War Thunder try this:
Hit F8 at startup and go to Safe Mode and negotiate to the exe file for War Thunder and right click and click on Properties. Select Compatibility and then Run in Windows 7 Compatibility.
Close your Windows and Restart.

2. You have had an Update which has not installed correctly this is also a problem usually occurring in Windows 10 Upgrade but this may help
Hit F8 at startup and go to Safe Mode then go to Start and type CMD for a Command Prompt
Right click on the Command Prompt and click run as Administrator.
In the Command Prompt window type net stop wuaserv and hit Enter
Next type net stop bits and hit Enter
Close the Command Prompt and go to C:\Windows\Software Distribution and delete all the contents of the folder
Close your Windows and Restart.
The worst that can happen is that you may revert to Win 7.

maaybraak · 23 Nov 2015

I am afraid that I'm not able to select Safe Mode at startup because it won't let me select either option of F2 or F12 at this point. The bootloop that it is stuck in won't allow any option to be selected nor any option performed...it just loops and loops and loops lol. Is there any way to perform a factory reset from my end, or will I need to just take it to a local repair shop and have them do it? I don't have the disk that came with the computer, and if I did, I really don't know what steps I would take to reinstall windows at this point. Thanks again for your time everyone.

fuzzypete · 24 Nov 2015

I think f2 is for the BIOS Setup and f12 is for the boot order

If you press f8 immediately after the POST beep it should give you start up options from which you can select Safe Mode

Do you have a Windows DVD? If is so you can use that to boot up Windows Repair and there may be an option to boot to Safe Mode