Startup can't repair itself. ME is in recovery mode!

[MSKHAN]

Hello,

MY laptop won't boot up. When I turn it on, it says that ME is in recovery mode and then windows tries to repair itself. Gives me various options. I tried start up repair and this is what it says:

http://s24.postimg.org/baam7b5sl/IMG_0130.jpg

I clicked on the details and this is what they show:

http://s24.postimg.org/am1rod72t/IMG_0131.jpg

http://s24.postimg.org/emdiecmxh/IMG_0132.jpg

http://s24.postimg.org/mdu8cwr2t/IMG_0133.jpg

http://s16.postimg.org/camid9wlx/IMG_0134.jpg

http://s16.postimg.org/u1y4rqc0l/IMG_0135.jpg

What I can get from that is that the computer can't find the OS files.

I looked up on google and found Dell's website talking about how the ME error is caused by bad BIOS and one needs to update their BIOS for that. They also said that that makes it difficult for the system to communicate with the hard drive. Which kinda explains why "No OS files were found" message was shown by the test result.

Is there a way to safely repair the start up without losing my files?

Now I have the options to go with Startup Repair again or one of the following:
- System Restore (update: tried it and it says that I have no restore points saved. I doubt if that is actually true)
- System Image recovery (update: similar issues as above)
- Windows Memory Diagnostic (Done but that has nothing to do with anything and didn't help)
- Command Prompt ( no clue how to use this for anything relevant)
- Lenovo Product Recovery (this will wipe everything clean to factory default which I don't want)


Any suggestions?

 

[bigmck]

When did this problem start and did you do anything unusual to the computer immediately before you had the problem or was there a power outage or some strange event before the problem?

 

[MSKHAN]

When did this problem start and did you do anything unusual to the computer immediately before you had the problem or was there a power outage or some strange event before the problem?

I'm sorry for not including all details as my post was too big already. This is the history:

My laptop is a ThinkPad W520. I had some fan issues and took it to incompetent fools pretending to be laptop servicing experts, who connected the fan directly(their words) to keep it going full speed. They also forgot to connect my webcam/nightlight after their operation. Recently, I found out that it just won't boot up. It was shutting itself down to protect the CPU as the fan wasn't working. I bought a replacement fan from IBM and took it to another bunch of fools to put that one in. They returned the laptop to me and couldn't even put the fan back in. However, the thing at least was turning the display on after I pressed the power button. It gave me 3 errors before the auto-shutdown:
1. Bad CRC
2. Date/Time
3. Fan error

I also discovered after opening up the laptop myself that the fools forgot to put back my BIOS battery into the laptop. Then I took it to other folks. These people installed the new fan and the BIOS battery. Therefore the laptop booted up and I went to BIOS and set date and time and all errors were gone. However, I landed on a completely new one. The "ME is in recovery mode" error. After showing me that, it took me to this windows is repairing screen:

http://s16.postimg.org/5e4qjupn9/IMG_0128.jpg

Followed by: http://s16.postimg.org/g28hiozmd/IMG_0129.jpg

I tried the Startup Repair option. That was followed by an automatic reboot, showing the "ME is in recovery mode" again followed by the "Starting Windows" screen. Then I was stuck at that screen for a good 50 mins. That was followed by what I posted on the original post. It failed to repair itself.

I googled the "ME is in recovery mode" thing and the only thing I found was from a dell website post where it was talking about how this can make it difficult for the system to communicate with the HDD. That kinda explained to me why no windows files were found by the start up repair process.

 

[bigmck]

I found this article and it might be the one that you found earlier about your problem. It explains it in great detail but the short story is that the firmware in the BIOS needs to be corrected. Something that only a very knowledgeable person can do. If you still have a warranty on your Laptop, Lenovo can correct it for you. It appears from the article that when your CMOS battery was removed it might have caused the problem. I hope this helps you some.
ME is in Recovery State after flashing BIOS to v. A13 on a Dell Latitude e6520 - General Hardware - Laptop - Dell Community

 

[MSKHAN]

I found this article and it might be the one that you found earlier about your problem. It explains it in great detail but the short story is that the firmware in the BIOS needs to be corrected. Something that only a very knowledgeable person can do. If you still have a warranty on your Laptop, Lenovo can correct it for you. It appears from the article that when your CMOS battery was removed it might have caused the problem. I hope this helps you some.
ME is in Recovery State after flashing BIOS to v. A13 on a Dell Latitude e6520 - General Hardware - Laptop - Dell Community

Lenevo website provided instructions for the BIOS update using an ISO.

- Managed to burn the ISO file onto a disc.
- Followed the Lenovo instructions for BIOS update and this is what I got:

http://s24.postimg.org/j6h84vfhx/IMG_0201.jpg

http://s24.postimg.org/omzvz98vp/IMG_0202.jpg

http://s24.postimg.org/skn5onvp1/IMG_0203.jpg

http://s24.postimg.org/dm4qu8gmt/IMG_0199.jpg

http://s24.postimg.org/ldlgssks5/IMG_0204.jpg

http://s24.postimg.org/g0wmenwvp/IMG_0206.jpg

http://s24.postimg.org/e3zwa367p/IMG_0207.jpg

http://s24.postimg.org/ya3e8z1v9/IMG_0208.jpg


So the flashing happened. That was followed by a reboot. Which took me to that same "ME is in recovery mode" screen again. That was followed by a blank screen for a while and how I see the Starting Windows screen (seeing it for 15 mins now).

 

[bigmck]

If you flashed the BIOS OK, I would think that the remaining problem would be a bad HDD. Mine went bad a few months ago. I did not see the "ME" message that you are seeing, it just went to Windows Logo and stopped. I am about out of ideas.

 

[MSKHAN]

If you flashed the BIOS OK, I would think that the remaining problem would be a bad HDD. Mine went bad a few months ago. I did not see the "ME" message that you are seeing, it just went to Windows Logo and stopped. I am about out of ideas.

I tried to log in using SAFE MODE. This is what I got:

http://s22.postimg.org/wxyqvi6lt/IMG_0312.jpg

It has been stuck at that point for over 10 mins now. Do you know if windows will be able to repair it's start up problems better if I used the installation disc of my particular version of Windows to boot it up and repair?

I really want to fix windows as I can't afford to lose any files or even many of my settings and all that.

 

[bigmck]

If you flashed the BIOS OK, I would think that the remaining problem would be a bad HDD. Mine went bad a few months ago. I did not see the "ME" message that you are seeing, it just went to Windows Logo and stopped. I am about out of ideas.

I tried to log in using SAFE MODE. This is what I got:

http://s22.postimg.org/wxyqvi6lt/IMG_0312.jpg

It has been stuck at that point for over 10 mins now. Do you know if windows will be able to repair it's start up problems better if I used the installation disc of my particular version of Windows to boot it up and repair?

I really want to fix windows as I can't afford to lose any files or even many of my settings and all that.

You said in your first post, you had done that. If not certainly do it. As I said, it looks like you have a bad HDD.

 

[MSKHAN]

If you flashed the BIOS OK, I would think that the remaining problem would be a bad HDD. Mine went bad a few months ago. I did not see the "ME" message that you are seeing, it just went to Windows Logo and stopped. I am about out of ideas.

I tried to log in using SAFE MODE. This is what I got:

http://s22.postimg.org/wxyqvi6lt/IMG_0312.jpg

It has been stuck at that point for over 10 mins now. Do you know if windows will be able to repair it's start up problems better if I used the installation disc of my particular version of Windows to boot it up and repair?

I really want to fix windows as I can't afford to lose any files or even many of my settings and all that.

You said in your first post, you had done that. If not certainly do it. As I said, it looks like you have a bad HDD.

You misunderstood my first post. I did try startup recovery. However, that was not using an installation disc. My laptop itself was giving me that option.The other day however, I got a windows 7 professional disc and tried to do the recovery. The result was the same. It said that it can't automatically do it.

Given that both methods failed, what am I to do now? I think my HDD works fine with a usb. I have tried transferring files to and from it using the USB thing I have for it. I have done that after my laptop started having these issues. I really don't want to lose my files and various settings (browser data!!). Any suggestions? I have 500 gb external HDD too, which is more than enough space for all the contents I wish to transfer.

 

[bigmck]

Did your laptop come with Windows 7 installed? If that is the case, you can not take just any Win 7 disk and expect it to do a Start Up Repair. The Win 7 files that come on a laptop are not the same as the disk you buy in the store. == Why are you sure that your HDD is working? I understand that you don't want to lose your files. That is the reason people have a Backup of their System. I don't know what else to tell you, except in the future run a weekly backup using Macrium Reflect. Next time something fails, you will not lose your Data.

 

[MSKHAN]

Did your laptop come with Windows 7 installed? If that is the case, you can not take just any Win 7 disk and expect it to do a Start Up Repair. The Win 7 files that come on a laptop are not the same as the disk you buy in the store. == Why are you sure that your HDD is working? I understand that you don't want to lose your files. That is the reason people have a Backup of their System. I don't know what else to tell you, except in the future run a weekly backup using Macrium Reflect. Next time something fails, you will not lose your Data.

Yes, my laptop came with Windows 7 Professional 64 bit installed. I used a disc for that particular OS to try and recover. So what files are different on my disc? How do I go about doing anything recovery wise at this point?

As we speak, I have my HDD connected to this pc that I am using and I can browse everything and see all files. They are all okay. That is what makes me sure that my HDD is okay.

 

[bigmck]

Did your laptop come with Windows 7 installed? If that is the case, you can not take just any Win 7 disk and expect it to do a Start Up Repair. The Win 7 files that come on a laptop are not the same as the disk you buy in the store. == Why are you sure that your HDD is working? I understand that you don't want to lose your files. That is the reason people have a Backup of their System. I don't know what else to tell you, except in the future run a weekly backup using Macrium Reflect. Next time something fails, you will not lose your Data.

Yes, my laptop came with Windows 7 Professional 64 bit installed. I used a disc for that particular OS to try and recover. So what files are different on my disc? How do I go about doing anything recovery wise at this point?

As we speak, I have my HDD connected to this pc that I am using and I can browse everything and see all files. They are all okay. That is what makes me sure that my HDD is okay.

The Win 7 that comes installed on PC's are called OEM copies of Win 7. The ones you buy in stores on a disk are Retail Copies of Win 7. The files that are put on your PC by the manufacturer are different than what is on a Disc you buy. The PC should have had a Recover Partition that has everything you need to restore you files back to how they were. You do not need to be concerned with that at this point. Your HDD is fine. The first thing I would do is backup your files using Macrium Reflect Free It makes an image of your HDD so that if in the future there is a problem, you just take 15 minutes to restore the image to you HDD and you are in business again. You do not need a Win 7 disc or a Recovery Partition. You use your Macrium image of your HDD and restore it and things are just as they were before. All of your personal files and Win 7. If you have an external HDD to store your images on, that is what you need because the images can not be on the same HDD as your Win 7. Before we get back to fixing your PC, lets get the image of your files made so that they are safe. Macrium gives you a choice of a "Clone" or an "Image". The image is better as it takes up less space and is more reliable as a backup. When you get the image made, the software will ask "Do you want to make a Restore Disk". You need to do that. It is a CD that will allow you to boot your PC so that you can restore your image if your PC is completely dead. == If you could do that and get back to me or ask any questions before you do it, that will save your files.

 

[MSKHAN]

Did your laptop come with Windows 7 installed? If that is the case, you can not take just any Win 7 disk and expect it to do a Start Up Repair. The Win 7 files that come on a laptop are not the same as the disk you buy in the store. == Why are you sure that your HDD is working? I understand that you don't want to lose your files. That is the reason people have a Backup of their System. I don't know what else to tell you, except in the future run a weekly backup using Macrium Reflect. Next time something fails, you will not lose your Data.

Yes, my laptop came with Windows 7 professional 64 bit installed.

I know my HDD is working because of 2 reasons:

- I have a usb thing that I can use to connect 2.5 inch HDDs to other computers and use them as external drives. I used that on my HDD and could access everything.
- I just used a Ubuntu live disc to boot up my computer and it is working fine! I can even browse the files on my C drive using that!

Is that not evidence that windows is more dysfunctional than my machine?

 

[bigmck]

Your reply in Post 13 was the same as in Post 11. In my post 12, I told you what to do to save your files.

 

[MSKHAN]

Did your laptop come with Windows 7 installed? If that is the case, you can not take just any Win 7 disk and expect it to do a Start Up Repair. The Win 7 files that come on a laptop are not the same as the disk you buy in the store. == Why are you sure that your HDD is working? I understand that you don't want to lose your files. That is the reason people have a Backup of their System. I don't know what else to tell you, except in the future run a weekly backup using Macrium Reflect. Next time something fails, you will not lose your Data.

Yes, my laptop came with Windows 7 Professional 64 bit installed. I used a disc for that particular OS to try and recover. So what files are different on my disc? How do I go about doing anything recovery wise at this point?

As we speak, I have my HDD connected to this pc that I am using and I can browse everything and see all files. They are all okay. That is what makes me sure that my HDD is okay.

The Win 7 that comes installed on PC's are called OEM copies of Win 7. The ones you buy in stores on a disk are Retail Copies of Win 7. The files that are put on your PC by the manufacturer are different than what is on a Disc you buy. The PC should have had a Recover Partition that has everything you need to restore you files back to how they were. You do not need to be concerned with that at this point. Your HDD is fine. The first thing I would do is backup your files using Macrium Reflect Free It makes an image of your HDD so that if in the future there is a problem, you just take 15 minutes to restore the image to you HDD and you are in business again. You do not need a Win 7 disc or a Recovery Partition. You use your Macrium image of your HDD and restore it and things are just as they were before. All of your personal files and Win 7. If you have an external HDD to store your images on, that is what you need because the images can not be on the same HDD as your Win 7. Before we get back to fixing your PC, lets get the image of your files made so that they are safe. Macrium gives you a choice of a "Clone" or an "Image". The image is better as it takes up less space and is more reliable as a backup. When you get the image made, the software will ask "Do you want to make a Restore Disk". You need to do that. It is a CD that will allow you to boot your PC so that you can restore your image if your PC is completely dead. == If you could do that and get back to me or ask any questions before you do it, that will save your files.

I didn't get the part I highlighted in red.

This is what I think you are asking me to do:

- Use the Macrium software to create an image of my HDD.
- Once that is done, use that to restore the computer???

I am confused about that bit. How would it work? I'd just have an image of my HDD. How does that lead to a recovery?

I am a bit confused about how the recovery bit will take place. Or are you suggesting that the recovery disc that I will make with that software will be able to restore my Windows installation?

 

[bigmck]

I am trying to get you to make a backup of your files so you will have that. You do not want to restore anything at this point, but you do need a backup of your files. You don't have one. We will work on getting your PC going after you do this. Just follow my message above make the Image of your HDD and make the Recover Disk and then we will work on getting your PC going.

 

[MSKHAN]

I am trying to get you to make a backup of your files so you will have that. You do not want to restore anything at this point, but you do need a backup of your files. You don't have one. We will work on getting your PC going after you do this. Just follow my message above make the Image of your HDD and make the Recover Disk and then we will work on getting your PC going.

Alright, I need some help with the back up. This is the problem:

The laptop I can use right now for the back up thing doesn't have more than one functioning USB ports!! There are two others that just doesn't work for some reason. I will do a fresh installation of windows on this one after I am done with my laptop. Anyway, this laptop doesn't have enough space for me to save the disk image on this laptop. Therefore, this is what I was thinking about doing:

- Use the Ubuntu Live CD to boot up my Thinkpad
- IF IT IS possible, connect the external HDD to my Thinkpad and save the disk image of Thinkpad on the external HDD.
- Once that is done, I can do a fresh windows install on my Thinkpad.
- Once Windows is up and running on it, I can plug my external HDD back into my Thinkpad and just copy paste files from there to my new windows.

Is this doable?

 

[bigmck]

I am trying to get you to make a backup of your files so you will have that. You do not want to restore anything at this point, but you do need a backup of your files. You don't have one. We will work on getting your PC going after you do this. Just follow my message above make the Image of your HDD and make the Recover Disk and then we will work on getting your PC going.

Alright, I need some help with the back up. This is the problem:

The laptop I can use right now for the back up thing doesn't have more than one functioning USB ports!! There are two others that just doesn't work for some reason. I will do a fresh installation of windows on this one after I am done with my laptop. Anyway, this laptop doesn't have enough space for me to save the disk image on this laptop. Therefore, this is what I was thinking about doing:

- Use the Ubuntu Live CD to boot up my Thinkpad
- IF IT IS possible, connect the external HDD to my Thinkpad and save the disk image of Thinkpad on the external HDD.
- Once that is done, I can do a fresh windows install on my Thinkpad.
- Once Windows is up and running on it, I can plug my external HDD back into my Thinkpad and just copy paste files from there to my new windows.

Is this doable?

I really don't think it is your Win 7 that is the problem. There is something in the Bios that is messed up. I was just trying to get a backup of your files, but that is not working. You might be better off just Googling "ME in Recovery Mode" and see if you can find anything. I have about come to the end of my knowledge base on this.

 

[MSKHAN]

I am trying to get you to make a backup of your files so you will have that. You do not want to restore anything at this point, but you do need a backup of your files. You don't have one. We will work on getting your PC going after you do this. Just follow my message above make the Image of your HDD and make the Recover Disk and then we will work on getting your PC going.

Alright, I need some help with the back up. This is the problem:

The laptop I can use right now for the back up thing doesn't have more than one functioning USB ports!! There are two others that just doesn't work for some reason. I will do a fresh installation of windows on this one after I am done with my laptop. Anyway, this laptop doesn't have enough space for me to save the disk image on this laptop. Therefore, this is what I was thinking about doing:

- Use the Ubuntu Live CD to boot up my Thinkpad
- IF IT IS possible, connect the external HDD to my Thinkpad and save the disk image of Thinkpad on the external HDD.
- Once that is done, I can do a fresh windows install on my Thinkpad.
- Once Windows is up and running on it, I can plug my external HDD back into my Thinkpad and just copy paste files from there to my new windows.

Is this doable?

Let's try a different angle then. Do you have any personal files on C: drive of the Thinkpad or hopefully the C: drive is only Win 7 and your personal files are on a different partition?

There is only one usable drive on my Thinkpad. That is the C drive with both windows and all my stuff in it. The other is a recovery partition.

Edit: What would happen if I just used Ubuntu to simply copy the entire C drive onto my external HDD? Would things like the files inside program files, documents, pictures/etc survive? I won't be using this back up to restore anything anyway. I am expecting to manually install all my programs in my fresh windows install anyway. I'd be fine as long as I can access the AppData, Program files, saved docs/images/etc. For example, I'd love to retain various config files of certain software, icons/logs/etc that are now present inside the AppData folder.

 

[bigmck]

Alright, I need some help with the back up. This is the problem:

The laptop I can use right now for the back up thing doesn't have more than one functioning USB ports!! There are two others that just doesn't work for some reason. I will do a fresh installation of windows on this one after I am done with my laptop. Anyway, this laptop doesn't have enough space for me to save the disk image on this laptop. Therefore, this is what I was thinking about doing:

- Use the Ubuntu Live CD to boot up my Thinkpad
- IF IT IS possible, connect the external HDD to my Thinkpad and save the disk image of Thinkpad on the external HDD.
- Once that is done, I can do a fresh windows install on my Thinkpad.
- Once Windows is up and running on it, I can plug my external HDD back into my Thinkpad and just copy paste files from there to my new windows.

Is this doable?

Let's try a different angle then. Do you have any personal files on C: drive of the Thinkpad or hopefully the C: drive is only Win 7 and your personal files are on a different partition?

There is only one usable drive on my Thinkpad. That is the C drive with both windows and all my stuff in it. The other is a recovery partition.

Edit: What would happen if I just used Ubuntu to simply copy the entire C drive onto my external HDD? Would things like the files inside program files, documents, pictures/etc survive? I won't be using this back up to restore anything anyway. I am expecting to manually install all my programs in my fresh windows install anyway. I'd be fine as long as I can access the AppData, Program files, saved docs/images/etc. For example, I'd love to retain various config files of certain software, icons/logs/etc that are now present inside the AppData folder.

That would work to save your Personal Files. As I said, I do not think Reinstalling Windows will help your problem. == So that you will not be exposing your personal files in the future, you should put you Win 7 and programs on the C: drive and make another partition to put your personal files on. This way you can reinstall Windows at anytime and not worry about your personal files. == When you get this problem corrected I suggest strongly that you start using Macrium Reflect to make an Image weekly so you do not risk losing your files again. Good Luck