Windows 10 gone after update

[meetdilip]

I was below 1903 version. ie the update which I had ( I set the wifi as metered connection, so it should not have downloaded in the first place ) got should be for 1903. Ok, whatever update it was, Windows 10 downloaded it all by itself and started installing it while I switched on the PC. At 86 %, the system shut down. This happened a few times.

Now I had to find a way out of this. So, I tried

1. sfc /scannow using command prompt through Windows 10 USB

2. Used 2 different restore points

3. Tried to reset the PC

4. Tried Startup repair

5. Rollback recent updates

All 5 failed. Now I decided to reinstall Windows 10 after taking backup of my files. While installing it almost gets installed ( all steps passed ) and after system restart, it had a BSOD and said: " critical process failed ". I tried to install 2 times more. The result was the same.

I am not sure what to try next. Any help will be great.

 

[pkkumarcool]

are you able to use your windows 10?

 

[omega44-xt]

Change your Win10 source maybe. Clean install is your best bet. Use some portable linux OS to boot it & maybe check if the storage drive is fone (as in if its failed). Idon't know how to check that in linux though, there might be a way, Google it.

 

[meetdilip]

are you able to use your windows 10?

No, boots normally and ends with " an unexpected occurred ".

Change your Win10 source maybe.

Tried with fresh 1909 last evening. Use a fresh Media Creation Tool from Microsoft.

Use some portable linux OS to boot it & maybe check if the storage drive is fone (as in if its failed).

I am able to store files into it through dual boot Linux.

When I tried Google says use Disks software in Ubuntu. It said the HDD has 56 bad sectors. But not sure whether they are in the same drive I am trying to install Windows. I don't know how to check that.

Clean install is your best bet.

As in wipe the HDD ?

So far 4 attempts. Everytime installation was a success, then it asks for a reboot, boots from HDD, gets some error and shuts down all by itself.

 

[omega44-xt]

Tried with fresh 1909 last evening. Use a fresh Media Creation Tool from Microsoft.

When I tried Google says use Disks software in Ubuntu. It said the HDD has 56 bad sectors. But not sure whether they are in the same drive I am trying to install Windows. I don't know how to check that.



As in wipe the HDD ?

So far 4 attempts. Everytime installation was a success, then it asks for a reboot, boots from HDD, gets some error and shuts down all by itself.

Oh, looks like your HDD is dying. Get a new one, that is likely causing the errors even after re-install of Windows. 240/480GB SSD costs 2.5/3.8k, Kingston A400 is a good budget SSD.

By clean install I meant, wiping whole C drive & installing using a copy of Win10 from MS (not laptop manufacturer or such).

 

[meetdilip]

56 bad sectors is too much ? Probably you are right, it could be due to bad sector in that drive..

installing using a copy of Win10 from MS (not laptop manufacturer or such).

I got it from MS.

wiping whole C drive & installing

This I should try.

 

[meetdilip]

Windows. 240/480GB SSD costs 2.5/3.8k, Kingston A400 is a good budget SSD.

*i.imgur.com/OGDPy9T.jpg

These are the pins from my current HDD. Will the SSD you suggest fit in that port ? Thanks.

 

[omega44-xt]

*i.imgur.com/OGDPy9T.jpg

These are the pins from my current HDD. Will the SSD you suggest fit in that port ? Thanks.

IDK

Is it a desktop or laptop? Former natively supports 3.5" drives, need a bracket for 2.5" drives. Latter has 2.5" drives.

All SSDs are either 2.5" one or M.2 (sized like RAM). Get a 2.5" SSD, Kingston A400 comes in that size.

 

[omega44-xt]

56 bad sectors is too much ? Probably you are right, it could be due to bad sector in that drive..

I got it from MS.

This I should try.

Yes

Not sure of the limit, but bad sectors are an indication of failing drive. Install CrystalDiskInfo & see the health status of your drive. It should be in yellow or red.

 

[meetdilip]

Install CrystalDiskInfo & see the health status of your drive.

Sadly, I still do not have a working Windows 10. Something like that for Ubuntu ?

Not sure of the limit, but bad sectors are an indication of failing drive

I always thought that there will always be some amount of bad sectors in old HDDs. It is time to think about backups then.

 

[patkim]

Sadly, I still do not have a working Windows 10. Something like that for Ubuntu ?

I assume you are asking how to see SMART using Linux.

Every Linux Distro is different. I personally use and prefer Linux Mint. In this distro there’s a utility GUI called Disks (You can search for it in the search bar) and run it. It is similar to Windows Disk Mgmt. You might need root access.
Since Ubuntu is base for many flavors it should be hopefully available in Ubuntu too.

Select the disk of your interest and go to the menu (In Mint it's 3 horizontal lines on top right) and select SMART and the SMART details will be listed in a user friendly format. Shortcut I believe CTRL + S.
See the below screenshots.

 

[meetdilip]

Using 18.04. These are the screenshots

 

[patkim]

SMART is still reporting the Health of the Drive as OK despite 56 reallocated sectors and the Normalized value has still not fallen below 100. In the end, SMART feels that the drive is OK as long as it will utilize those 56 sectors from reserved area and more bad sectors won’t develop but now it’s all uncertain.

What might have happened is that when Windows 10 was getting updated, drive developed bad sectors mostly from system partition which it tried to reallocate but in the process data loss might have occurred and that’s why Windows 10 got corrupted and now you are getting BSOD.

Using Linux or Rescue disks backup your data then delete your System partition and do a clean install of Windows 10 in that free space.

At this stage, if you are interested to use CrystalDiskInfo then look for third party WinPE disks like WinPE10_8_Sergei_Strelec on the net. Mind you those might contain unwanted apps/malware or so you never know. It however has CrystalDiskInfo portable on it. Create a bootable DVD or USB of such disks and boot using it. Use available tools to inspect HDD health then after backup is done use partition manager or default Windows tool to delete the system partition and try clean install approach. To get more friendly results in CrystalDisk use Menu Function – Advanced Features – Raw Values - 10 Dec 2

If you have a spare HDD, temporarily create a 30 GB partition on it and use it to install a clean Windows 10 just to rule out any other HW issues. If you have multiple disks connected just in case, connect only the disks on which you plan to install Windows to your system for the time being.