Windows 10 rollback stuck

Anonymous
2018-01-16T17:00:04+00:00

A client of mine has a Windows 10 desktop she bought a couple of years ago. Last week a user (we think her grandson) tried to rollback to a previous version of Windows. But, since Windows 10 is the original OS on the computer, it's stuck. Asks for keyboard language, then gives options to run Windows rollback or Windows 10. When you choose, it reboots and goes right back to the keyboard options. How can I get past this and fix the issue?

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Windows update

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Anonymous
2018-01-16T18:46:36+00:00

Hi Andrea,

Corrupted system files after trying to rollback are one of the possible reasons why this issue is happening. Usually, restarting the computer should resolve the issue.

If the issue still persists even after restarting your computer, we recommend repairing Windows thru Advanced options. Follow the steps below:

  1. Press F8 while booting your computer to access System Recovery options.
  2. Click Troubleshoot.
  3. Select Command Prompt.
  4. Enter the following commands below, then press Enter after each command:
    • chkdsk c: /f
    • bootrec /fixmbr
    • bootrec /fixboot
    • bootrec /rebuildbcd
    • bcdboot c:\windows /s c:
  5. Once done with the above commands, restart your computer and see if the problem is fixed.

Keep us in the loop with the result.

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  1. Anonymous
    2018-05-26T01:22:56+00:00

    That is excellent that you have backed up your important user files & downloads. You are in decent shape should a clean install be necessary. And it could be a good thing to do even unnecessarily to clear off accumulated junk & manufacturer bloatware. (You also have a 30 GB Lenovo partition that could get you back to factory state. It would remove accumulated junk but restore the bloatware.)

    (1) I think that last picture you show is of Rufus that burned your ISO to USB media.

    (a) Where did you get the ISO from? I hope it was from the official Microsoft site...

    https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

    Download Windows 10 - Currently, this is v.1803

    Make a Windows 10 Installation USB drive or burn an ISO to DVD. As the site says, match it to the Edition (Home, Pro, etc.), Language, & Architecture (x64/64-bit or x86/32-bit) of the computer on which it will be used. I don't know - but I doubt - there is something within the ISO itself that would restrict it to one or the other partition schemes (MBR or GPT). However, if you get it from there, all doubt is removed. And you wouldn't need Rufus either.

    (b) Where Rufus says, "MBR partition scheme for UEFI or BIOS" - it is speaking I think of the partition scheme or style on the USB media - not the one on the HDD in the computer. The partition style on the USB drive will be MBR - that's fine. Also, sounds like it is set to make the USB media bootable whether BIOS is in UEFI or in Legacy mode & whether the boot option chosen is for UEFI or Legacy. All is good with that, I think.

    https://www.lifewire.com/how-to-burn-an-iso-file-to-a-usb-drive-2619270

    How to Burn an ISO File to a USB Drive

    Note: That's a 3rd-party site. Looks smart, but I know nothing of the links or downloads there.

    (2) But the partition scheme on the HDD in the computer is GPT, going by the error message you got, namely "Windows cannot be installed to this disk. The selected disk is of the GPT style.". Therefore...

    (a) You must set BIOS to be in UEFI mode.

    (b) You must select to boot the USB drive in UEFI mode.

    When the BIOS is in Legacy mode, it will offer just one way to boot the USB media (on the BIOS Boot Menu screen) - Legacy mode. In that case, Windows must install to a HDD that is in the MBR format. Yours is in the GPT format. So, at that "Choose a partition" screen, you'd have to delete all the partitions, including the Lenovo partition & click "Next". Then Windows would reformat the HDD to MBR style automatically & create all new partitions in which to install Windows. (You could do the same with BIOS in UEFI mode & selecting the Legacy boot option for the USB drive. But you will lose all the benefits of a UEFI install. It will be a Legacy install.)

    However, if the BIOS is in UEFI mode, you may see two ways to boot the USB drive. You must select the one that identifies itself to be UEFI mode. Then, the existing GPT style is acceptable. And it will be as I wrote in my prior post. You could delete the top 4 partitions, select the unallocated space created, & click "Next". That's a true clean install, & it preserves the Lenovo partition. You get all new Windows partitions, but no C:\Windows.old that would hold the current Windows version & files.

    Or, you could select the 433.9 GB Primary partition (which is the current Windows partition), & click "Next". This is a clean install too, meaning no apps you've installed or that the computer manufacturer installed will survive. Maybe it asks whether to keep files, I don't know. If not, those are gone too. However, you should get a C:\Windows.old that should hold everything including the files. The existing EFI system & recovery partitions will be repurposed for the new Windows.

    Here is a definitive write-up of a clean install...

    https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-windows_install/clean-install-windows-10/1c426bdf-79b1-4d42-be93-17378d93e587

    Clean Install Windows 10

    See where he says, " (Note:  If you did not rescue files stranded in C using the bootable media step earlier, you can save them here.  Instead of deleting partitions, just click on C and choose Next without deleting or formatting.  This will archive your files in C:\windows.old.  But it is not as clean of an install.)".

    (3) But see what Kyle62 found...

    https://mspoweruser.com/avast-issues-a-fix-for-the-windows-10-april-2018-update-problem/

    Avast issues a fix for the Windows 10 April 2018 Update problem

    Note: Another 3rd-party site. Looks good, but I know nothing of links or downloads there.

    It's an excellent write-up of what others have been posting in this thread to achieve a repair-install that keeps everything. Except...

    At step 9, be sure to match Edition (Home, Pro, etc.) & Language as well as Architecture (x64/64-bit or x86/32-bit).

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  2. Anonymous
    2018-05-25T22:18:09+00:00

    I posted this on Tomshardware fourms with no replies, so I'm posting it here hoping I can get help, becuase my problem is still not fixed :(

    All of this trouble started after a recent windows 10 update, I rebooted my computer to continue the install and it lead me to a "Choose your keyboard layout" (language options), I clicked on mine and sends me to another page with more options and to continue to desktop (or it said to continue to "windows rollback"). I click to continue. It reboots again and leads me back to the "Choose your keyboard layout" and the process starts all over again. It would not let me go to a restore point or boot with a usb to do a reinstall, or to even boot into safe mode. 

    I went to the Microsoft fourms to seek help and a lot of other people were having the exact same issues, but there was no solution from Microsoft. I got a tip from another person commenting to change the loading default from "Windows rollback" to just "Windows volume 3" (there were 2 of these "Windows volume 3" options so I chose one of them) and my computer rebooted. But unfortunately now, it will boot the windows logo for 2 seconds (with no loading circle), shut down, reboot again in a loop and do the process over again until I intervene by shutting it down myself.

    Keep in mind, I can't do anything with f8, f10, f11, f12, because it just ignores me. I've tried rebooting over and over to trigger a repair, it doesn't work. And it also doesn't recognize the usb I made to reinstall windows 10. If anybody has a solution to this problem I would be really grateful. I was hoping to have saved my data and files, but at this point I'm just hoping I can get my computer working again. It's not that old of a computer, I've only had it for a few months.

    I had also just recently, like a month or two ago, installed a new graphics card. I don't know if that would be a factor or not, I'm hoping I don't having to remove it, but if it's a last resort, I will. 

    Edit: Another thing that happens, is if I try and press any of the f8, f10, f11, f12 buttons before the logo shows up it won't even come up at all and it will just sit there with a black screen.

    Here's video of the reboot loop: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKm5BoZ26ks

    In addition, if I need to do something with the hardware, like resetting the BIOs battery or something, I can do that. Is there a way to reset the computer through the hardware? Doing anything with the keyboard or messing with the power button to try and trigger something isn't working.

    I feel like I'm trying to figure out a brick wall rn :(

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  3. Anonymous
    2018-05-25T18:03:22+00:00

    I followed these instructions step by step.

    But I didn't have the result as expected.

    So I had no choice but to reset Windows.

    Now my laptop seems to be working just fine and it's been updated to the latest version of Windows.

    I wasted 3 days of work just because of this.

    I don't know who's doing better, the community of Windows user, or the Microsoft's Help Center.

    Thank you, Zack!

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  4. Anonymous
    2018-05-25T17:19:05+00:00

    PC IS WORKING AGAIN AND EVERYTHING SEEMS BACK TO NORMAL. 

    The update process process took 60-90 minutes to completely finish including automatic restarts and finally the Windows login and then some further updating after that before seeing the desktop.  Of note, since Microsoft announced they had updated the Windows 10 ISO on May 24 to be on the safe side I downloaded it again before starting the fix instructions because I had downloaded it a few days ago and wanted the latest version.

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