On a system with Avast antivirus installed, when upgrading to Windows 10, version 1803, Windows automatically restarts and one of these two conditions might be experienced: The upgrade appears to complete, but after signing in, you observe a blank screen with only a Recycle Bin and a taskbar. The mouse cursor is present, but the Start menu may not function. Pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del runs the Task Manager, but the Task Manager may not be helpful. During the upgrade, Windows restarts to a screen that prompts you to “ Choose your keyboard layout ”. From there, troubleshooting options can be selected, but none of them appear to resolve the issue. For example, if Windows Rollback is selected, the entire process repeats.

Updated (5/25/18): In cooperation with Avast, Microsoft has identified an element of the Avast Behavior Shield that conflicts with the April 2018 Update, and that may result in this experience. Avast has released an update to prevent this issue from occurring. Once you’ve restored your system, make sure your Avast antivirus is up-to-date. You can use one of the following methods to restore Windows. If your system currently boots to the Choose your keyboard layout screen, please try Method 1 first. Otherwise, skip to Method 2, which is a variation of a solution posted on the Avast forums . Method 1: Use Command Prompt to repair Windows Rollback At the “ Choose your keyboard layout ” screen, select a keyboard (such as US ). At the “ Choose an option screen” , verify that the top left tile reads “ Continue – Exit and continue to Windows Rollback ”. If this is not the case, please do not proceed further and use Method 2 instead. Select Troubleshoot . Select Command Prompt . In the cmd.exe window, type bcdedit and press Enter. There should be 4 entries displayed. Ignore the first entry, called {bootmgr}. The next entries should all have an attribute called “ device ” or “ bootstatdevice ”, which will have a value similar to partition=E: In the cmd.exe window, switch to the drive letter you noted in the previous step. In this example, you would type E: and press Enter**.** Type the following command and then press Enter: copy \Windows.old\Windows\System32\OOBE\SetupPlatform\SetupPlatform.exe $WINDOWS.~BT\Sources 9. When completed, you should see the output, “ 1 file(s) copied ”. If you see any other output, please do not proceed further and instead use Method 2 In the cmd.exe window, type exit and press Enter. This should return you to the Choose an option screen. 11. Select Continue – Exit and continue to Windows Rollback . 12. Your device should restart and Windows Rollback should then successfully restore your system to the previous version of Windows. Once you are successfully restored, Microsoft recommends that you do not attempt to manually install the April Update – please wait until Windows notifies you that the update is ready for your device. Method 2: Perform an in-place upgrade To restore your system, you will need: A blank USB drive with at least 8 GB of disk space Another working Windows PC that you can use briefly (for example, a 2^nd^ computer in your home, a friend’s computer, or one at a library or print shop) On a working PC, go to the Microsoft software download website . Download the media creation tool and then run it. Select Create installation media for another PC . Choose a language, edition, and architecture (64-bit or 32-bit). Follow the steps to create installation media on your USB drive, and then select Finish . On the computer that is experiencing the problem, use the power button to restart until it boots to the blue recovery screens. (You do not need to boot to the USB drive you just made.) At the Choose your keyboard layout screen, choose your keyboard layout (e.g., US ). At the Choose an option screen, select Troubleshoot . Select Command Prompt . In the cmd.exe window, type C: and press Enter. (If Windows is saved to a drive other than the C: drive, type the appropriate drive letter.) Type the following command and press Enter. This command renames the Windows.old folder to protect your personal files from being overwritten in certain scenarios. Ren Windows.old Windows.old.bak 12. In the cmd.exe window, type exit and press Enter. This should return you to the Choose an option screen. 13. Select Use another operating system . 14. Select the second option, “ Windows 10 on volume X ”, where “ X ” will be a number. 15. Wait for Windows to load the desktop. (If necessary, enter your password to sign in.) You may have to wait a long time for the desktop to appear while the “update” gets ready. 16. Once the desktop attempts to load, close any error messages that appear (such as “C:\WINDOWS\system32\config\systemprofile\Desktop is unavailable”). 17. Right-click any blank area on the taskbar, and then select Task Manager . 18. If necessary, select More details , so that you can see the Menu bar. 19. Select File , then Run new task . 20. In the dialog box that appears, check the box for Create this task with administrator privileges . 21. Select Browse… 22. Insert the USB drive you used to create installation media on the working computer. Navigate to your USB drive and select setup.exe. 23. Run the setup.exe file and follow the steps to “upgrade” Windows. Uncheck the boxes for “check for new updates” and “help make this version better”. If you are asked what you want to keep, make sure you tell it to keep everything! 24. Setup may take some time to run. Once completed, your system should be restored and fully up-to-date. You may need to sign in again to your Microsoft Account. 25. If you lost any personal files during the upgrade process, you can retrieve your files from the Windows.old.bak folder you created in step 11. Open File Explorer and navigate to C:\Windows.old.bak. Select the Users folder, and then your user account name. Open the folders that contain the files you want to retrieve and copy/paste the files into a desired location.

Here's what I did to fix my husband's laptop: There are two methods to fix this update problem that are recommended by Avast and Microsoft: https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us...a-choose/8ff0d933-8819-4945-9f0c-17ac854400e2 . The first tells you to do a rollback, the second suggests an in-place upgrade. Both stink if you can't reach the command prompt, which I couldn't because I was only offered the suggestion of logging into my account which wouldn't accept the password, despite the fact that it was correct. Now the steps that I followed that ultimately end up working (yay!). I started using Microsoft's steps until they didn't work anymore. From "them" - To restore your system, you will need: A blank USB drive with at least 8 GB of disk space Another working Windows PC that you can use briefly (for example, a 2nd computer in your home, a friend’s computer, or one at a library or print shop) On a working PC, go to the Microsoft software download website . Download the media creation tool and then run it. (be sure to format the USB drive first or this will fail, and be prepared for this to take awhile) Select Create installation media for another PC. Choose a language, edition, and architecture (64-bit or 32-bit). (if you have a newer laptop it's probably 64 bit) Follow the steps to create installation media on your USB drive, and then select Finish. Now from here on out this is what I did: Get your wrecked laptop to the Choose An Option screen then choose "Use a device" On the next screen I chose EFI USB Device It then got my USB blinking and popped up a window saying "It looks like you started an upgrade and booted from installation media. if you want to continue with the upgrade, remove the media from your PC and click Yes. if you want to perform a clean installation instead click NO." I chose No and it got me to a Windows popup asking for language, time & currency, & keyboard method. I clicked Next and the next window showed "Install now." Repair your computer is an option at the bottom, but it just goes to those wonderful options that we've all been seeing that don't work so don't bother pressing that. I pressed Install Now and it wanted to know where to install. I chose the first, highlighted, partition option. At this point it started rolling. I may have had something asking if I wanted to overwrite or upgrade or something. There was an option to either upgrade or to do a custom installation. I THINK I did the custom installation. All files were saved to OneDrive in the first place, so we weren't worried about losing stuff. Be ready with a new Windows password. We went to a functioning computer and did the "forgot password" link for Windows so that we would be confident that we were using the right password. After installation Cortana appeared with her slew of questions and at this point you will need to log into Windows. This is where it pays to be ready with the password because we ran out to get a new one and then the computer went black aside from the pointer. I had to pull the power plug while holding the power button to totally shut down (just holding the button until shut down still produced the same black screen upon startup). After the "real" power down it returned back to Cortana when it restarted. I may be a little off on those bottom 4 or so steps, but basically you are using your flash drive to install Windows again. You'll be wiping everything but at least it gets working again. To be honest, I was very surprised that using the USB actually worked.

Hi Herbert, You might want to mention my contribution on page 14 with tips and/or place a direct link because they are with essential corrections . Kind regards, BartDee. - ! IMPORTANT ! If you HAVE NOT READ the other steps and tips with ESSENTIAL CORRECTIONS here DO that FIRST ! - Hi 'All', First ask yourself a few main questions (to feel more at ease, especially if you are worried/troubled/frustrated): -do I have personal files to save (if you had OneDrive active you may have put them all there) -do I have the drivers from my Computer manufacturer available (if you bought your Computer with Windows 10 preinstalled this should be the easiest; manufacturer websites support) -do I have my software (Programs = applications = Apps ) available (your backups, disks, sticks, cards; your Apps are in the Store; manufacturer support; old software is on the internet) -do I have access to another Computer with more than one Hard Disk connection available preferably (if you don't a friend or someone you know may have; library, school, print or copy shop, internet cafe etc.) -do I have (other) storage available (disks, sticks, cards; possibly second Hard Disk from your older Computer, if you are able to connect it - unplug power first - internally too) -was my Windows 10 already activated (your Microsoft activation is stored for your hardware and still available through the internet connection later) The answers may help you find your personal solution. Think first. Be patient. Depending on your Computer responding and you having to save personal files or not there are several other good options to explore: Start fresh (Microsoft) Troubleshoot problems updating (Microsoft) Windows 10 Download (Microsoft) Rescue files (Greg Carmack) Clean install (Greg Carmack) Recover personal files (Andre Da Costa) Install and Update Hardware Drivers (Andre Da Costa) Clean install (Paul Sey) If you know that you do not have to save personal files , drivers and software you can easily do a clean install . Please do investigate first with use of another Computer or Device to be sure (manufacturer websites support, etc.) Windows 10 Download (Microsoft) If you need to backup things to feel safe and your Computer boots into the Desktop and you have storage available you can make handy use of a Task manager trick . Right-click the blank area on the Taskbar, and then select Task Manager. If this does not work press Ctrl + Alt + Del to select Task Manager. Or try Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager directly. If necessary, click More details , so that you can see the Menu bar at the top. Select File at the top, then Run new task (don't forget to check the Administrator rights Checkbox). Select Browse... You now have access to some of the Explorer functionality . Select ' All files *.* ' from the drop down list above the buttons at the right. Do not use the buttons. Use the left pane to select folders and the right pane to select files , like in normal Windows Explorer. You can locate files you want to backup (in Windows.old etc**.**). Select them, Right-click and Copy , browse further to your storage, Right-click and Save . You will not see the Progress window but you will notice when the job is done. The screen may appear frozen but please be patient. You can compare the copied result later. Maybe on an other Computer. You might consider to make an extra copy in an other folder if you still feel insecure. Do this to at least an other partition if you can (but an other disk or other external storage preferably of course). If you Upgraded from Windows 7 or 8 in the past and you still have your installation disks you might consider to first install Windows 7 or 8 again and then do the Upgrade again later (especially if the disks contain your initial drivers & software also). Windows 10 Download (Microsoft) If you still feel insecure about your result for the here proposed Method 1 Step 8 ( SetupPlatform.exe ) or Method 2 Step 11 ( Windows.old ) you might consider to check or do this with the Task manager trick . (So to double-check the contents or change to be secure.) ! IMPORTANT ! With Method 2 Step 21 you should ALWAYS VERIFY Windows.old.bak BECAUSE IN YOUR PERSONAL SITUATION YOU MIGHT SEEM TO HAVE DONE THIS CORRECT BUT ON THE WRONG PARTITION IF YOU HAVE MORE THAN ONE Windows INSTALLMENT! This is also your LAST CHANCE TO V****ERIFY if the CONTENTS ITSELF are really here if you did not do that already with one of the other tips. If you have only ONE Windows INSTALLMENT the drive letter is most likely to be D or C (the latter is a scenario where your System boots with and Windows operates from the same partition). Do not confuse this 'System' drive letter with the drive letter that you normally see in Windows Explorer they are not automatically the same. If you typed the command and pressed Enter correct with Method 2 Step 11 you should see NO output at all. If the folder does not exist or you typed it wrong with Method 2 Step 11 you should see: The system cannot find the file specified. If you typed the command and pressed Enter correct with Method 1 Step 8 you should see the output: 1 file(s) copied. If the file does not exist with Method 1 Step 8 you should see the output: The system cannot find the file specified. If the path itself does not exist with Method 1 Step 8 you should see the output: The system cannot find the path specified. But sadly if you typed something wrong with Method 1 Step 8 you should also see the output: The system cannot find the path specified. The whole text from copy to Sources is on one line . Make sure that you used the letters OO in OOBE (this stands for OutOfBoxExperience). And that you used a space between copy and the next \ and between SetupPlatform.exe and the next \ also. If you type dir/w it should give the contents and info of the folder if it exists or if not the output : The system cannot find the path specified. dir/w Windows.old\Windows\System32\OOBE\SetupPlatform dir/w Windows.old\Windows\System32\OOBE dir/w Windows.old\Windows\System32 dir/w Windows.old\Windows dir/w Windows.old dir/w Windows.old.bak dir/w $WINDOWS.~BT\Sources dir/w $WINDOWS.~BT If you would type dir/w and press Enter only in the example in Method 1, you would get the contents and info of E: . Make sure that you used a space between dir/w and the first folder . You can use this dir/w to do a test to clarify something for yourself. With Method 1 Step 4 and with Method 2 Step 9 ( Command Prompt ) make sure that you checked the Administrator rights Checkbox. Shouldn't there be a step select Advanced options before this or am I wrong? (I'm a bit tired right now.) With Method 1 Step 6 you do not have to see four entries (this example is obviously based on someones personal installments). You should see Windows Boot Manager with the mentioned identifier {bootmgr} and at least one other entry of Windows Boot Loader with an identifier with a value. If you see only one entry of Windows Boot Loader then you should use the drive letter that you see with device there (this is with a value similar to partition=C :). If you see more entries of Windows Boot Loader and you normally do not manually select which Windows installment to start and you know that you did not make that manual choice with the Windows that went wrong now also , it automatically has to be the one that has the value {default} also. Please do verify this yourself first because there could be some kind of error/corruption that you are missing? If you know that you have only one Windows installment it should be simplest. If you know that you have more , one question that you could always ask yourself is if you changed it just now in your latest Session? (With System configuration in Control Panel for example?) With Method 1 Step 12 and with Method 2 Step 25 you could probably best disconnect your internet cable and check or change your Windows Update settings first for now before reconnecting it later? If your keyboard doesn't work fully correct, you can click on the Accessibility options (the three quarters circle with those two arrows) in the lower right of your Sign-in screen and try the On-screen keyboard . You don’t need a touchscreen. You use your mouse. If your keyboard and/or mouse doesn't work you can always try removing all the other external devices connected to the Computer before startup. Or you can try an other connection. If your build-in keyboard and/or mouse and/or touchpad doesn't work you can always try to plug-in an external keyboard and/or mouse. Enter your BIOS/UEFI setup and check your boot sequence priorities to ensure that USB has a higher precedence than your hard drive when you need to startup with a USB and it does not seem to work (and startups from your hard drive). The same goes for CD/DVD precedence when you need to startup with a CD/DVD. (This is for a Clean install or Upgrade. You do not need to boot to the USB drive with Method 2.) When you get a message like 'Use the other installation disk that says 64-bit.' you might retry by selecting architecture: 64-bit or by selecting architecture: Both , from the Drop down list in the Media Creation Tool . (Available if you unchecked the Checkbox first.) When you choose a Custom install or Upgrade, it will move your current Windows installation to the folder called Windows.old where you can recover your files later. (This is the main topic I am trying to help with here; if you did it again the content could get overwritten.) If you have an extra hard disk available thats large enough, you might make use of an application or tool that is able to make a ' copy ' of your whole original disk first, especially if you are worried that you might lose really a lot of personal files. Don't forget that you may have your local Outlook contents to backup as well (an Outlook.pst and maybe an Archive.pst file also). For an older Outlook probably located in: *Users\ ... \AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook* (where ... is your profile-name ). For Outlook 2010 and later probably located in the subfolder Outlook-files in your personal ( Users\ ... \Documents ) 'My Documents' folder (check this default location if you know that you did not change this to an other location yourself). Some Outlook users may have them in: Users\ ... \Roaming\Microsoft\Outlook . If you just get a ' normal ' black screen when you install the update or fail to get to a visible desktop, there might be a graphical problem. Then try pressing Windows logo + Ctrl + Shift + B . When you refresh this way, you'll hear a short beep and the screen will blink . This may also help in some scenarios for your other screen. Create your personal routine to backup things from now on if you didn't before. One of the simplest ways would be to copy your work to an other location at the end of the day or session. Do this preferably to at least an other partition if you can (but an other disk or other external storage is more preferable of course). Consider your personal use of OneDrive if you didn't before. ! IMPORTANT ! If you did not read the other steps and tips with corrections here do that first ! If you don't have access to another Computer with Method 2 and you made sure that you did everything to backup or to be safe (as described in the other steps and tips here) you can try if Internet Explorer will open on your failing Computer with use of the Task manager trick . Open Task Manager if you didn't already and browse to C:\Program Files\internet explorer and select Iexplore.exe and click OK (don't forget to check the Administrator rights Checkbox also). If it opens go to the **** Windows 10 download website ( http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/p/?LinkID=616447 ) mentioned in Method 2 Step 1 and make your informed choices continued from there. This is a link to the Avast website you might want to visit first (for now) to make your informed decisions (** https://www.avast.com/ ). Their support page ( https://support.avast.com/en-us/ ) and their forum ( https://forum.avast.com/ ) with the article mentioned just above Method 1 (which says that they got the original text from a Computer repair shop) for your convenience ( https://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=219218.msg1463080#msg1463080 ) . ! WARNING ! Please be extremely carefull with what you do with this (do not click or open if you don't know what this is)! If you don't have something available on your failing Computer there are a lot of other things you can open with use of the Task manager trick . Open Task Manager if you didn't already and click Browse... (don't forget to check the Administrator rights Checkbox and select ' All files *.*' later also in the Dialog window that opens). If you want you can try to search for something in System32 (you can browse normally of course). But you can also type in the Search box on the top right. Or use it as a trick to create a search filter . Like (Control Panel) .cpl to find Inetcpl.cpl (Internet Options), ncpa.cpl (Networkconnections, with the problem solver ) or .msc to find Services.msc or Compmgmt.msc (Computer Management) etc. Some may and some may not work now. But if you only need a service you can find it through the Services Tab of Task Manager. At the bottom you see a link called Open Services that you can click. I may not give further personal advise: I was just following this thread out of interest. (Ask your questions anyway; someone else may or I might have a general pointer here later too.) Good luck! Kind regards, BartDee. P.S. Maybe more later again. (I am Dutch; it is some 8 hours later here in The Netherlands.) I will edit this on page 14 .

Hello, and how to turn on the Internet when the computer is in such a condition, what services to run? Help please

Windows 10 April 2018 Update may boot to a “Choose your keyboard layout” screen or to a blank screen with a Recycle Bin

Anonymous

On a system with Avast antivirus installed, when upgrading to Windows 10, version 1803, Windows automatically restarts and one of these two conditions might be experienced:

The upgrade appears to complete, but after signing in, you observe a blank screen with only a Recycle Bin and a taskbar. The mouse cursor is present, but the Start menu may not function. Pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del runs the Task Manager, but the Task Manager may not be helpful.
During the upgrade, Windows restarts to a screen that prompts you to “Choose your keyboard layout”. From there, troubleshooting options can be selected, but none of them appear to resolve the issue. For example, if Windows Rollback is selected, the entire process repeats.

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

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Answer accepted by question author

Anonymous

Updated (5/25/18):

In cooperation with Avast, Microsoft has identified an element of the Avast Behavior Shield that conflicts with the April 2018 Update, and that may result in this experience. Avast has released an update to prevent this issue from occurring. Once you’ve restored your system, make sure your Avast antivirus is up-to-date.

You can use one of the following methods to restore Windows. If your system currently boots to the Choose your keyboard layout screen, please try Method 1 first. Otherwise, skip to Method 2, which is a variation of a solution posted on the Avast forums.

Method 1: Use Command Prompt to repair Windows Rollback

At the “Choose your keyboard layout” screen, select a keyboard (such as US).
At the “Choose an option screen”, verify that the top left tile reads “Continue – Exit and continue to Windows Rollback”. If this is not the case, please do not proceed further and use Method 2 instead.
Select Troubleshoot.
Select Command Prompt.
In the cmd.exe window, type bcdedit and press Enter.
There should be 4 entries displayed. Ignore the first entry, called {bootmgr}. The next entries should all have an attribute called “device” or “bootstatdevice”, which will have a value similar to partition=E:
In the cmd.exe window, switch to the drive letter you noted in the previous step. In this example, you would type E: and press Enter**.**
Type the following command and then press Enter:

copy \Windows.old\Windows\System32\OOBE\SetupPlatform\SetupPlatform.exe $WINDOWS.~BT\Sources

9. When completed, you should see the output, “1 file(s) copied”. If you see any other output, please do not proceed further and instead use Method 2

In the cmd.exe window, type exit and press Enter. This should return you to the Choose an option screen.

11. Select Continue – Exit and continue to Windows Rollback.

12. Your device should restart and Windows Rollback should then successfully restore your system to the previous version of Windows. Once you are successfully restored, Microsoft recommends that you do not attempt to manually install the April Update – please wait until Windows notifies you that the update is ready for your device.

Method 2: Perform an in-place upgrade

To restore your system, you will need:

A blank USB drive with at least 8 GB of disk space
Another working Windows PC that you can use briefly (for example, a 2^nd^ computer in your home, a friend’s computer, or one at a library or print shop)

On a working PC, go to the Microsoft software download website.
Download the media creation tool and then run it.
Select Create installation media for another PC.
Choose a language, edition, and architecture (64-bit or 32-bit).
Follow the steps to create installation media on your USB drive, and then select Finish.
On the computer that is experiencing the problem, use the power button to restart until it boots to the blue recovery screens. (You do not need to boot to the USB drive you just made.)
At the Choose your keyboard layout screen, choose your keyboard layout (e.g., US).
At the Choose an option screen, select Troubleshoot.
Select Command Prompt.
In the cmd.exe window, type C: and press Enter. (If Windows is saved to a drive other than the C: drive, type the appropriate drive letter.)
Type the following command and press Enter. This command renames the Windows.old folder to protect your personal files from being overwritten in certain scenarios.

Ren Windows.old Windows.old.bak

12. In the cmd.exe window, type exit and press Enter. This should return you to the Choose an option screen.

13. Select Use another operating system.

14. Select the second option, “Windows 10 on volume X”, where “X” will be a number.

15. Wait for Windows to load the desktop. (If necessary, enter your password to sign in.) You may have to wait a long time for the desktop to appear while the “update” gets ready.

16. Once the desktop attempts to load, close any error messages that appear (such as “C:\WINDOWS\system32\config\systemprofile\Desktop is unavailable”).

17. Right-click any blank area on the taskbar, and then select Task Manager.

18. If necessary, select More details, so that you can see the Menu bar.

19. Select File, then Run new task.

20. In the dialog box that appears, check the box for Create this task with administrator privileges.

21. Select Browse…

22. Insert the USB drive you used to create installation media on the working computer. Navigate to your USB drive and select setup.exe.

23. Run the setup.exe file and follow the steps to “upgrade” Windows. Uncheck the boxes for “check for new updates” and “help make this version better”. If you are asked what you want to keep, make sure you tell it to keep everything!

24. Setup may take some time to run. Once completed, your system should be restored and fully up-to-date. You may need to sign in again to your Microsoft Account.

25. If you lost any personal files during the upgrade process, you can retrieve your files from the Windows.old.bak folder you created in step 11. Open File Explorer and navigate to C:\Windows.old.bak. Select the Users folder, and then your user account name. Open the folders that contain the files you want to retrieve and copy/paste the files into a desired location.

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Answer accepted by question author

Anonymous

Here's what I did to fix my husband's laptop:

There are two methods to fix this update problem that are recommended by Avast and Microsoft: https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us...a-choose/8ff0d933-8819-4945-9f0c-17ac854400e2. The first tells you to do a rollback, the second suggests an in-place upgrade. Both stink if you can't reach the command prompt, which I couldn't because I was only offered the suggestion of logging into my account which wouldn't accept the password, despite the fact that it was correct.

Now the steps that I followed that ultimately end up working (yay!). I started using Microsoft's steps until they didn't work anymore.

From "them" - To restore your system, you will need:

A blank USB drive with at least 8 GB of disk space
Another working Windows PC that you can use briefly (for example, a 2nd computer in your home, a friend’s computer, or one at a library or print shop)

On a working PC, go to the Microsoft software download website.
Download the media creation tool and then run it. (be sure to format the USB drive first or this will fail, and be prepared for this to take awhile)
Select Create installation media for another PC.
Choose a language, edition, and architecture (64-bit or 32-bit). (if you have a newer laptop it's probably 64 bit)
Follow the steps to create installation media on your USB drive, and then select Finish.
Now from here on out this is what I did: Get your wrecked laptop to the Choose An Option screen then choose "Use a device"
On the next screen I chose EFI USB Device
It then got my USB blinking and popped up a window saying "It looks like you started an upgrade and booted from installation media. if you want to continue with the upgrade, remove the media from your PC and click Yes. if you want to perform a clean installation instead click NO."
I chose No and it got me to a Windows popup asking for language, time & currency, & keyboard method. I clicked Next and the next window showed "Install now." Repair your computer is an option at the bottom, but it just goes to those wonderful options that we've all been seeing that don't work so don't bother pressing that.
I pressed Install Now and it wanted to know where to install. I chose the first, highlighted, partition option.
At this point it started rolling. I may have had something asking if I wanted to overwrite or upgrade or something. There was an option to either upgrade or to do a custom installation. I THINK I did the custom installation. All files were saved to OneDrive in the first place, so we weren't worried about losing stuff.
Be ready with a new Windows password. We went to a functioning computer and did the "forgot password" link for Windows so that we would be confident that we were using the right password.
After installation Cortana appeared with her slew of questions and at this point you will need to log into Windows. This is where it pays to be ready with the password because we ran out to get a new one and then the computer went black aside from the pointer. I had to pull the power plug while holding the power button to totally shut down (just holding the button until shut down still produced the same black screen upon startup). After the "real" power down it returned back to Cortana when it restarted.

I may be a little off on those bottom 4 or so steps, but basically you are using your flash drive to install Windows again. You'll be wiping everything but at least it gets working again. To be honest, I was very surprised that using the USB actually worked.

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305 additional answers

Anonymous

2018-06-10T07:47:31+00:00

Hi Herbert,

You might want to mention my contribution on page 14 with tips and/or place a direct link because they are with essential corrections.

Kind regards,

BartDee.

-

! IMPORTANT ! If you HAVE NOT READ the other steps and tips with ESSENTIAL CORRECTIONS here DO that FIRST!

-

Hi 'All',

First ask yourself a few main questions (to feel more at ease, especially if you are worried/troubled/frustrated):

-do I have personal files to save

(if you had OneDrive active you may have put them all there)

-do I have the drivers from my Computer manufacturer available

(if you bought your Computer with Windows 10 preinstalled this should be the easiest; manufacturer websites support)

-do I have my software (Programs = applications = Apps ) available

(your backups, disks, sticks, cards; your Apps are in the Store; manufacturer support; old software is on the internet)

-do I have access to another Computer with more than one Hard Disk connection available preferably

(if you don't a friend or someone you know may have; library, school, print or copy shop, internet cafe etc.)

-do I have (other) storage available

(disks, sticks, cards; possibly second Hard Disk from your older Computer, if you are able to connect it - unplug power first - internally too)

-was my Windows 10 already activated

(your Microsoft activation is stored for your hardware and still available through the internet connection later)

The answers may help you find your personal solution. Think first. Be patient.

Depending on your Computer responding and you having to save personal files or not there are several other good options to explore:

Start fresh (Microsoft)

Troubleshoot problems updating (Microsoft)

Windows 10 Download (Microsoft)

Rescue files (Greg Carmack)

Clean install (Greg Carmack)

Recover personal files (Andre Da Costa)

Install and Update Hardware Drivers (Andre Da Costa)

Clean install (Paul Sey)

If you know that you do not have to save personal files, drivers and software you can easily do a clean install.

Please do investigate first with use of another Computer or Device to be sure (manufacturer websites support, etc.)

Windows 10 Download (Microsoft)

If you need to backup things to feel safe and your Computer boots into the Desktop and you have storage available you can make handy use of a Task manager trick.

Right-click the blank area on the Taskbar, and then select Task Manager. If this does not work press Ctrl + Alt + Del to select Task Manager. Or try Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager directly. If necessary, click More details, so that you can see the Menu bar at the top. Select File at the top, then Run new task (don't forget to check the Administrator rights Checkbox). Select Browse... You now have access to some of the Explorer functionality. Select 'All files *.*' from the drop down list above the buttons at the right. Do not use the buttons. Use the left pane to select folders and the right pane to select files, like in normal Windows Explorer. You can locate files you want to backup (in Windows.old etc**.**). Select them, Right-click and Copy, browse further to your storage, Right-click and Save. You will not see the Progress window but you will notice when the job is done. The screen may appear frozen but please be patient. You can compare the copied result later. Maybe on an other Computer.

You might consider to make an extra copy in an other folder if you still feel insecure. Do this to at least an other partition if you can (but an other disk or other external storage preferably of course).

If you Upgraded from Windows 7 or 8 in the past and you still have your installation disks you might consider to first install Windows 7 or 8 again and then do the Upgrade again later (especially if the disks contain your initial drivers & software also).

Windows 10 Download (Microsoft)

If you still feel insecure about your result for the here proposed Method 1 Step 8 (SetupPlatform.exe) or Method 2 Step 11 (Windows.old) you might consider to check or do this with the Task manager trick. (So to double-check the contents or change to be secure.)

! IMPORTANT ! With Method 2 Step 21 you should ALWAYS VERIFY Windows.old.bak BECAUSE IN YOUR PERSONAL SITUATION YOU MIGHTSEEM TO HAVE DONE THIS CORRECT BUT ON THE WRONG PARTITIONIF YOU HAVE MORE THAN ONE Windows INSTALLMENT!

This is also your LAST CHANCE TO V****ERIFY if the CONTENTS ITSELF are really here if you did not do that already with one of the other tips.

If you have only ONE Windows INSTALLMENT the drive letter is most likely to be D or C (the latter is a scenario where your System boots with and Windows operates from the same partition).

Do not confuse this 'System' drive letter with the drive letter that you normally see in Windows Explorer they are not automatically the same.

If you typed the command and pressed Enter correct with Method 2 Step 11 you should see NO output at all.

If the folder does not exist or you typed it wrong with Method 2 Step 11 you should see: The system cannot find the file specified.

If you typed the command and pressed Enter correct with Method 1 Step 8 you should see the output: 1 file(s) copied.

If the file does not exist with Method 1 Step 8 you should see the output: The system cannot find the file specified.

If the path itself does not exist with Method 1 Step 8 you should see the output: The system cannot find the path specified.

But sadly if you typed something wrong with Method 1 Step 8 you should also see the output: The system cannot find the path specified.

The whole text from copy to Sources is on one line. Make sure that you used the letters OO in OOBE (this stands for OutOfBoxExperience).

And that you used a space between copy and the next \ and between SetupPlatform.exe and the next \ also.

If you type dir/w it should give the contents and info of the folder if it exists or if not the output: The system cannot find the path specified.

dir/w Windows.old\Windows\System32\OOBE\SetupPlatform

dir/w Windows.old\Windows\System32\OOBE

dir/w Windows.old\Windows\System32

dir/w Windows.old\Windows

dir/w Windows.old

dir/w Windows.old.bak

dir/w $WINDOWS.~BT\Sources

dir/w $WINDOWS.~BT

If you would type dir/w and press Enter only in the example in Method 1, you would get the contents and info of E:.

Make sure that you used a space between dir/w and the first folder. You can use this dir/w to do a test to clarify something for yourself.

With Method 1 Step 4 and with Method 2 Step 9 (Command Prompt) make sure that you checked the Administrator rights Checkbox. Shouldn't there be a step select Advanced options before this or am I wrong? (I'm a bit tired right now.)

With Method 1 Step 6 you do not have to see four entries (this example is obviously based on someones personal installments). You should see Windows Boot Manager with the mentioned identifier {bootmgr} and at least one other entry of Windows Boot Loader with an identifier with a value. If you see onlyone entry of Windows Boot Loader then you should use the drive letter that you see with device there (this is with a value similar to partition=C:). If you see moreentries of Windows Boot Loader and you normally do not manually select which Windows installment to start and you know that you did not make that manual choice with the Windows that went wrong now also, it automatically has to be the one that has the value {default} also. Please do verify this yourself first because there could be some kind of error/corruption that you are missing? If you know that you have only one Windows installment it should be simplest. If you know that you have more, one question that you could always ask yourself is if you changed it just now in your latest Session? (With System configuration in Control Panel for example?)

With Method 1 Step 12 and with Method 2 Step 25 you could probably best disconnect your internet cable and check or change your Windows Update settings first for now before reconnecting it later?

If your keyboard doesn't work fully correct, you can click on the Accessibility options (the three quarters circle with those two arrows) in the lower right of your Sign-in screen and try the On-screen keyboard. You don’t need a touchscreen. You use your mouse.

If your keyboard and/or mouse doesn't work you can always try removing all the other external devices connected to the Computer before startup. Or you can try an other connection.

If your build-in keyboard and/or mouse and/or touchpad doesn't work you can always try to plug-in an external keyboard and/or mouse.

Enter your BIOS/UEFI setup and check your boot sequence priorities to ensure that USB has a higher precedence than your hard drive when you need to startup with a USB and it does not seem to work (and startups from your hard drive). The same goes for CD/DVD precedence when you need to startup with a CD/DVD. (This is for a Clean install or Upgrade. You do not need to boot to the USB drive with Method 2.)

When you get a message like 'Use the other installation disk that says 64-bit.' you might retry by selecting architecture: 64-bitor by selecting architecture: Both, from the Drop down list in the Media Creation Tool. (Available if you unchecked the Checkbox first.)

When you choose a Custom install or Upgrade, it will move your current Windows installation to the folder called Windows.old where you can recover your files later. (This is the main topic I am trying to help with here; if you did it again the content could get overwritten.)

If you have an extra hard disk available thats large enough, you might make use of an application or tool that is able to make a 'copy' of your whole original disk first, especially if you are worried that you might lose really a lot of personal files.

Don't forget that you may have your local Outlook contents to backup as well (an Outlook.pst and maybe an Archive.pst file also). For an older Outlook probably located in: *Users\ ... \AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook* (where ... is your profile-name). For Outlook 2010 and later probably located in the subfolder Outlook-files in your personal (Users\ ... \Documents) 'My Documents' folder (check this default location if you know that you did not change this to an other location yourself). Some Outlook users may have them in: Users\ ... \Roaming\Microsoft\Outlook.

If you just get a 'normal' black screen when you install the update or fail to get to a visible desktop, there might be a graphical problem. Then try pressing Windows logo + Ctrl + Shift + B. When you refresh this way, you'll hear a short beep and the screen will blink. This may also help in some scenarios for your other screen.

Create your personal routine to backup things from now on if you didn't before. One of the simplest ways would be to copy your work to an other location at the end of the day or session. Do this preferably to at least an other partition if you can (but an other disk or other external storage is more preferable of course). Consider your personal use of OneDrive if you didn't before.

! IMPORTANT ! If you did not read the other steps and tips with corrections here do that first!

If you don't have access to another Computer with Method 2 and you made sure that you did everything to backup or to be safe (as described in the other steps and tips here) you can try if Internet Explorer will open on your failing Computer with use of the Task manager trick. Open Task Manager if you didn't already and browse to C:\Program Files\internet explorer and select Iexplore.exe and click OK (don't forget to check the Administrator rights Checkbox also).

If it opens go to the **** Windows 10 download website (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/p/?LinkID=616447) mentioned in Method 2 Step 1 and make your informed choices continued from there.

This is a link to the Avast website you might want to visit first (for now) to make your informed decisions (**https://www.avast.com/).

Their support page (https://support.avast.com/en-us/) and their forum (https://forum.avast.com/) with the article mentioned just above Method 1 (which says that they got the original text from a Computer repair shop) for your convenience (https://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=219218.msg1463080#msg1463080) .

! WARNING ! Please be extremely carefull with what you do with this (do not click or open if you don't know what this is)!

If you don't have something available on your failing Computer there are a lot of other things you can open with use of the Task manager trick. Open Task Manager if you didn't already and click Browse... (don't forget to check the Administrator rights Checkbox and select 'All files *.*' later also in the Dialog window that opens).

If you want you can try to search for something in System32 (you can browse normally of course). But you can also type in the Search box on the top right. Or use it as a trick to create a search filter. Like (Control Panel) .cpl to find Inetcpl.cpl (Internet Options), ncpa.cpl (Networkconnections, with the problem solver) or .msc to find Services.msc or Compmgmt.msc (Computer Management) etc. Some may and some may not work now.

But if you only need a service you can find it through the Services Tab of Task Manager. At the bottom you see a link called Open Services that you can click.

I may not give further personal advise: I was just following this thread out of interest. (Ask your questions anyway; someone else may or I might have a general pointer here later too.)

Good luck!

Kind regards,

BartDee.

P.S. Maybe more later again. (I am Dutch; it is some 8 hours later here in The Netherlands.) I will edit this onpage 14.
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Anonymous

2018-06-09T17:06:25+00:00

Hello, and how to turn on the Internet when the computer is in such a condition, what services to run? Help please
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