You press the Power button of your Windows 10 PC or laptop, but to no avail, your Windows 10 won’t boot or won’t start as usual. What’s wrong with your PC?
If your Windows 10 won’t start, you may have to look for ways to fix the problem at home; before seeking some paid tech support.
It may seem like a major problem, but no worries, we got your back. Let’s take you through some easy ways that fix your Windows 10 startup/boot up issues.
10+ Simple Ways to Solve Windows 10 Start/Boot Issues
Before you take a look at the different ways to fix “Windows 10 won’t start” problem, try unplugging the connected devices. Disconnect all devices and restart your PC. If this fixed the problem, then there’s something wrong with your connected devices.
Now, if that didn’t help, then let’s get to know some proven ways that will surely fix Windows 10 boot up issues.
1. Boot into Safe Mode & Create Recovery Drive
Besides booting into Safe Mode, there’s not much you can do when your Windows 10 doesn’t start normally. So, for every fix listed below, you’ll have to first boot your Windows 10 PC in Safe Mode.
Steps to boot Windows 10 in Safe Mode -
- Hold-press the power button to turn on your Windows 10 PC
- When the startup screen shows up, press ‘ Windows ’ and ‘ L ’ (log out)
Naturally, when Windows 10 won’t start, you can’t get to the startup screen. In this case, turn on the PC, press-hold the Shift key, and click on ‘ Restart .’
- Now, the boot options show up on your screen
- Choose the ‘ Troubleshoot ’ option
- Go to ‘ Advanced Options ’ and click on Startup settings
- Select - ‘ Restart ’
- Let your PC reboot itself
- Now, as soon as the startup screen appears, press the F5 key
- Now, choose either ‘ Safe Mode ’ or ‘ Safe Mode with Networking ’ to boot Windows 10
By now, you’re able to work on Windows 10, albeit in Safe Mode. There’s a good advantage to this – you can restore all system files and reset drivers to default settings.
In Safe Mode, the core components of Windows 10 get restored automatically. So, if Windows 10 won’t start because of some missing files or faulty drivers, then booting into Safe Mode gets it fixed. In such case, simply restart your PC in normal mode and you’ll see Windows 10 resuming to its normal start/boot process.
Now, if the restart didn’t help, then stay in the Safe Mode and create a recovery drive for your system data. When you recover your hard drive at an early point, then testing other ways to fix this error won’t impact your files.
To create a recovery drive,
- Go to Control Panel on Windows 10 (in the Safe Mode)
- Click on “ Create a recovery drive ” link
- Connect an empty external hard drive or pen drive
- Follow the onscreen instructions
Now, the recovery process automatically transfers all data into the connected hard drive. Make sure the hard drive has enough space to fill up all the data on your PC. The recovery drive stores and saves your data securely. It helps you recover it even if your Windows 10 crashes completely.
2. Uninstall Recent Updates
Now that your data is secured, let’s try out the fixes one by one. First, you’ll remove the most-recent Windows Updates from your PC.
The logic behind this is simple - a key reason why your Windows 10 won’t boot or won’t start is a faulty update. Sometimes, newly-installed Windows updates can interfere with the boot and startup process of your PC. So, removing the updates turns out to be an ideal fix for the issue.
To uninstall recent updates,
- Boot your PC in Safe Mode
- Go to the Start menu open the Settings window (click on gear icon)
- Click on the Update & Security section and go to ‘ Windows Update ’
- Tap the Update history link
- Select the recent update and right-click on it
- Select “ Uninstall ” and follow the wizard instructions to finish the update removal
- Click on Restart Now to reboot your PC thereafter
If the recent update was behind this error, then your Windows 10 computer will start and boot normally after uninstalling it.
3. Remove New Apps/Programs
Next, you’ll hash out another option – uninstalling the recent software. Apart from the update, a newly-installed app or program can also cause boot issues on Windows 10.
Your Windows 10 won’t start because this new software is not allowing it. Remember the last program or app installed on your PC – it could be security software, an extension, a repair tool, or some other app. Now, follow the steps below to uninstall it from your PC.
- Boot your PC in Safe Mode
- Press ‘ Windows ’ and ‘ R ’ on your keyboard to open the Run dialog
- Type ‘ appwiz.cpl ’ in it and hit the Enter key
- Right-click on the recent program/app and click on ‘ Uninstall ’
- Click on ‘ Yes ’ in the UAC pop-ups
After the removal is done, restart your computer to see if Windows starts normally or not. You can also be through and clear out all running processes linked to that app/program.
After you’re done with uninstalling the app in Safe Mode, open the Task Manager by pressing ‘ Ctrl ’, ‘ Shift ’, and ‘ Esc ’ keys. Then, go to Processes tab on the Task Manager window. Here, spot all the running processes linked to the uninstalled app. Select each one of them and click on End Task tab.
Now, there’s no sign of the uninstalled app on your Windows 10 PC. So, try to restart it in normal mode.
4. Check the Health of Your HDDs
If there’s something wrong with your internal hard drives, Windows 10 won’t boot. So, check the health of your hard drives. Fixing a bad sector on your hard drive may solve the problem.
We know several ways to check hard drive health on Windows and fix it automatically. Try them out in Safe Mode and restart your PC later to see if they worked.
5. Check Power Supply
One simple fix to a Windows 10 PC that won’t start is checking the power supply. On a Windows 10 laptop, check the battery and your power adapter.
If the power supply on your PC is compromised, then the OS is unable to boot up. As a result, you can’t start Windows 10 until it gets the consistent power supply.
- Remove the battery and put it back in,
- Unplug the charging cord or use another cord,
- Switch to a different power socket at your disposal
- Try draining out your battery and recharge it to full capacity
These are some proven ways to check the power supply and fix the boot problem on Windows 10.
6. Disable Fast Boot
You may know of a default feature called Fast Boot. In Windows 8 and newer versions, this feature is enabled by default.
It allows Windows to preload drivers quickly and reduce the boot time significantly. The Fast Boot makes sure that Windows boots up rapidly. But, with it, the operating system skips loading some key system files and components.
If your Windows 10 won’t boot or won’t start up because of this feature, then you might as well turn it off.
To disable Fast Boot on Windows 10 (Safe Mode),
- Open the Settings window from the Start menu
- Go to Update & Security > Recovery > Restart Now (under Advanced Startup )
- Click on ‘ Troubleshoot ’
- Go to Advanced Options and select – UEFI Firmware Settings
- Click on Restart so your system takes you to the BIOS menu
- In the BIOS, go to the Advanced options (use arrow keys)
- Select the Fast Boot entry and disable it
If you don’t see the Fast Boot feature, then your Windows PC was made before 2013. So, go the next fix.
7. Automatic Startup Repair
Next, you’ll use a troubleshooting tool that is made to fix boot issues on Windows 10. The built-in tool called ‘Automatic Startup Repair’ fixes any issues linked to starting or booting Windows 10.
You can use this function to disable any component that blocks Windows from booting up. Basically, the tool runs a scan to detect the fault. Then it repairs it automatically by either removing/disabling the faulty component or restoring/replacing it.
To initiate the Automatic Startup Repair,
- Boot your Windows in Safe Mode
- Go to Settings menu
- Navigate to Update & Security > Recovery > Restart Now (under Advanced Startup )
- Click on ‘ Troubleshoot ’
- Go to Advanced Options and select – Startup Repair
With this tool, you’ll identify the faulty drivers, system file issues, partition-linked misconfigurations, or other problems that stopped your PC from booting up.
8. Reset BIOS to Default
Any recent change in the BIOS can also block the boot up of your Windows system. If you’re not sure, then resetting the BIOS to default can help you out.
Reset the changes on the BIOS so there won’t be any glitch with your Windows 10 boot up. To reset your BIOS, follow the steps below -
In the Safe Mode,
- Navigate to Settings > Update & Security > Recovery > Restart Now (under Advanced Startup )
- Go to ‘ Troubleshoot ’ > Advanced Options
- Select – UEFI Firmware Settings
- Click on Restart
- Your system opens up the BIOS menu
- In here, go to the Exit tab
- Select Load Setup Defaults
- Hit the Enter key to a prompt that says – Load default configuration now?
The BIOS automatically resets itself to factory settings. Now, try to restart your PC in normal mode.
9. Rename Your Drives
This is an unusual fix to the Windows 10 startup/boot issues. However, it has worked for several users. It involves you renaming (reassigning) the drives on your PC.
With multiple hard drives, your OS may get stuck between choosing one to boot up. So, when you reassign the hard drives to different letters, it becomes easy for Windows to sort out the OS volume.
Boot your Windows 10 in Safe Mode and open Command Prompt from the Start menu. Make sure you right-click on Command Prompt and select – ‘ Run as admin ’ from the menu.
Now, type – “ diskpart ” as the command and press the Enter key. The window displays the list of hard drives. Here, you’ll assign the letter “ X ” to your Boot Volume (which is named “ C ” by default).
To do so, note the volume number of C drive. If its volume 1, then type the following commands –
select volume 1
(press the Enter key)
assign letter=X
(press the Enter key)
Now, restart your PC in normal mode and see if it boots up properly or not.
10. Roll-back Windows
Your final tool options to fix this problem are – to restore Windows to an earlier point or to reset Windows 10 completely
For the first option, you’ll boot your PC in Safe mode and follow the steps below.
- Type ‘ system restore ’ in Start menu search box
- Click on ‘ Create a restore point ’ link
- Go to System Properties window
- Click on System Protection > Configure
- Toggle the option that says – Turn on system protection
- Adjust the Max Usage limit between 5%-10%
- Hit the Apply and OK tabs to save the changes
- Go back to the System Restore tab and click on Next
Your Windows 10 gets restored to an earlier state, thereby removing any booting up or startup obstacles it had. Now, restart your PC to see if this worked.
11. Reset this PC
By now, if none of the solutions worked, your Windows 10 PC needs some serious technical repair. So, you last option is resetting the PC to the default Windows version.
- Boot your Windows 10 in Safe Mode
- Click on Settings from the Start menu
- Browse to ‘ Update and Security ’
- Select Recovery > Reset this PC
- Click on Get Started
Windows takes you through a wizard that resets your PC, which may take a couple of hours.
So, let us know how you fixed your Windows 10 boot problems by sending your comments below.
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