rebooting a built pc thats not ran in awhile
Posted by Mountain_Pool_4639@reddit | buildapc | View on Reddit | 14 comments
Ok, so i started to use an older pc. Its not as good as my current but its still up to standards as far as hardware. Its about 2 to 3 years since i used it. It loads up and starts up, except it shows a repair screen. I think I can use a USB to reboot it but i cant find the right files online to reboot it with. Does anyone know what i need to install into the USB. Or do i need to buy one or something? Hope I explained this right. Also, since it is a pc i built myself I am hoping that this subreddit is ok to ask in.
Tlentic@reddit
So I’m assuming this computer has a SATA SSD or M.2 in it. Data on these types of drives need to be powered on every now and then to prevent data corruption. Fully unpowered you might get a year or two without running into some data corruption issues. You’ll probably need to make a Windows 11 or Windows 10 bootable usb stick and reinstall windows
Mountain_Pool_4639@reddit (OP)
it does have those. I didnt know that. I was able to reinstall it and get it working. Lost all my files but its working again.
Tlentic@reddit
Sweet! Hope there wasn’t anything too important on the old drives but if you plan on keeping storage for any length of time good old HDDs are better. They keep the data magnetically instead of as an electron and electrons loose their state without power eventually
Mountain_Pool_4639@reddit (OP)
I had no idea about that. I always thought SSD and M.2 was best for their speed, surprised to learn they can lose data overtime when not powered
Tlentic@reddit
That’s the trade off, speed vs longevity.
grump66@reddit
Did you remove or install any new/different parts in this build ?
Has any drive been removed, is it connected properly ?
Have you checked the bios battery is not dead ?
Mountain_Pool_4639@reddit (OP)
I was able to reinstall. and Their was no beebing to indicate their was startup issues. Basically the hard drive data became corrupted
Virtual_Storm3078@reddit
Does it ask if you want to repair it? If so repair.
Mountain_Pool_4639@reddit (OP)
I tried a few times and it didnt work
Virtual_Storm3078@reddit
Ok, make a bootable usb. Use Rufus to create the bootable drive after you down loading the os you want. Then install usb and turn on pc. Should do its thing.
ElderberryCrazy4227@reddit
you can find the windows installer file online direct from windows, run the installer on a working computer and it will give you the option to setup a bootable usb drive. Once you set it up you will be able to use that drive as the boot drive for your broken pc and re install or repair your windows install.
Mountain_Pool_4639@reddit (OP)
does it need to be windows 10? thats what it was on previously
ElderberryCrazy4227@reddit
The windows 10 installer is available from microsoft should be easy to find. I did this less than 2 weeks ago as I had issues on one of my windows 10 laptop i have been refusing to upgrade to windows 11.
jamvanderloeff@reddit
Sounds like you've got a broken windows install there, want to just wipe it and start fresh? If so, see https://rtech.support/installations/install-11/