Dell :: Windows 8.1 Stuck On Gray Wait Screen - Auto Repair And System Restore Won't Work
Jun 8, 2014
I have a Dell laptop Inspiron 15R 7537 that came with Windows 8. Yesterday I upgraded to Windows 8.1. Everything seemed to work fine after the upgrade. I shut down and re-booted several times with no issues. When I turned the computer on as usual today, I got the log in screen, then it briefly went to the desktop, then came a gray screen that blocks 99% of the desk top. This gray screen says "please wait" and has a cancel button at the bottom. It hangs forever and the cancel button doesn't work. It gives no other information.
I read several threads on the Microsoft Windows forum and this seems to be a common problem. How to boot using the Windows 8 recovery media disk that came with the Dell computer. I selected Troubleshoot, then Advanced Options, then Automatic Repair. I got a message that it couldn't do an automatic repair, so that didn't work. Next I tried System Restore, but I got a message that there were no restore points available from which to restore. Just to clarify - the Recovery Media Disk I have from Dell is for Windows 8 - not 8.1 - so maybe that's the problem.
The computer is totally worthless the way it is now, so unless there is some fix for the hanging gray screen in Windows 8.1, I would be happy just to reload the original Windows 8 Operating System. At least that worked.
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Aug 12, 2014
I accidentally removed a usb cable from a powered usb hub , and a volume slider of some other program appeared superimposed and floating above my music making program , so I restarted the pc. From then on , it wouldn't start , and kept saying preparing automatic repair, then reached 40% and wouldn't go any further.
I unplugged my 2 external drives because they weren't showing in the bios , and plugged them into my laptop to check they were ok , and I am relieved to say they are.
Since i removed the drives , my desktop ( asus ) will eventually arrive at the blue recovery screen , but all these things that are supposed to fix it , aren't working.
When I try to refresh , it says the drive where windows is installed is locked. I've tried to do a system restore from 3 different restore points and none of them have worked ( one actually cited a mozilla profile as being the cause )
Re-image wont work because it cant find the image file , which is on one of my external drives which are now unplugged. Automatic repair diagnoses , but then says it cant repair. It also will not boot into safe mode.
I can use command prompt, and was hoping I could rename the system hive name , but the command prompt says
X=windowssystem32.
I've tried cd%windir%system32config , but it says " the drive , the path, or the filname is not valid" . I have successfully ran regedit from the command prompt .....
I had no reasons to expect anything untoward before yesterday. The automatic repair thing happened before , about 4 months ago , but i was always able to get out of it by switching it off at the wall. Now that doesnt work and its in an endless loop .
I have hirens bootcd but there are a lot of things on it that i dont know how to use. I was able to get mini xp working via hirens but couldn't access system restore.
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May 12, 2014
My Toshiba laptop/Windows 8.1 installed a VLC Media player & Malware bytes today. I was instructed to Restart as 'drivers not working properly' & since then have been on the Automatic Repair loop. It says it cannot fix it - log file: C:WINDOWSSystem32LogfilesSrtSrtTrail.txt, & I tried a few System Restore points but that just says -
System Restore could not access a file. This is probably because an anti-virus program is running on the computer . Temporarily disable your antivirus program and retry System Restore. You can try System Restore again If you continue to see this error, you can try an advanced recovery method.
Thing is I can't get into Windows or my laptop to disable the antivirus program.
I don't have any CD or DVD & no product key as the disc has been misplaced.
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Aug 18, 2013
I run a copy of Windows 8 in a Bootcamp partition on my Macbook Pro and stupidly deleted the Windows.old folder manually rather than through the disk cleanup and now Windows 8 wont startup. I now get stuck in the Auto Repair and none of the Advanced features seem to work.
I originally installed via a Windows 8 upgrade bootable USB and that isn't being recognised by the Auto Repair when i try to restore.
I don't mind losing the data in the partition (i only use it to run a Windows program needed for work), but the issue here is that i don't have an original Win7 image anywhere to reinstall - only the Windows 8 Upgrade bootable USB thumb.
Is there any way i can fix this without having to find a full image of either Win7 or Windows 8 and reinstalling from scratch? Is it failing to boot up because for some reason things were still pointing to the Windows.old folder?
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May 18, 2014
A couple days ago, I was casually playing Warframe. Tried to alt+tab out to check an IM and my screen went black. Not sure what happened as I could still hear the mouseover sounds as though Warframe were still active. Fiddled around for a few minutes and couldn't get Task Manager to come up, so I decided to just hold the power button on my laptop until it shut down. No harm done, right?
When I booted back up, Windows greeted me with a "Diagnosing Your PC" message under the normal Toshiba boot logo. After it hung there for a few seconds, it moved on to the "Attempting Repairs" screen. Didn't take long for it to decide it wasn't too happy with me for suddenly shutting it down.
Since then, I've been stuck in an auto repair loop. So far I've googled everything I could think of, but it seems my efforts were in vain. Tried putting Hiren's on a thumbdrive and booting from there, and for some reason, Windows just boots right back into the auto repair screen. I've even wiped my 1TB external and put the recovery image from my work PC on there. That didn't work either. I've gone through every thread google's given me and I feel like I'm banging my head against the wall.
I should probably note that formatting is not an option for me. I'd try installing Ubuntu on my external, but since the recovery won't even boot, I feel like that'd be in vain.
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Apr 24, 2014
I was playing WOW the other night on my month old PC and all of a sudden I got a full red screen. I restarted the comp and this auto repair screen popped up and it freezes and just same thing over and over. the bottom of the screen is cut off and the only other window i can get into is the bios setup utility window. Cant get into any kind of safe mode nothing.
my computer is an Gateway SX2370-UR12
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Aug 12, 2014
For some odd reason my laptop decided to not boot into windows anymore; It would be stuck "boot looping" with my MSI laptop logo and a loading sign (rotating circle). I had Kali Linux and Windows 8 installed on the laptop and neither one would work. So I formatted the entire HDD with all 3 partitions, windows partition, even my storage, and kali's partition because the automatic repair wouldn't work as well; it'll be stuck on Preparing automatic repair and wouldn't get past that screen. I have formatted my HDD with my other windows 7 machine by just right clicking -> format.
I have downloaded a torrented version of Win 8 iso (just for the purposes of installation, my laptop came with a Serial # and I have purchased an product key only version as well). I have burned a DVD of win 8 via winISO and changed my boot options to boot from DVD as well.
Now my problem is, when I am prompted to press any key to boot from CD/DVD and I press a key I am redirected to Preparing Automatic Repair and back to square one of my problems. I believe the recovery/backup partition is still on there.
I have tried being in both LEGACY and UIEF. UIEF sends me to Preparing Repair and LEGACY takes me to the windows 8 logo with the rotating circle underneath with nothing after that (not sure if it takes a VERY long time or not)
New laptop MSI ge70
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Sep 15, 2013
My inspiron 660 is struck in an auto-repair loop. Last night i was watching a dvd, my pc freeze and since i cant restart it. He try to repair then want to restore then nothing happen .
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Sep 15, 2014
Last night I was playing League of Legends when I got a BSoD. I didn't think much of it, and just waited for my computer to restart. However, as it restarted, I saw that it was auto repairing and then diagnosing. After that it said auto repair failed, giving me the directory c:windowssystem32logfilessrtsrttrail.txt. I tried system refresh, which shoot me back system refresh failed straight away. The same happens with system restart, but it takes much longer for it to say the restart failed. I have no system restore points to choose from and I have no recovery disks as Windows 8 came preinstalled on the computer. I've troubledshooted for hours and come to opening SrtTrail.txt with the command prompt. It says:
Root cause found: The operating system version is incompatible with Startup Repair.
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Sep 15, 2014
I am attempting to repair a Dell Inspiron 5520 Laptop for a friend of mine.
He's been having issues updating it for sometime and when he called me he was having a "Windows update hasn't been able to check for new updates for 30 days" pop-up appearing every few seconds that was rendering the laptop almost unusable.
I managed to stop that by disabling automatic updates. When I attempted a manual update I got the message :
Windows could not search for new updates: Error Found Code 80070BC9
Other times it would say it needed to be restarted and would go into a restart loop that was generally
Restart one - no message
Restart two - configuring updates - 33%, 67%, 100%
Restart three - failed to configure updates - reverting - restarting
Then would go to the normal login screen
I tried SFC /Scannow which seemed to work and say a restart is needed to implement changes but then fails on restart
DISM didn't work when attempting to run it from the machine but got to 100% when I ran it from my own Windows 8 install disk but then failed and needed a restart to undo the changes.
I also tried a repair and a restore of the current Windows installation but got : Error Code: 80070490 both times
The laptop didn't come with an install disk or serial so it seems restoring it from external media may be out of the question?
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Dec 26, 2013
On my friend's Dell Inspiron laptop, Windows 8 will not boot. I want to boot to the repair disk to restore an image I had created. F12 on boot does not show the DVD drive as an option. I went into Setup/Boot and disabled Secure Boot, still did not show the DVD as a boot option. I went back to Setup and selected Boot List Option>Legacy. Now it shows the DVD drive as an option to boot. I booted the repair dis, went through all the dialogs to select the image I had created, but when it goes to restore it it says it cannot because the image was made in UEFI, and it is now set for BIOS.
I went back into Setup/Boot and I see that the option Load Legacy Option ROM is now Enabled, it did it on its own. As a test I set it back to the defaults and re did it as above, and again it automatically changes Load Legacy Option ROM, which I assume is what is creating the problem.
So my question is what do I need to do to boot from the Windows Repair Disk?
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Dec 14, 2013
I have used System Restore in Windows 7 to automatically create restore points, but not so in Windows 8 or 8.1. I configured TASKSCHD.MSC for a restore point to be created at 11 pm weekly, but not dice. I just changed the time to create a SR point daily at 7:15 AM to see if a SR point would be created. In Control Panel, there is not record of the SR point, but Task Scheduler says the 7:15 point was completed successfully. However, I can't find it in Control Panel.
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Oct 22, 2013
I upgraded to 8.1 this past weekend and it went just fine, however now the the Backup and Restore Center and Create Recovery Disks options are busted. Both icons appear in my app list as generic grey document icons, and if I click either of them I'm brought to the desktop and then...nothing.
I use BRC for my daily backups so I'm obviously concerned that it's not working. I tried searching for a way to reinstall these programs, but as they're part of Windows I wasn't surprised to not find anything. BRC was working fine for me prior to the upgrade so I'd hate to have to buy a third party solution now.
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Feb 16, 2013
Cannot create a Restore Point. I try thru Control Panel -> System and Security -> System -> System Protection.
No available drives show under Protection Settings.
When I try to launch thru System Config -> System Restore, a pop-up tells me Starting System restore, but that just hangs there forever. I have to stop it in Task Manager.
I have tried sfc - no reported problems.
Malwarebytes Pro and anti-virus report no problems.
Windows update service is auto - running
Volume Shadow copy is manual - running
Dell diagnostic program reports no error.
Dell XPS 8500 Windows 8 Pro.
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Jun 30, 2013
Win8 Control Panel Empty-My Docs-Library problem
A system restore did not work. PC "refresh" did not work. I've done a number of checks/scans (CHKDSK/ ScanDisk , sfc /scannow, Windows Defender, TDSSKILLER, and Malwarebytes Anti-Rootkit) without any threats/errors occurring (I know it's not an exhaustive list.). I'm at my wits' end.
Simply, I understand that "reset" (Reset Windows 8) supposedly (and I'll get to why I say that) removes everything and reinstalls.
Assuming this is a copy of the Windows 8 that was originally activated the first day I used my computer, I should be by the above definition be able to go back and rebuild what had been a system without this problem for about five months (length of time since purchased, approx.). I also have burned recovery DVDs from the first day of use.
There must have been a reason that "Refresh" didn't work. Is this Reset as good as the old reinstallation from discs that I'd done, for example, on XP in the past? Do I need to wipe everything or can I just do the quick (just remove files, not fully clean) reset?
I can't imagine anything outside of the OS causing my situation. Is there any way with "Reset" (assuming not an OS issue alone) that the problem can migrate to the new "installation?" I've never updated the BIOS or any such thing.
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Jan 21, 2013
I enabled display hidden and system files, but system auto-disable its... I make it about three times, always with the same result. I don't know what causes this problem, I can't reproduce its (it isn't after reboot).
Also I have similar problem with system restore.I disabled it, but system turned it on again.
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Jan 26, 2014
I recently had to do a system restore through the Dell System Restore programme, however now it appears I cannot activate Windows 8 - I get the "Windows cannot activate right now. Try activating Windows later".
I have tried entering manually through a command prompt but all I get is an error 0x8004F80B. How to resolve this?
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Jul 4, 2014
I have a windows 8.1 dell laptop ,for some reason system restore is not creating points manually or automatically, when I try to make a restore point manually the working bar just keeps moving at the sane time though I noticed in the device manger a generic volume shadow copy entry will show up with a yellow mark beside it ,I have tried maybe 10-15 times to uninstall this and try system restore again ,but this keeps repeating itself,
I have also went into safe mode but system restore points can't be made under safe mode, I did the repository thing where I rename that folder to old and reset repository in safe mode ,same result .
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Oct 4, 2014
I purchased a new dell vostro 5470 computer. During the initial setup is Stuck on the screen of define new wireless network connection and did not respond to anything including attempts to shutdown (from button), I waited until the battery is empty and turned on again, the moment he came directly to Dell's Auto Repair.
It does not allow any system recovery.
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Sep 9, 2013
Wife's computer upon reboot went into System Repair mode and said it might take more than an hour to complete. Now its hanging endless on a black screen. WIN 8 only 3 month only Sony VAIO machine.
If the laptop is powered off and is completely shut down and restarted...it is only going to a black screen. Nothing else?
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Jul 5, 2014
I can't get pass the "please wait" screen ..it's been in this mode for a few hours. Problem started after Windows' automatic updates. I have Gateway Desktop ZX6980..I had just fixed the problem with Apps not opening from start screen by taking the computer back to factory mode and it was working fine until the Automatic updates which could not be completed and then sat in the Configure for Windows for 6 hours ..now it's been sitting in the Please Wait mode for at least 3 hours.
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Jul 21, 2014
My laptop is a
Sony Vaio - Model: SVE141R11L
Product name: SVE14135CXB
Pre-loaded with Windows 8 x64
Intel(R) Core i5-3230M CPU @ 2.60GHz
6GB RAM w/ 900GB HDD space
Purchased in Navy Exchange last year (around July 2013)
I have dropped it once or twice from at most a 3ft fall inside a padded case. I mostly use my computer for school work, some gaming, extensive video/photo editing, internet browsing. I've installed some debatable programs but have been installed long ago. Most of my programs included Microsoft Office, Adobe suite, Steam, iTunes, uTorrent, McAfee VirusScan Enterprise, Winrar, VLC, etc. But are now gone due to the refresh I had just done last week for prior problems, but still experience problems.
I recently been having issues with my computer where it just won't respond at all. Like today, I had it working for a few hours, but then went out and left my laptop on the lock screen, and came back to it being completely stuck. Completely stuck as in, no keys or clicks would unlock the screen to the login prompt. However, my cursor was fully able to move around the screen, and my caps/num lock buttons work as they display the lights enabling/disabling them. The time when it was stuck was 8:03pm, but the clock was stuck on 7:55. But on the bottom of the front of the laptop, the HDD orange light is not lit up at all, which I believe suggest that the HDD is not reading/properly reading. Oddly enough, when I unplugged the power cord, the HDD light flickered a little then disappeared, still no response - could be related to the PSU I suppose?
Another problem I faced before was the Windows 8.1 update failure, resulting in reverted changes, etc. I also had problems in the first few months of owning this, but found it was the incompatibility of an old antivirus that I guess didn't work too well with Windows 8 causing me to have to do a full wipe before. That was long ago. Moreover, the problems I have been experiencing have been unresponsiveness, from what I believe, are the fast boot Win 8 provides (but I turned that off), issues with Windows 8 not being able to load drivers from sleep mode upon opening the laptop (turned off automatic sleep), and now with the lock screen being stuck. I know my problems aren't detailed, but maybe these problems are linked to a bigger similar problem that people have been facing? My last bet would be to do a full factory restore/ repair, although I don't have a Windows 8 boot CD.
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Aug 29, 2014
I have a brand new inspiron 5447, which was working fine till yesterday. If I try to boot now, it is just stuck at Dell logo and I am unable to go into BIOS settings. I tried pressing F2 and F12, but the screen is still stuck at same Dell logo screen.
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Apr 8, 2014
So system was running perfectly (custom pc, win 8, samsung pro ssd), just did a clean install, fresh drivers, etc. It was running great! ASUS Sabertooth p67 mobo, latest bios.
Then out of the blue, mid game, i get a hard lock up stall. no blue screen but just lock up. shut down and when i reboot, bios didn't find my samsung ssd. unplugged my 2nd sata drive, booted again and now it found the samsung ssd however i got the "no disk found press ctl alt delete"
At this point i ran windows recovery console and did the bootrec fixboot, fixmbr, rebuildbcd, chkdsk party. everything said it was completed successfully.
Now when i boot however i am stuck in an auto repair loop and can never boot into windows 8.
I am thinking the crash is somewhat power supply and/or mobo related. new power supply is on the way and mobo being RMA'ed.
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Dec 17, 2012
I have had a Dell Inspiron 3520 for 3 weeks now. It has had 2 Windows Updates in that time. Both times I lost Internet connection and any way of connecting. The connection bar for the wi-fi was on, connection good but no Internet. After a lot of chat with Dell I did a System restore to Factory settings the first time (16 days ago). I also did a restore point once I'd re-set everything up again.
2 days ago the same thing happened after a Windows update and I also could not locate the restore point so it was back to Factory settings.
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Dec 29, 2013
I have an old desktop running windows 7 (spec below). I had a 60GB partition and figured I'd install 8.1. I downloaded 8.1, proceeded to the install and everything went fine.
Upon reboot the desktop loaded to the windows 8 icon and immediately rebooted itself, and then launched into windows 8 automatic repair (without showing OS choice beforehand).
The pc has been stuck in this loop and I cant get out of it. I've attempted to reinstall a few times but it's the same story. I ran a disk check but no problems were found.
Windows 7 runs fine and has done for years, just a little sluggish as it needs some cleaning.
Spec:
Mobo: nForce M-a
CPU: Athlon X2 3800+
GPU: GeForce 8500 GT
2GB ram
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May 16, 2014
I have a hp envy running Windows 8.1. I recently ran a system restore, and ever since it has run the hp logo, then gone to a black screen and stayed there. Things I've tried:
Boot in safe mode: No change. Startup Repair: Said it couldn't fix it, but I can't get to the log file to find out why (is there a way to access windows explorer from then startup repair menu? Maybe using the command prompt?) System repair:Said there wasn't enough hard drive space. Another system restore: Didn't work, blamed my antivirus. (McAfee) Full system reset: Said there was a drive partition missing.
What I could try to resolve any of these? I have access to everything in the startup repair menu(f11), as well as the BIOS, but I'm not really sure where to go from there.
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Jun 3, 2014
About a week ago I had the same exact problem. When I would turn on my pc it would try to diagnose my computer, repair it, and then fail and find no problem. I didn't find any solutions so I did a fresh install. Now its happening all over again. I originally thought the problem was my OS and re installing would fix my problem. Now I think that my SSD (OCZ Vertex 450) might be the problem.
I think that disabling automatic repair could also fix the problem, but I don't want to turn that off and cause another potential problem if it wont stop the boot loop. I also have a hard drive which I could install windows on if I need to, but I am not sure my SSD is the problem and if it cant be fixed. I haven't been downloading anything lately, and I formatted both my SSD and hard drive when I did a clean install so I don't think the problem is a virus.
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Nov 6, 2014
My Gateway machine was performing a windows update when the neighbourhood power went out. It was off for four hours. When I went to turn the computer back on, it said automatic repair the diagnosing your pc.....that lasted about 5 hours! Then a blue screen with options came up. When I went to pick the advanced options, I clicked accidentally on the first one and it rebooted into the repair loop again. Since it takes so long for the diagnostic part, when the blue screen came up again it was likely the middle of the night.
I saw it at 7:00 am and tried to click the advanced options but the computer had gone to sleep by then and so once again it got rebooted into the loop. Gateway refused to support since the warranty is up. I can't find a Recovery disc image for 8.1 to put on a usb stick, and I'm back to trying to find answers on my 12 year old machine running XP. I tried the boot to safe mode with alt+F10 but can't get that to work either. If I knew how to force a reset to factory defaults without being able to get into windows I would. I've been doing this for 3 days now and I was just starting to like 8.1 too...
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Jun 22, 2014
So i have my friends Asus Laptop with Windows 8 running on it. Every time it strts up it displays the windows logo and after staring at a black screen for a few minutes it displays the message similar to Windows has encountered an error, (i'll update with the exact message when it pops up again) for a few seconds then immediately restarts to an asus logo with the message "Preparing automatic repair" and a boot animation, followed by a black screen, then it starts all over again. i can enter the bios settings by holding escape at startup but i'm not sure what i can do from there. is there anything besides getting the os on a flash drive that can be done?
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Apr 8, 2014
I tryied to get into Safe Mode in Windows 8.1 x64 and got looped by Automatic Repair loop
I tryied everything but without sucsess.
Safe Mode didnt come up, and it stays on Automatic Repair loop -> Diagnostics every restart/boot, and c'ant get into windows.
How do i disable this?
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