17 R2, not booting, #2

Question

Hi All,

Yesterday windows 8.1 in my alien stuck so badly that even CTRL+ALT+DEL didnt do nothing.

After 30min of waiting I made hard reset and now windows not even start to boot.

After turning laptop on I see Alienware logo and info that System didnt shot down cleanly and that Cache metdata will be reconstructed.

But after he process 3407 delta log records he show that reading delta log failed.

Then I have 3 options ,reboot ,enter bios settings or diagnostic tool.

I run diagnostic tool and he show no problem with hardware.

Is it bios or just windows crushed totally?

Would format and windows reinstall help?

mattyb3 · Accepted Answer

Yes, I think your best bet is a fresh Windows installation. If you want a chance to save your data then you can grab a new SSD and install Windows on that or you can just format your old drive. If you still have your Alienware Windows install CD then use that or you could try installing Windows 10 by using the Microsoft Media Creation Tool and downloading Windows onto an 8gb USB flash drive.

Remove your old drive, install the new SSD and insert the CD or USB drive. The Windows installation should start automatically. You should have a spare drive bay so after the installation you can reinstall your old drive in the spare slot and you may be able to recover your data.

T800M109 · Answer

So today I installed windows 10 and automatically real problem came out.

HDD drive died. That was the problem. Alienware 17 r2 have 2 discs. One standard 1T HDD drive and one 128gb M2 SSD drive.

I installed windows on SSD drive.

Now I think that instead of replacing HDD drive I will remoove it totally and instead I will place second M2 SSD drive with 500gb.

What was strange entire windows system was placed on HDD drive.

mattyb3 · Answer

Yeah that is strange. If there is an SSD available then that's usually where the OS is installed. In some older machines they would install the OS on the HDD but have a small mSata SSD that was used as a cache drive to make it feel like you were running on a full sized SSD. They wouldn't use a 128gb drive though (usually a 32gb or 80gb drive)

I'm glad you got it sorted.

EDIT: I just had another look at your first post and it sounds like it was set up as a cache drive. That's why your OS was on the HDD

A51-06 · Answer

I’m very happy for you @T800M109!

Hopefully this issue won’t occur again when your using your laptop. What I’d recommend though is to use Windows 10 as much better Driver support and Application usage is improved on Windows 10.

And if this issue does occur anytime again just contact @mattyb3 for assistance or @Alienware Area-51 ALX 2006 .

Best of Luck,

Area-51 ALX 2006

Alienware

17 R2, not booting, #2

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