Unmountable boot volume

Question

A few weeks ago, my apartment got hit with some really high winds that knocked our power out. All of the important electronics in my apartment are plugged in to surge protectors, but I noticed some damage to a few small things like a lamp and alarm clock following the power outage. A few days later, my girlfriend attempted to use the desktop computer in our living room which as mentioned was plugged into a surge protector so should not have been affected by the power outage. When she tried to turn it on, a blue screen came up that said 'Unmountable boot volume', we will restart for you and attempt to fix the problem. When the computer restarted, the logo came on with the typical loading wheel and a message that said 'Preparing Automatic Repairs.' Afterward, the screen went black and nothing happened for a while. In an attempt to figure out if it was doing anything, I tried moving the mouse, to which it responded, the mouse appeared on the screen and was responsive, but the screen remained black and nothing else happened.  I then shut it down and gave it a few days not really knowing what to do. The next time I tried to turn it on, I opened the startup options using F12 and ran the pre-boot assessment. The first time I tried this, I ran into an error along the way, not entirely sure what, but I believe some startup files or drives may have been corrupted, and I let the computer continue to run scans of the remaining memory. Eventually, the screen shut off but the computer kept running and I was not able to get the screen on again so I again abandoned my efforts.  Finally, about a week later, I tried again using the same F12 at startup and running the assessment. This time, no error message came up, but I again let it run through the remaining memory. Same result, however I was able to get a response after the screen went black by pressing the 'Enter' key which it brought me to the boot options menu and I'm not sure what else to try. I read another source on this discussion that recommended 'Norton Bootable Recovery Tool' which I tried with no result.  Any other advice for what to try before I take it in to Best Buy to pay a fortune to have them tell me I need to buy a new computer?

Vic384 · Answer

You need to post some description of your computer such as the model, CPU, memory, hard drives or solid state drives, video card, operating system, etc.

JOcean · Answer

It sounds like corrupted Windows files and possibly the MBR. A surge protector is fine for voltage problems but for a desktop the better protection is a UPS. A voltage interruption can cause files to corrupt due to improper shutdown caused by a voltage loss. Whereas a battery backup will not only surge protect but keep power supplied to the system for a period of time so a smooth and orderly shutdown can be accomplished. A must, in my opinion, for any desktop system. I have had one on my desktops for many years and have never had any data loss or corruption due to voltage problems, and in my area there have been many sporadic voltage problems.As for your problem try the following site which has a number of fixes.

https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/unmountable-boot-volume-windows/

Also

https://www.howtogeek.com/314482/surge-protectors-vs.-ups-do-you-really-need-a-battery-backup-for-your-pc/

Tesla1856 · Answer

@g-manpc wrote:

All of the important electronics in my apartment are plugged in to surge protectors, but I noticed some damage to a few small things like a lamp and alarm clock following the power outage.

Inexpensive Surge Protectors do almost nothing.

To protect your expensive machines and electronics, I suggest you purchase some good UPS units (like APC with AVR-Tech and a LCD).

Tesla1856 · Answer

@g-manpc wrote:

Finally, about a week later, I tried again using the same F12 at startup and running the assessment. This time, no error message came up,

That is a good sign... 90% chance your hardware is good.

Sounds like corrupt Windows or crashed hard-drive.

How you proceed depends on:
- Your skill level (or a friend's that is will to help)
- Whether or not you need to attempt any file recovery first.
- If you have more money than time.

Mary G · Answer

Try the repair master boot record repair here -- https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/unmountable-boot-volume-windows/

RoHe · Answer

Might be a good time to replace the motherboard battery (CR2032, ~$2) which could have run down while the power was out. A weak motherboard battery could let BIOS settings get scrambled, and that can cause the error message you got too.

After a while, BIOS would reset to its default settings if the battery died and that could "solve" the problem, as long as the PC remains connected to a working outlet 24/7. I guess you could test that by unplugging PC from the outlet and pressing/holding the power button for ~15 sec. Then reconnect to outlet and try to boot. If that fails again, then you know the battery is probably dead...

EDITED: This posted before I was finished. :Angry:

XPS Desktops

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