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EDColeman3
7 Posts
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May 24th, 2021 11:00
Cannot boot Win 10 Install/Repair USB or DVD
I have a Dell Inspiron i5-3565 that will NOT boot from Win 10 Install/Repair DVD *OR* external USB. I have tried everything, to no avail.
System specs:
• CPU: AMD A6-9200 RADEON R4
• OS: Windows 10 Home x64, version 1909 (November 2019 Update) Build 18363.1440
• RAM: Micron 4GB DDR4 [DDR4-2401]
• BIOS: ver. 1.10.1 released 14 FEB 2019 (latest available)
• HDD: TOSHIBA MQ01ABF050 500GB 5400rpm 2.5” SATA-600
The internal 500GB Toshiba HDD is failing (Reallocated Sectors Count > 0, Current pending sector count > 0) as reported by CrystalDiskInfo and Topola’s SIW (Sys Info for Windows). Win 10 itself never warned that the HDD was failing (?). The system will boot, but runs very, very slowly one booted up (Task Manager > Performance shows C: drive at or near 100% usage with slow read/write speeds).
I am replacing it with a Samsung 870 EVO 500GB SSD. But in order to do so, I need to be able to boot from the Win 10 Install/Repair media, either USB or DVD. The laptop will start to boot the USB or DVD, then abort and revert to the internal HDD. There are no error messages.
I used the Win 10 Media Creation Tool (latest 21H1) to create the Install/Repair media three ways:
• on a SanDisk Cruzer 16GB USB 2.0
• on a Crucial 32GB SSD mounted in an external Inatek USB 3.0 enclosure
• burned the ISO file to a DVD (it fit on a standard DVD with only 144MB left over!).
The USB devices were properly formatted as FAT32 by the Win Media Creation Tool.
All three boot properly on both my Dell Latitude E7480 laptop and on my Dell Optiplex 7010 desktop.
The laptop’s BIOS is the latest available (ver. 1.10.1 released 14 FEB 2019) – I even re-flashed it to make sure (after the initial USB/DVD boot failures).
I have set the Boot settings in the BIOS setup numerous different ways, and none work.
• Fast Boot Enabled and Disabled
• Secure Boot Enabled and Disabled
• Boot List Option both UEFI and Legacy
• Chosen the Boot device options from both the UEFI Options list and the Legacy Options list
In every case, the system starts to boot from the chosen media (USB or DVD), but then video “artifacts” appear on the screen (streaks), the 4-blue-squares Windows logo appears, then the screen goes black and the boot reverts back to the Windows boot manager on the internal HDD. (When I boot those media on my other machines, I get the video streaks and the 4-square Windows logo, then the machine boots properly from the chosen media.)
I have run full Diagnostics (including extended memory tests) – all passed.
I have run the gamut of disk analysis/repair tools – all passed.
% chkdsk c: /r (ran on reboot)
% DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth
% sfc /scannow
(I know it’s risky running those on a failing drive, but I was desperate.)
Any ideas or suggestions?
ADDITIONAL INFO:
- Yes, I replaced the failing Toshiba HDD with the new Samsung SSD. That was when I first noticed the system would not boot from the Install/Repair USB or DVD. So I reinstalled the failing Toshiba HDD to troubleshoot.
- When booted up on the failing Toshiba HDD, both USB devices and the DVD can be "seen" by the system (File Manager) and the setup.exe file can be executed.
With the flash drive connected, press F12 at powerup. If the flash drive is bootable, it will appear in the boot list.
From the sound of it, you have a mainboard problem -- have you run a full system diagnostic (also F12 at powerup)?
EDColeman3
7 Posts
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0
Posted May 24th, 2021 13:00
"Try another USB flash drive other than SanDisk."
As it states in my original post:
- I also tried a Crucial 32GB SSD mounted in an external USB enclosure, from all three USB ports on the laptop.
- AND I tried burning the Windows Install/Repair ISO to a DVD and booting from that.
Same result in every case: It *starts* to boot from the chosen device (Windows four-blue-square logo appears, it starts to load, then aborts, screen goes black for a moment, then it reverts to the Windows Boot Manager on the HDD.
EDColeman3
7 Posts
818
0
Posted May 30th, 2021 07:00
No, I did not yet any other USB stick than the SanDisk - why? And why not an SSD on an external enclosure? Both booted OK in multiples USB ports on other systems (desktop and laptop).
EDColeman3
7 Posts
908
0
Posted May 24th, 2021 11:00
The answers to your questions are in my original post. To reiterate:
"With the flash drive connected, press F12 at powerup. If the flash drive is bootable, it will appear in the boot list."
Yes, i press F12. Yes, the flash drive(s) / DVD appear in the boot list. Yes, I select it. The system *starts* to boot from the selected media, the four-blue-square Windows logo appears, but then the boot aborts and reverts to the Windows Boot Manager on the HDD. The system WILL.NOT.BOOT.FROM.ANY.USB.DEVICE.OR.DVD. Any USB device on any of the three ports, or the DVD. All three ports work properly when the system is booted up form the HDD, as does the DVD drive.
"From the sound of it, you have a mainboard problem -- have you run a full system diagnostic (also F12 at powerup)?"
As stated in my original post, "I have run full Diagnostics (including extended memory tests) – all passed."
HTH