Stuck in Startup Repair

[werdnarolyat]

Hi all,

A family member has a Dell Studio 1540 desktop which currently has Windows 7 installed; I’ve taken it off their hands to hopefully upgrade it to Windows 10.

I have switched the PC on and I’m currently stuck in a startup repair loop i.e. startup repair reports it cannot repair the issue and my options are to shutdown or restart, doing so takes me back to startup repair.

The problem event name given is “StartupRepairOffline”. Is this because the PC is not connected to the internet?

The diagnosis and repair details report an error code of 0x490.

Please note that as part of the upgrade to Windows 10 I was going to replace the hard drive because when the PC previously loaded properly a scan of the hard drive using SeaTools indicated the hard drive was failing; this is perhaps contributing to the problem.

What do you think my best course of action is?

Thanks.

[Rustys]

I’ve taken it off their hands to hopefully upgrade it to Windows 10.

How? Where did the media come from?

Please note that as part of the upgrade to Windows 10 I was going to replace the hard drive because when the PC previously loaded properly a scan of the hard drive using SeaTools indicated the hard drive was failing; this is perhaps contributing to the problem.

this would probably be causing the issue if the drive is failing
Replace the Drive with a 500 GB SSD
May also want to upgrade the RAM to 8 GB to 16 GB for windows 10 to run properly.

Dell Studio 1540 desktop

Finding nothing on the Dell web site for a Desktop Studio 1540

[werdnarolyat]

Thanks for the reply Rustys.

I upgraded my laptop from Windows 7 to Windows 10 using the method outlined at the link below and was planning to try the same for my dad.

How to upgrade to Windows 10 for free - Which?

I’m not sure if it will still work but thought it was worth trying.

Thanks for the hard drive suggestion. I was hoping to clone the existing hard drive - will that be possible if I can’t get the PC to load?

Apologies, the desktop is a Dell Studio 540, not 1540.

[Rustys]

Following those steps the system will be fine.

I was hoping to clone the existing hard drive - will that be possible if I can’t get the PC to load?

Would not suggest cloning the drive since you are having issues. You will be copying issues form the original drive to the new one.
Best to do what is called a clean install using the USB install media on a 16 GB thumb drive.

[werdnarolyat]

Thanks Rustys.

I have ordered and received a new SSD and I’ve created the Windows 10 installation USB.

In terms of the next steps, could I install the SSD in the PC as an additional hard drive (assuming there is a spare slot) and then install Windows 10 to it using the USB?

Would that work going forward as long as I changed the boot order in the BIOS?

[Rustys]

It would be better to install the SSD as the primary drive and do a fresh install of Windows.

[werdnarolyat]

OK, thanks. I’ll try that and let you know how it goes.

[Rustys]

Let us know how things go.

[werdnarolyat]

Just to let you know, it may be another couple of days before I have some spare time to try this.

[Rustys]

Closing thread until @werdnarolyat has time to preform the task.

Contact some one on the staff to unlock the thread so you can update.

[Rustys]

Due to lack of response form original poster thread closed

[jmarket]

Reopening thread per OP

[werdnarolyat]

Thanks for reopening the thread jmarket.

@Rustys thanks for your support with this; I have completed the task and everything is working as expected.

[Rustys]

Glad to hear that things have gotten take care of.

Thank you for letting us know do you consider this resolved now?

[werdnarolyat]

Yes, I consider this resolved.

Thanks again.