You may have already done this, but if not, know that each startup method available from the Startup Settings or Advanced Boot Options menu is there because it helps avoid one or more specific problems that prevent Windows from loading:. Try the option to start Windows normally as well — you never know. See the tips at the bottom of the page for help if Windows does actually start in one of the three modes above.
Repair your Windows installation. The most common reason for Windows to continuously return you to the Startup Settings or Advanced Boot Options menu is because one or more important Windows files are damaged or missing. Repairing Windows replaces these important files without removing or changing anything else on your computer. Windows XP refers to it as a Repair Installation.
So, if you're an XP user, you may want to wait until you've tried these other steps first. Windows could be returning to the Startup Settings or Advanced Boot Options menu because of damage to a driver, important file, or part of the registry. A System Restore will return all of those things to the state they were in at a time when your computer worked fine, which could solve your problem entirely.
This may not work, however, depending on what's causing your overall problem, so you may have to boot to the install disc after all. Another Option for Windows 10, 8, or 7 : If you don't have your Windows 10, 8, or 7 installation disc or flash drive but you do have access to another computer with one of those versions of Windows installed, like another in the house or a friend's, you can create repair media from there that you can use to complete this step on your broken computer.
System Restore was made available from a bootable disc starting with the release of Windows Vista. Use the System File Checker command to repair protected Windows files. A damaged operating system related file could be preventing you from getting past the Startup Settings or Advanced Boot Options menu, and the sfc command could fix the problem.
See the notes above about accessing these diagnostic areas. System File Checker is only available from within Windows in your operating system. Chances are that if the Windows repair you tried in Step 2 didn't work then this won't either, but it's worth a shot considering the hardware-focused troubleshooting up next.
Clear the CMOS. If clearing the CMOS does fix your Windows startup problem, make sure any changes you make in BIOS are completed one at a time so if the problem returns, you'll know which change caused the problem. Replace the CMOS battery if your computer is more than three years old or if it's been off for an extended amount of time. CMOS batteries are inexpensive and one that is no longer keeping a charge can cause all sorts of strange behavior during the Windows startup process.
Reseat everything you can get your hands on. Reseating will reestablish the various connections inside your computer and could clear up the glitch that's causing Windows to get stuck at the Advanced Boot Options or Startup Settings screen. Try reseating the following hardware and then see if Windows will start properly:. Test the RAM. If one of your computer's RAM modules fails completely, your computer won't even turn on.
Most of the time, however, memory fails slowly and will work up to a point. If your system memory is failing, Windows may be unable to start in any mode. Replace the memory in your computer if the memory test shows any kind of problem. Steps 9 and 10 both involve more difficult and destructive solutions to Windows getting stuck at the Startup Settings or Advanced Boot Options menu.
It may be that one of the below solutions is necessary to fix your problem but if you haven't been diligent in your troubleshooting up to this point, you can't know for sure that one of the easier solutions above isn't the right one. Test the hard drive. A physical problem with your hard drive is certainly a reason why Windows might not start as it should. A hard drive that can't read and write information properly certainly can't load an operating system properly — even Safe Mode.
Replace your hard drive if your tests show an error. After replacing the hard drive, you'll need to perform a new installation of Windows. If your hard drive passes your test, the hard drive is physically fine, so the cause of your problem must be with Windows, in which case the next step will solve the problem. Perform a Clean Install of Windows. This type of installation erases the drive Windows is installed on and then install the operating system again from scratch.
If Windows will start in one or more of the Safe Mode options but that's it, continue on with the troubleshooting steps on this page, which will be a bit easier to complete thanks to your access to Safe Mode. If Windows starts after enabling Last Known Good Configuration then some change made after the last time your computer started correctly caused this problem and the error may return if the same changes are made.
If you can avoid causing the same problem again then there's nothing more to do and everything should be fine. If Windows starts with low-resolution video enabled then there's a very good chance that your computer's video card is glitchy:. First, try to adjust the screen resolution to something more comfortable and see if the problem simply goes away. If not, try this troubleshooting:.
Borrow a working monitor from another computer and try it in place of yours. Update the drivers to the video card. Test your computer's memory and replace the memory if tests show any problem. Step 5: Turn on the laptop and see if Windows error recovery still appears. If yes, go to the next solution to troubleshoot.
You can boot your PC to this mode if you are having trouble starting the system normally. Last Known Good Configure can load a previous configuration in Windows including drivers, registry data, etc. After the process finishes, your PC will boot to the desktop properly. However, if Windows fails to start twice in a row, you need to move to the next solution.
When experiencing Windows error recovery during the startup of Windows 7, one solution given by the black screen is to perform Startup Repair also known as Automatic Repair in older versions of Windows.
It can scan your system and attempt to fix damaged or missing system files. In the error recovery screen, sometimes you may have two options and one of them is Launch Startup Repair recommended , as shown in the following figure. Just use the arrow keys to highlight this option and press Enter on your keyboard to run Startup Repair. But if you cannot see this option just like the first picture , how can you do this job?
An installation disc is helpful. Step 2: Insert this disc and restart your computer. Note that you should change the BIOS settings so that the disc is the first boot order. Step 6: You will get the following interface. Click Startup Repair to automatically fix problems that are stopping Windows from starting. Then, the repair process starts. This may take 15 to 45 minutes to complete, so wait patiently.
Also, it may require the system to restart. If there is a restore point created by you on the computer, you can use it to take your PC back to the settings that previously worked. When getting the Windows error recovery issue, you can directly choose Safe Mode, Safe Mode with Networking or Safe Mode with Command Prompt from the computer screen if you see these options.
If you cannot see it, go to Safe Mode by following these steps. Step 6: Click Finish and the restore process will start. After that, the Windows error recovery issue should be fixed.
To get rid of the error screen, you can use bootrec. These two ways are described in the above contents. Then, in CMD, type these commands and press Enter after each command. If the file system gets corrupted, the Windows 7 error recovery issue may appear.
After the process is finished, restart your computer and see if Windows error recovery is disappeared. If all of these solutions above fail to fix Windows error recovery and your Windows still fails to start, what should you do? The last resort is reinstalling the operating system. How can you back up files when Windows fails to boot? MiniTool ShadowMaker, a piece of professional PC backup software , is designed to back up your files via imaging and sync. Just get MiniTool ShadowMaker from the download button.
Free Download. Step 2: Click Media Builder and follow the on-screen to finish the bootable drive creation.
PC is not booting but you want to back up files without booting to save them? After finishing the backup, now you can follow the guide to perform a clean install of Windows 7 to repair Windows error recovery. Step 2: After choosing the language, time and keyboard, click Install now to start the system reinstallation. Here are all the possible solutions to this problem. Just share them to let more persons know. Now, you should have resolved the Windows error recovery issue that happens in Windows 7 PCs.
To restore your PC to a normal state instead of spending much time fixing the problem when it appears next, creating a system image is recommendable. To do this work, MiniTool ShadowMaker can be also helpful.
