Quick Guide to Recover Data from Unbootable Computer | 2022

Won’t your computer go beyond the Windows logo? Concerned about your important data? Then this article has everything you need to recover data from an unbootable computer. For the quick and effective data recovery make use of Remo Recover. It is a powerful tool built with a deep scan algorithm that scavenges every sector of the unbootable drive to get back the data effortlessly.

If your computer/laptop is not turning up/booting up, this can be catastrophic, especially if you have important data. An unbootable computer might require you to repair the OS or drive depending on the cause of the problem. In this article, you will find ways to recover files from an unbootable computer/laptop regardless of the cause.

What is an Unbootable PC?

When the computer is turned on, the OS will look for the Boot sequence in BIOS in order to boot the computer. In case your Boot sequence is corrupted/damaged, then it might result in your computer or the laptop being in unbootable condition. When the computer is in an unbootable state, you will encounter a pop-up notification on the blue screen or black screen stating “Your PC ran into a problem and needs to restart. We’re just collecting some error info, and then we will restart for you (0% complete)”.

Before you proceed further, let us understand what are the causes of an unbootable laptop.

What Factors lead to Unbootable Laptop/PC?

Below are the factors which lead to unbootable laptop/PC,

• Corrupted BIOS
• A bad sector on the drive can lead to an unbootable/inaccessible drive
• Virus/malware intrusion might corrupt the drive making it unbootable
• Startup files like NTLDR/BOOTMGR are corrupt or missing,
• File system corruption can lead to an unbootable PC.
• Hardware failure due to faulty RAM
• Operating System corrupted/damaged.

Troubleshooting Tips to Restore Files from an Unbootable Windows 10/11

As discussed above, there are many ways Windows may have problems during startup. Let us understand in which phase the computer is struck.

• Phase 1: Pre Boot
• Phase 2: Windows Boot Manager
• Phase 3: Windows operating system loader
• Phase 4: Windows NT OS Kernel

 Note: Follow the command below if your computer keeps booting to the recovery mode.

• Bcdedit /set {default} recoveryenabled no
• If the F8 options don’t work, run the following command:
• Bcdedit /set {default} bootmenupolicy legacy

Now check if your computer is struck or surpassed the BIOS phase follow the steps below. The first thing you need to do is disconnect the external drives connected to the computer and follow the steps below.

Now to check if the computer is struck at the start up phase then check if the hard drive light on the computer is working or not. If it is not working then it might be struck in the BIOS phase, there may be hardware problems. Next check if the screen is balck, or only the cursor is blinking then the start up process is struck in the Boot loader.

To fix the issue click on the Shift+F10 simultaneously for a command prompt, and then use any of the following methods.

Solution 1: Startup Repair tool

• Create installation media for Windows.
• Select Next > Repair your computer.
• Now select Troubleshoot.
• On the Advanced options screen, select Startup Repair.

After Startup Repair, select Shutdown, then turn on your PC to see if Windows can boot properly. If the problem still persists then move to the next section of the article.

Solution 2: Repair Boot Codes

• Run the command to repair boot sector: BOOTREC /FIXMBR
• Run the following command to repair the boot sector: BOOTREC /FIXBOOT 

Solution 3: Fix BCD errors

If case you are facing startup issues due to BCD-related errors, then follow these steps:

Type Bootrec /ScanOS, now restart the computer to check whether the problem is fixed. If the problem is not fixed, run the following commands:

• bcdedit /export c:\bcdbackup
• attrib c:\boot\bcd -r -s -h
• ren c:\boot\bcd bcd.old
• bootrec /rebuildbcd

Now restart the system and check if the issue is resolved.

Solution 4: Replace Bootmgr

Follow the steps below to replace the Bootmgr file from drive C to the System Reserved partition, in case if the above methods were not fix the issue:

• Run the attrib command to unhide the file: attrib -r -s -h
• Rename the Bootmgr file as old: ren c:\bootmgr bootmgr.old and navigate to the system drive.

Copy the Bootmgr file, and then paste it to the System Reserved partition. Restart the computer.

Solution 5: Restore System Hive

In case your Windows cannot load the system registry hive into memory, you must try the following steps to restore the system hive.

Turn on the computer into Windows Recovery Environment and copy the files from the C:\Windows\System32\config\RegBack to C:\Windows\System32\config.

This will fix the issue, in case if your receiving a stop error appears after the Windows logo then, the startup is struck into the Kernel phase. You will receive the error codes like “0x00000C2″ , “0x0000007B” , “inaccessible boot device” and so on.

Then try booting the computer into Last Known Good Configuration.

All the above mentioned methods are either time consuming and complicated or they might cause threat to the existing data on your computer. If you have very important data that you want to restore from an unbootable computer before trying any troubleshooting, use Remo Recover a proficient data recovery tool with 20 million plus downloads by following the below steps.

How to Recover Data From Unbootable Computer using Remo Recover?

Utilise the Remo Recover tool, a professional hard drive recovery software. It is built with a deep scan engine that scans the entire unbootable hard drive and restores the files. In addition to recovering data from an unbootable hard drive, the tool can also recover data from a dead hard drive safely. Remo Recover software can also recover data from a variety of hard drives, including SATA, SCSI, IDE, and many more.

• On your healthy Windows 11/10, download and Install the Remo Recover application.
• Then remove your non-booting Windows hard drive and connect it to the healthy computer using a hard drive enclosure.
• Launch the Remo Recover and choose Recover Partitions from the main screen.

• Now, select the appropriate disk i.e; the unbootable hard drive from which you want to recover data from.
• Now, click on the Scan Once the software scans the entire partition automatically and shows a list of recoverable data in both File Type View and Data View.

• Finally, the tool allows you to Preview the files to judge the success rate of the software.
• Click on the Save button to get back the recovered files from the unbootable hard drive to the desired location.

How to Recover files from a Hard Drive That Won’t Turn On?

You might also try manually copying files from a hard drive that won’t boot on the other working PC or laptop. The following few steps are needed to recover data.

• Disconnect hard drive cables and unscrew it, and take them out of the case.
• Attach the hard drive to a new PC using an external hard drive enclosure. Alternatively, you can put the drive into another machine that is in good working condition.
• Restart the new computer which has an unbooted hard drive connected, and you’ll be able to read and access the data on the hard drive.
• Finally, select the files and copy them from the non-booting hard drive to a new storage device.

Recovering data manually from an unbootable hard drive is a tedious process, if the MBR is corrupt, then it becomes difficult to recover the data manually. The best way to recover the files is with the help of data recovery software by Remo Recover.

Additional Method: Data Recovery from Unbootable Laptop by Booting from a USB Drive

It’s possible that your computer’s hardware is still functional, but you’re unable to boot into Windows. Perhaps the bootloader is corrupted, preventing you from booting Windows. However, if the computer is still functional, you can use it to boot into a different Windows environment that will (hopefully) allow you to retrieve your data.

You can make use of a bootable USB drive connected to Windows. Download and launch Microsoft’s Media Creation Tool on that PC, then choose ISO when requested.

Then, open Rufus and pick your USB drive under “Device,” your Windows ISO under “Boot Selection,” and Windows To Go under “Image Option” from the drop-down menus. Wait for the process to complete after clicking Start. Follow similar instructions for operating macOS on a USB device if you’re using a Mac.

You can restart your computer once it’s finished. When you view the starting screen, press a key on your keyboard to enter the boot menu—it will generally inform you which key to press on-screen. For example, at the startup screen on the computer, click F11 to open the boot menu, to boot your laptop/Windows PC into a Windows environment.

If it doesn’t work, you can access the BIOS configuration by pressing Delete or F2 on your keyboard. Locate the “Boot Order” box, then drag your USB drive to the top of the list.

Conclusion:

Hope this article was informative in discussing how to recover files from an unbootable hard drive with Windows 10/11. It is recommended to always take a backup of your important data, in order to tackle any data loss situation. In case you don’t have a backup then utilise powerful hard drive recovery software like Remo Recover.