So two days ago I decided to format my laptop and install windows 8.1 on it. On first boot everything was fine, great even. But on second boot I got the dreaded black screen. It won't log into windows, and I immediately get a black screen right after the bios screen. I can't access safe mode; tried holding shift + f8 and it doesn't do anything. Loaded windows into a USB drive and tried the bootrec /fixboot and /fixmbr commands, both of which reported successful and didn't fix the issue at hand, mind you rebuildbcd says it can't detect a windows installation. There are no restore points and I can't refresh windows because it says the drive is locked. What can I do to resolve the issue at hand? Is there a way to get to the data on the drive and back it up before formatting? I did try plugging the hard drive to my desktop, but I can't access it's contents without having to format it.
Windows 8.1 black screen, can't access safe mode
- Thread starter PkNofal
- Start date
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Darkbreeze
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- Jun 24, 2014
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Sounds like a mechanical problem with the hard drive. I'd try to run Seatools for DOS (or whatever similar program your drives manufacturer has available in the unlikely even that Seatools won't run) on it to determine fitness of the device.
Seatools for DOS: http://www.seagate.com/support/downloads/item/seatools-dos-master/
It's unlikely you'll be able to recover the contents if it refuses to be recognized even as a secondary device in a separate system but run the drive health test first to see what's what.
Seatools for DOS: http://www.seagate.com/support/downloads/item/seatools-dos-master/
It's unlikely you'll be able to recover the contents if it refuses to be recognized even as a secondary device in a separate system but run the drive health test first to see what's what.
Hmm, maybe. But here's the thing, it is recognized as a secondary device on my desktop. I can even see it in the drive list in my computer, but it won't let me open it. I'm guessing it's an ownership type of deal, maybe? Perhaps it's because the contents of the device are owned by another user?
Darkbreeze
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No, secondary devices not tied to the OS have no such restrictions. You should still be able to browse file structure on the drive regardless of any user profile restrictions, admin privileges or drive format type unless of course the drive is encrypted, which I'm sure it's not unless you work in security or intelligence. Even if the drive is recognized, there can still be significant physical issues. A recognized drive can have a failed head in a parked position that refuses to move and a plethora of other possible issues.
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