Start Up Desktop Flashing On/off

I will try to keep the story short but the details long enough to help.

3 year old Dell XPS desktop computer, i7 chip running Win 10 upgraded clean from new OS of Win 8.? I am limited to how much more specs I can provide because I have very limited access to my computer. I am writing this post on my antique laptop running Win 7.

I was interrupted while posting on FB and left the computer, When I returned it had gone into sleep mode. Usually I simply move my mouse a bit and the screen comes back but this time nothing, just a black screen. So I shut down and re-started. It took a long time to go through start up but did get to User log in etc finally. After login it loaded my usual Desktop display but it only lasts a few seconds then flashes back to appear like it is just finishing loading my Desktop again. ie, the icons on the desktop are blank. Then a few seconds later the properly completed desktop appears for a few seconds only to start the endless loop again. Nothing that I have tried will stop/interrupt the Flashing screen once it starts.

I have tried a few cold starts, unplugged directly from the UPS and tried again, all to no avail. I researched the issue and thought I had found the problem as the Win 10 Flashing Screen issue. However one subtle difference with my issue has prevented the suggested fix. For the Win 10 flashing issue the suggestion is to open Task manager and access the command prompt etc etc. I can access the task manager but cannot progress any further than the initial page. So no access to the command prompt. I attempted to start up in safe Mode by tapping/holding down the F8 key while starting but No Joy.

As I write this I am deliberately tempting Murphy's Laws because I have unplugged my desktop computer from the UPS for 2 days and I am posting this asking for help before I have tried to plug it back in and try it again.

My understanding of the common Win 10 Flashing Issue is that it is an update conflict. I am not aware of an update running at the moment that I originally shut down my computer but with Win 10 anything is possible of course.

I honestly do not know if this is a software or hardware issue and my apologies to the Forum and Mod.'s if I am in the incorrect forum. Any help anyone?
Dave

 

Thank you Tim, much appreciated. A long shot I know, but do you have any knowledge/experience with the procedure removing or saving personal files? At the beginning of the procedure it states all personal files will be lost. Further down the instructions page it offers an option to retain personal files but continue with the Reset. I am hoping beyond hope that the option to retain personal files will work. I do have a back up on external hard drive but it is pushing a year old. I do not keep it connected full time in order to avoid ransomeware but unfortunately this sometimes causes me to miss back ups.
Dave

 

So I followed the instructions, watched the reset progress for a while, left and went to the washroom at about 20% progression. When I came back I had an Error message that said " Unable to reset this PC. A problem was encountered" The only option offered was Cancel which I clicked. Had the Blue screen of Death for about 5 minutes with the "busy" light on the front of the PC on solid. I assumed a total lock up but waited another 5 minutes, then the screen came back to the Choose an Option page.
Continue - exit and continue to Win 10
Turn off your PC
Use a Device
Troubleshoot

I am going to give it another try and see what happens.
Dave

 

Another error message. "There was a problem resetting your PC. No changes were made." Clicked Cancel. PC did the same as last time.
So last option? Reset PC and do not save my Files?

 

Another idea possibly. Could I pull the hard drive then use my USB 2.0 to IDE or SATA Adapter Cable from StarTech to spin the hard drive up using my laptop, pull the files that I want to save and put them on my external hard drive. Then reinstall the hard drive and Troubleshoot again with do not save my files?

Any value in simply shutting down and restarting and simply crossing my fingers? LOL

 

Advanced Options gives me the following:

System Restore - use Restore points recorded on your PC to restore Windows

System Image Recovery - recover Windows using a specific system image file

Startup Repair - fix problems that keep Windows from loading

Command Prompt - self explanatory

UEFI Firmware Settings - change settings in your PC's firmware

Startup Settings - change Windows startup behaviour

And at the bottom "See more recovery options".

 

Well, egg on my face. I thought that System Restore points were done automatically by Win 10. I thought wrong. It sort of makes me shake my head when I think about ALL the things Win 10 does do without prompting, request, knowledge or in a lot of cases permission. But System Restore points is NOT one of them.
Dummy Dave.

 

Yes.

 

Sorry for the delay Tim, there are these tings called "Wives" that frequently make demands upon a guys time...lol.

No, there were no Restore Points set. I am completely embarrassed by this dumb mistake.

 

Okay, first of all my apologies for disappearing. Life responsibilities....

I managed to get my Win 10 PC hard drive hooked up to my Win 7 Laptop through the StarTech adapters. Everything connected fine and I have to comment that over the years this little StarTech set up has been handier than pockets in pajamas.
However my laptop will not see the PC hard drive. My best guesses are:
1. PC is 64 bit OS and laptop is 32 bit
2. A Win 10 to Win 7 conflict but if the laptop is only attempting to "see" the hard drive the OS should not be a factor?
Both are running i7 chips.

I was thinking of routing through my Surface Pro 4 but it only has one USB port and I need minimum of two. One for the external hard drive and one for the StarTech rig. And the Surface only has about 190 gb left of a 250 gb hard drive.

So I guess I either need to make a new friend that owns a laptop or PC running Win 10 or off I go to Tech support. LOL
Suggestions?

 

Just in case you get to another point where you need command prompt, in Win 10 it is not accessed via Task Manager, it is on the right click Start button. In later versions of 10 it may not appear but you can use Powershell instead.

Your laptop not seeing the drive is nothing to do with Windows version but sounds more like a faulty connection or cable or faulty USB port.

 

I cannot access the Start button because it is only visible on the "flashing" screen.

I get the Win version not being part of the connection issue but what about the 64 bit / 32 bit issue? The USB port is fine and the PC hard drive spools up with the cables and is obviously running. If I connect an old hard drive to the StarTech rig from a previously owned PC the laptop will "see" it okay, so I feel that the cables are okay as well.

 

Yes, if it's spinning it probably isn't cable or ports. It's possible that Windows has simply not given it a drive letter but to rectify this you need to get into Disk Management by typing diskmgt.msc into Start. Hopefully you can now see the drive so right click it and click Change Drive Letter and Paths. Give it one of the free letters and exit. The drive should now appear in My Computer.

 

Need to correct typo in #19. It's diskmgmt.msc

 

Update:
My apologies for disappearing, I was away from home for a while.

So I re-tried hooking up my StarTech rig to my laptop and to my removed PC hard drive. Someone else that I spoke with while away said to be a bit more patient and give the hard drive a bit more time to spin before declaring a failure. It took 4 or 5 minutes but finally the laptop could "see" the hard drive. I was able to transfer all of my pictures, documents etc over to my external hard drive. So now Peace has returned to the Valley!

Quick question: Now that my important data is saved I am able/willing to experiment with the hard drive a bit to attempt recovery. Any chance that Tweaking.com's program could repair the Windows on this hard drive? Of course I am "assuming" it is a Windows problem.

Someone else had suggested that what I am seeing could be a hard drive failure even after I carefully explained what was happening. It doesn't quite make sense to me that it could be a hard drive failure but.....??

And information correction: The PC hard drive is actually a Seagate 2Tb drive if that makes any difference.

If there is nothing different/new to try I will go back and re-try Tim's original suggestion and choose to not save any data once that choice shows up in the progression.

Thanks again to everyone for their input. Much appreciated and I do show appreciation by pumping Major Geeks site to anyone discussing computers with me for many years now.

 

First test the HDD with both of these programs.

Seagate SeaTools for Windows.
http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/seagate_seatools_for_windows.html

HDDScan for Windows.
http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/hddscan_for_windows.html

 

Awesome, thanks Eldon! Will do asap.

 

Okay so the Seagate tool would not or could not "see" that the hard drive in question existed despite multiple attempts and a re-start. It would work for the hard drive on this laptop, which is what I am working from for now, but that is pointless of course.

The HDD Scan for Windows tool does see the hard drive plugged into my laptop through my StarTech rig. It ran the Smart scan, results below. The Read test ran for 8+ hours without completion as it only made it to about 45% and I gave up in frustration. Running the Butterfly test as I write this and it would appear that the same thing will happen. It has been running for an 1 1/2 hours and is at 4% completion.

Something new that started this morning is the hard drive has a faint rhythmic "clunk" sound. Hard to describe but almost like a flat spot on a tire at speed but a lot softer. I tried to capture it with my cell phone but no joy.

Now that I have recovered my important files from the hard drive has the time come to:

1. Re-install the hard drive and attempt Tim's original suggestion or resetting to factory settings without saving personal files?

2. Trash can this hard drive, buy a new one, purchase Win 1o again, and start over new?

The Smart Scan doesn't copy and paste worth crap but here it is...in two posts because I cannot post more than 20 images in a single post.



HDDScan S.M.A.R.T. Report
https://forums.majorgeeks.com/file:///C:/Users/drussell/Documents/ST2000DM001-1ER164-W4Z25LEC-SMART_mht_files/HDD.jpg

Model: ST2000DM001-1ER164
Firmware: CC25
Serial: W4Z25LEC
LBA: 3907029168 (2000 GB)

Report By: HDDSCAN v4.0
Report Date: 06/04/2018 5:57:08 PM

Num Attribute Name Value Worst Raw(hex) Threshold
https://forums.majorgeeks.com/file:///C:/Users/drussell/Documents/ST2000DM001-1ER164-W4Z25LEC-SMART_mht_files/Green.ico
001 Raw Read Error Rate 119 099 0000000D5C-7CB8 006
https://forums.majorgeeks.com/file:///C:/Users/drussell/Documents/ST2000DM001-1ER164-W4Z25LEC-SMART_mht_files/Green.ico
003 Spin Up Time 096 096 0000000000-0000 000
https://forums.majorgeeks.com/file:///C:/Users/drussell/Documents/ST2000DM001-1ER164-W4Z25LEC-SMART_mht_files/Green.ico
004 Start/Stop Count 098 098 0000000000-0AFA 020
https://forums.majorgeeks.com/file:///C:/Users/drussell/Documents/ST2000DM001-1ER164-W4Z25LEC-SMART_mht_files/Green.ico
005 Reallocation Sector Count 100 100 0000000000-0000 010
https://forums.majorgeeks.com/file:///C:/Users/drussell/Documents/ST2000DM001-1ER164-W4Z25LEC-SMART_mht_files/Green.ico
007 Seek Error Rate 085 060 0000011515-4B5B 030
https://forums.majorgeeks.com/file:///C:/Users/drussell/Documents/ST2000DM001-1ER164-W4Z25LEC-SMART_mht_files/Green.ico
009 Power-On Hours Count 093 093 0000000000-1957 000
https://forums.majorgeeks.com/file:///C:/Users/drussell/Documents/ST2000DM001-1ER164-W4Z25LEC-SMART_mht_files/Green.ico
010 Spin Retry Count 100 100 0000000000-0000 097
https://forums.majorgeeks.com/file:///C:/Users/drussell/Documents/ST2000DM001-1ER164-W4Z25LEC-SMART_mht_files/Green.ico
012 Device Power Cycle Count 098 098 0000000000-0AF8 020
https://forums.majorgeeks.com/file:///C:/Users/drussell/Documents/ST2000DM001-1ER164-W4Z25LEC-SMART_mht_files/Green.ico
183 SATA Downshift Error Count 100 100 0000000000-0000 000
https://forums.majorgeeks.com/file:///C:/Users/drussell/Documents/ST2000DM001-1ER164-W4Z25LEC-SMART_mht_files/Green.ico
184 End To End Error Count 100 100 0000000000-0000 099
https://forums.majorgeeks.com/file:///C:/Users/drussell/Documents/ST2000DM001-1ER164-W4Z25LEC-SMART_mht_files/Green.ico
187 Reported Uncorrectable Error 100 100 0000000000-0000 000
https://forums.majorgeeks.com/file:///C:/Users/drussell/Documents/ST2000DM001-1ER164-W4Z25LEC-SMART_mht_files/Green.ico
188 Reported Command Timeouts 100 100 0000000000-0000 000
https://forums.majorgeeks.com/file:///C:/Users/drussell/Documents/ST2000DM001-1ER164-W4Z25LEC-SMART_mht_files/Green.ico

 

And the last portion.


Firmware: CC25
Serial: W4Z25LEC
LBA: 3907029168 (2000 GB)

Report By: HDDSCAN v4.0
Report Date: 06/04/2018 5:57:08 PM

https://forums.majorgeeks.com/file:///C:/Users/drussell/Documents/ST2000DM001-1ER164-W4Z25LEC-SMART_mht_files/Green.ico
189 High Fly Writes 099 099 0000000000-0001 000
https://forums.majorgeeks.com/file:///C:/Users/drussell/Documents/ST2000DM001-1ER164-W4Z25LEC-SMART_mht_files/Green.ico
190 Airflow Temperature 068 062 32 C 045
https://forums.majorgeeks.com/file:///C:/Users/drussell/Documents/ST2000DM001-1ER164-W4Z25LEC-SMART_mht_files/Green.ico
190 Airflow Temperature Minimum 068 062 21 C 045
https://forums.majorgeeks.com/file:///C:/Users/drussell/Documents/ST2000DM001-1ER164-W4Z25LEC-SMART_mht_files/Green.ico
190 Airflow Temperature Maximum 068 062 32 C 045
https://forums.majorgeeks.com/file:///C:/Users/drussell/Documents/ST2000DM001-1ER164-W4Z25LEC-SMART_mht_files/Green.ico
191 G-sense Rate/Servo tracking 100 100 0000000000-0000 000
https://forums.majorgeeks.com/file:///C:/Users/drussell/Documents/ST2000DM001-1ER164-W4Z25LEC-SMART_mht_files/Green.ico
192 Emergency Retract Count 100 100 0000000000-000F 000
https://forums.majorgeeks.com/file:///C:/Users/drussell/Documents/ST2000DM001-1ER164-W4Z25LEC-SMART_mht_files/Green.ico
193 Load/unload Cycle Count 099 099 0000000000-0B5E 000
https://forums.majorgeeks.com/file:///C:/Users/drussell/Documents/ST2000DM001-1ER164-W4Z25LEC-SMART_mht_files/Green.ico
194 HDA Temperature 032 040 32 C 000
https://forums.majorgeeks.com/file:///C:/Users/drussell/Documents/ST2000DM001-1ER164-W4Z25LEC-SMART_mht_files/Green.ico
194 HDA Temperature Minimum 032 040 16 C 000
https://forums.majorgeeks.com/file:///C:/Users/drussell/Documents/ST2000DM001-1ER164-W4Z25LEC-SMART_mht_files/Green.ico
194 HDA Temperature Maximum 032 040 60 C 000
https://forums.majorgeeks.com/file:///C:/Users/drussell/Documents/ST2000DM001-1ER164-W4Z25LEC-SMART_mht_files/Green.ico
197 Current Pending Errors Count 100 100 0000000000-0000 000
https://forums.majorgeeks.com/file:///C:/Users/drussell/Documents/ST2000DM001-1ER164-W4Z25LEC-SMART_mht_files/Green.ico
198 Uncorrectable Errors Count 100 100 0000000000-0000 000
https://forums.majorgeeks.com/file:///C:/Users/drussell/Documents/ST2000DM001-1ER164-W4Z25LEC-SMART_mht_files/Green.ico
199 UltraDMA CRC Errors 200 200 0000000000-0000 000
https://forums.majorgeeks.com/file:///C:/Users/drussell/Documents/ST2000DM001-1ER164-W4Z25LEC-SMART_mht_files/Green.ico
240 Heads Flying Hours 100 253 0F3DB20000-19AD 000
https://forums.majorgeeks.com/file:///C:/Users/drussell/Documents/ST2000DM001-1ER164-W4Z25LEC-SMART_mht_files/Green.ico
241 Total Host Writes 100 253 0000084BD5-E4A8 000
https://forums.majorgeeks.com/file:///C:/Users/drussell/Documents/ST2000DM001-1ER164-W4Z25LEC-SMART_mht_files/Green.ico
242 Total Host Reads 100 253 00004D4FB3-BBEC 000

 

That's not good.

It seems like this is what you'll have to do.
But, you shouldn't have to purchase Windows 10 again as the license is tied to the motherboard, not the hard drive.

 

So I can transfer the OS over to my external hard drive and then back again to a new hard drive when I purchase one?

 

Just download and install the latest Windows 10 to the new hard drive.