Not my PC but girlfriends PC. As far as I know this PC is perfectly FINE because the only reason it went to auto repair system is because we were having a cpu-overheating issue that required us to power down in the middle of starting up several times in a row. So after a few forced hardware resets it tries to go to auto repair system... but now it wont. It never gets to the menu letting you choose safe mode and such. To be clear this isn't a failure of safe mode or anything, it never even gets to that menu. All the online articles talking about ways things can fail all seem to talk about AFTER that point... this never even gets there. The hard drive SHOULD be just fine (not more than a year old as I recall, maybe 18 months, never showed any errors or problems on last boot) and this all happened due to hardware overheating/dust/old cpu grease issues. No software or OS failure caused it to crap out. Suggestions on what to try? We cant make a Recovery USB from a 2nd pc cuz thats tied to the PC its made on apparently, and we dont even have any optical drives around anymore for windows 10 computers to make a physical disc, so maybe that means we need to boot from a new windows 10 install USB, but none of that makes sense when it was all working flawlessly before the overheat... was trying to avoid some total reinstall problem with a possibly mismatched win10 version as well. (if it matters this was a 'paid for' windows 10, meaning it was originally from a paid for windows 7 system upgraded over time)
Based on everything you said, it's first needed to clean up computer and then fix the problem related to computer overheating. Reading what comes next, is absolutely clear that this OP-system is fully damaged and there is not possible no more fix nothing, only full clean installation may help. But if there was already overheating, there may be more and very serios problems, ie even some computer components maybe be broken and they may needed to replace. Good luck to You.
No the overheating problem was just due to dust and old thermal paste, thats why it got a few reboots as we realized "oops X wasn't plugged in". Is there any reason a system should become "fully damaged" out of the blue when it's been booting errorless so far? (it would be different if something had happened like a failing hard drive or previous problems of a degrading system) EDIT: I mean quite literally to clarify the exact occurrance, the antivirus updated and wanted to reboot the system. So we went to reboot and it hung on booting claiming cpu overheating. So we pulled a few cables (cuz of an ATX case design needing that to open fully) and blew out dust then restarted. Then shut down halfway in realizing lets just change thermal paste while were in there "just in case". Then shut down again halfway into booting realizing one motherboard cable in the back seemed loose. (cuz of tight cabling something to case USB connectors cuz keyboard was on it not responding). So the booting process was interrupted like 3 times due to minor hardware maintenance. But then windows seems to think there was a big problem due to the interruptions and wants to go to the boot menu asking about safe mode like I would expect it and which is totally fine. But now hangs on Auto System Recovery (something I havent had to use in a long long time since it's never failed to boot) never getting to a menu for safe mode anymore now or anything - which is the part that I dont understand/rebooting a system by the power button halfway into a boot process has never harmed any PC to my knowledge in the past? (not from the normal booting screen I mean/just before it ever got to the normal windows desktop. I'm aware power cycling in the middle of something that alters data COULD theoretically create a problem) I'm wondering if there's a convenient to download (open source, freeware, or "user made compilations" that others here use and trust) windows 10 repair software that can go right onto USB (any recommended alternatives to the normal win 10 install USB that is) or something to peer around and do things like migrate files off (if it's just overfull/maybe something kicked itself in the groin trying to download a big update) or try to peer at a logfile (including if people could point me where to look for something possibly indicating WHERE it crapped itself)or find some clue of why the system doesn't boot I guess... my main guess was somehow the boot sector might've gotten corrupted.
First, at all, you really should check what triggered the overheating! That is starting checking the CPU-Fan is working properly, as well as that there is a good amount of Heat-transfer-solution between the CPU and the CPU-Fan. Although, an overheating could also be triggered by the Memory-(RAM-) Modules! Take out all available Memory-Modules and use a soft Pencil Rubber for to clean the connector-feets and place them back and test. Overclocking could also be a trigger of overheating! If the computers BIOS is set to overclock CPU and/or Memory, set them back to defaults! If after all that done the computer still will go into Recovery, have a bootable USB Flash drive available with the related Windows OS Version (Windows 10 2004 or whatsoever) on it, boot from that Flash Drive and choose to Repair the installed OS.
You can waste your time, if you want to learn computers spirit more deeply. Of course, you can boot from a USB drive and save your files somewhere else if you want to keep them. But everything else is a waste of time. There is nothing to fix. Everything has been already tried. But for learning purposes you can try. It's your choice and your decision. As for the fact that before started and then at some point it did not start no more - at some point there will always be a first time when it no longer starts. This happens sometimes even in better families and having the best care. You have a good chance to try everything now, but you will most likely end with doing a new clean installation. But as for this thermal paste, absolutely nothing will happen unless you break it yourself. It lasts at least ten+ years, but which computer lasts or is in use so long?
Well the computer came back to life. What seems to be causing the failure is a VERY bizarre RAM issue. I'd post it elsewhere (except this posting started here seeming to be a software problem, then when we tried to load a fresh Win 10 download from a USB key it wouldn't load either) but just to finish up the story... all the RAM passes memtest86 yet there seems to be a problem. Intermittently the 24gigs has shown up as 12gigs in the BIOS (not every time) so we tried swapping chips around. Just two 8's for 16gig made it re-boot back NORMALLY to the Windows 10 desktop as happy as a clam. We added back in the 4's to raise to 24gig and it worked at first... and then didnt.... and once it didn't wouldn't reboot again. Again BIOS showed to have 12gig. (no idea why not 16gig) We swapped the two 4gig chips with each other and it's back to 24gig, booted, loaded, and running fine. Again everything passes memtest. I was wondering if somehow one channel of a two channel memory controller could be starting to flake out, and then wondering if it was one or both of the 4gig chips. Does anyone have any idea how to narrow this down further? The computer is working again I mean, but i'd like to know if it's one bad chip, or a bad memory controller, or what. Oh and there's no sign of the overheating anymore, whether dust, paste, or a nonperfect attachment it's all cool now. :- P
The best solution to clean a motherboard from any kind of dust, sticky substances, solder junks, and so on will be to give It a bath in 99% IPA (Isopropyl alcohol)! Do not use the common Rubbing Alcohol, which is manly nothing else as 70% IPA and 30% of water, which would simply harm any electronic! Keep the MB for some time in the bath by shaking it a bit too, would be an excellent job. The IPA will evaporate fully, but the use a bit of moving air, like a not hot fan, will help a lot by that. As I wrote in my other post, the contact feet of special the Memory Modules with a soft Pencil Rubber should be done also. The same applies to any removable Cards etc.! The connector sockets should be cleaned extra using IPA and a brush, an old toothbrush will do that job very fine. All that didn't means that any of the ICs, Chips, etc. are faulty! faulty is just nothing else as all times the air we are living in! And Airmoisture will all time have a bad effect to electronics as well! Forget to mention: Ethanol 99-99.9% will do the same good job as IPA 99%, just IPA evaporates a bit faster then Ethanol!