Hello all, This is my first post to this forum, but have been a long time fan of the awesome community on here. I tried searching for this problem, but couldn't seem to find any posts. On two Windows 8 laptops I was working on, the computers were stuck in "automatic repair" loops. My one friend went ahead, and just ran Windows 7 disks so that the computers could at least be usable. Can just running a Windows 8 disk(like the physical copy of Windows 8) be used to activate a successful repair/recovery? For both computers, I ended up just re-ordering system recovery disks from the manufacturers(cheap, $20 or so). My reasoning was that there would be no way to recover the factory OEM key that came with the Windows 8 laptops new, since there doesn't appear to be external service tags... Thanks for any direction that can be given...the automatic repair loop appears to be a common problem...
@hbhb Any attempt at doing factory recovery via system images or recovery partitions fail. So no key combination at start up triggers recovery @redroad I will look over that article. Thanks for the link Although I am not sure that would solve my boot loop problem. My problem is being able to recover...I guess, what should have been done, was prompt a repair with Windows 8 disks...
Yeah....I figured there would be a solution... My friend foolishly just went ahead and ran Windows 7 disks, and made it much more difficult than it sounded Thanks for the help with this newbie issue This also may answer my question, for anyone who has this problem -> *edit*Won't let me post links due to low post counts, but taken from Microsoft Answers: "From your issue description I understand that your computer is in automatic repair state and you are unable to repair it. Please let me know if I have misunderstood the issue. Do not worry; we got some troubleshooting steps in order to resolve the issue.When do you get this automatic repair loop? I would suggest performing the following methods and check if it helps to resolve the issue. Method 1: Restart the computer by force shut down. Once the computer restarts check if you are getting the same error message. If the error message exists, perform Method 2. Method 2: Perform Startup repair I would suggest you to perform a startup repair using Windows 8 bootable DVD or USB drive and check if that helps. a) Insert the installation DVD or USB and boot Windows 8 from it. b) In the ‘Windows setup’ page select the ‘language to install’, ‘Time and currency format’ and the ‘keyboard or input method’ and click on ‘next’. c) Click on ‘Repair your computer’ and select ‘Troubleshoot’. d) Click on ‘Advanced options’ and select ‘Automatic Repair’ and select the operating system. Hope it helps. For any further Windows related assistance, feel free to contact us and we will be happy to help. Regards!