Solved Dell laptop wont boot to windows after regedit mistake W8

[tech9]

Thanks Dave, I ran across that too when I first started to look for a fix and literally tried it over 50 times with no luck. Maybe its just this particular machine. i bought it used and its been a mess since day one.

@topgun
I edited my reply earlier to add the question of which option I should now try to boot from in legacy mode?

 

[tech9]

No updates or other solutions?

 

[davehc]

When I re-read your first post, it looks like the priority heere could be getting all your private data off the HD?

Why not download a Live Linux cd (I recommend Knoppix - one I frequently use in desperate moments on computers- KNOPPIX - Live Linux Filesystem On CD)

Boot up the cd and copy all your data to a safe place. You will then be able to use a more drastic method to reformat, possibly, and start over with the Laptop.

 

[tech9]

@Dave That's what I was pretty much leaning towards at this point but I actually just got it working right now and first and foremost I owe you an apology. Something told me the F8 option just had to work and that maybe I was doing it wrong so I said I'll try 5 more times before I give up on it completely. On try #3, BAM! I guess the trick is to know exactly when to stop pressing F8 so ya sorry to insult your expertise my friend

Now once I was in the only way to actually get in to refresh the system was with recovery or installation disk so I found a matching Windows 8 32 bit iso from here ----> Download Windows 8 Pro ISO 32 Bit / 64 Bit Free
I used the rufus tool TopGun recommended to load it and make a bootable USB

Plugged it in while still on the same screen that was asking to plug in the recovery media and it read it right away. The process took about 15-20 minutes and it started to boot. I got worried as it looped 3 times before actually starting to load windows (not sure if that will be a permanent thing or not) but soon after I was back in to the PC successfully!

It did however delete a good chunk of apps, programs and settings but there is a desktop icon that brings up a list of what programs were removed. The important thing is I now have access to the data so I can backup or transfer it as I wish and hopefully the refresh fixes some of the annoying issues that previously plagued the PC.

I had a strong feeling that this was the forum I'd find many solutions on and thats been proven right. Thank you all kindly for the support and patience!

For anyone reading this thread looking for a solution I recommend you look through all the posts because there is at least 3 or 4 solutions that will most likely fix your issue here.

 

[davehc]

Thank goodness. A happy user (We hope - lol)