Solved Broken boot


If you can, make an image of just the C: drive partition to an external drive. Then do a clean install of Windows 11. If the computer boots and everything is working restore the image of the old C: partition over the new C: drive partition.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Canary Channel
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    PowerSpec B746
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-10700K
    Motherboard
    ASRock Z490 Phantom Gaming 4/ax
    Memory
    16GB (8GB PC4-19200 DDR4 SDRAM x2)
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 TI
    Sound Card
    Realtek Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung SAM0A87 Samsung SAM0D32
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    NVMe WDC WDS100T2B0C-00PXH0 1TB
    Samsung SSD 860 EVO 1TB
    PSU
    750 Watts (62.5A)
    Case
    PowerSpec/Lian Li ATX 205
    Keyboard
    Logitech K270
    Mouse
    Logitech M185
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge and Firefox
    Antivirus
    ESET Internet Security
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Canary Channel
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    PowerSpec G156
    CPU
    Intel Core i5-8400 CPU @ 2.80GHz
    Motherboard
    AsusTeK Prime B360M-S
    Memory
    16 MB DDR 4-2666
    Monitor(s) Displays
    23" Speptre HDMI 75Hz
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 970 EVO 500GB NVMe
    Mouse
    Logitek M185
    Keyboard
    Logitek K270
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge and Edge Canary
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
As you have a Macrium reflect boot able rescue drive you can make a partition image of the D: drive and save on another drive.
Mount the image and see it you can copy your data from C:\users\NAME to another drive
Then you do a clean install, deleting ALL partitions on the NVMe drive.
Once win 11 is installed, restore all your data from the image you created with Macrium reflect.

Once you have Win11 installed with all your programs and data, use Macrium reflect to create a drive partitions image to use as backup
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 7 HP 64 - Windows 11 Pro - Lubuntu
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    custom build
    CPU
    i5 6600K - 800MHz to 4400MHz
    Motherboard
    GA-Z170-HD3P
    Memory
    4+4G GSkill DDR4 3000
    Graphics Card(s)
    IG - Intel 530
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung 226BW
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    (1) -1 SM951 – 128GB M.2 AHCI PCIe SSD drive for Win 11
    (2) -1 WD SATA 3 - 1T for Data
    (3) -1 WD SATA 3 - 1T for backup
    (4) -1 BX500 SSD - 128G for Windows 7 and Lubuntu
    PSU
    Thermaltake 450W TR2 gold
    Keyboard
    Old and good Chicony mechanical keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech mX performance - 9 buttons (had to disable some)
    Internet Speed
    500 Mb/s
    Browser
    Firefox 64
  • Operating System
    Windows 7 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Asus Q550LF
    CPU
    i7-4500U 800- 3000MHz
    Motherboard
    Asus Q550LF
    Memory
    (4+4)G DDR3 1600
    Graphics card(s)
    IG intel 4400 + NVIDIA GeForce GT 745M
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG Display LP156WF4-SPH1
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    BX500 120G SSD for Windows and programs
    & 1T HDD for data
    Internet Speed
    350 Mb/s
    Browser
    Firefox 64
Please boot your computer with Windows Setup Media and from Windows Recovery Environment start the Command Prompt.

Please type the below command into Command Prompt and press the Enter key.

The following command will fix errors on the disk.


Code:
Chkdsk C: /f



Please replace partition letter C: with Windows installed partition letter. When the computer boots into Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) environment, the drive letter assign to Windows partition may not be C: drive letter because Windows 7, 8 , 8.1 and 10 creates a separate system partition when it's installed from scratch. The system partition contains boot files WinRE assigns the system partition the C: drive letter and the Windows installed partition will be assigned any other drive letter, usually D: drive letter is assign to Windows installed partition. The Bcdedit | find "osdevice" command can be used to find out the drive letter of the Windows installed partition, the output of the Bcdedit command is similar to this osdevice partition=D:. The drive letter after partition= is the drive letter of the Windows partition.




Please boot your computer with Windows Setup Media and from Windows Recovery Environment start the Command Prompt.

Please type the below command into Command Prompt and press the Enter key.

The following command scans integrity of all protected Windows system files and repairs files with problems when possible.

Code:
Sfc  /Scannow   /OFFBOOTDIR=C:\   /OFFWINDIR=C:\Windows



Please replace partition letter C: with Windows installed partition letter. When the computer boots into Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) environment, the drive letter assign to Windows partition may not be C: drive letter because Windows 7, 8 , 8.1 and 10 creates a separate system partition when it's installed from scratch. The system partition contains boot files WinRE assigns the system partition the C: drive letter and the Windows installed partition will be assigned any other drive letter, usually D: drive letter is assign to Windows installed partition. The Bcdedit | find "osdevice" command can be used to find out the drive letter of the Windows installed partition, the output of the Bcdedit command is similar to this osdevice partition=D:. The drive letter after partition= is the drive letter of the Windows partition.



If you open the log file, you’ll be shown details of all the tests performed by Startup Repair, with any errors discovered detailed. We can use this information to help diagnose and get to the root cause of the problem.



To open log file from the Windows Recovery Environment, click and open the Command Prompt. When the Command Prompt is open, type Notepad and press Enter key to open the Notepad application. The Startup Repair log file is located at:



Code:
C:\Windows\System32\Logfiles\Srt\SrtTrail.txt



You will need to navigate to the drive on which you have Windows installed (usually the C: drive) to see the SrtTrail.txt log file.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 5700G
    Motherboard
    Erica6
    Memory
    Micron Technology DDR4-3200 16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC671
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung SyncMaster U28E590
    Screen Resolution
    3840 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    SAMSUNG MZVLQ1T0HALB-000H1
As others have alluded to, you can boot the computer from your Macrium Refelct USB drive that you created. You can then save an image of the damaged Windows partition to another drive. Then you can do a clean install of Windows, install Macrium Reflect in the new install of Windows. That will allow you to mount the image of your damaged Windows partition and copy files out of the image.

My feeling is that your Windows partition is damaged beyond repair.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Homebuilt
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 3800XT
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Crosshair VII Hero (WiFi)
    Memory
    32GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Education
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 7773
    CPU
    Intel i7-8550U
    Memory
    32GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Nvidia Geforce MX150
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Toshiba 512GB NVMe SSD
    SK Hynix 512GB SATA SSD
    Internet Speed
    Fast!
The disk is write protected message on a disk drive that was not set for write protection often indicates problems with the partition.
Attempt data recovery: recoverit, disk genius, Minitool partition wizard, professional recovery, etc.

 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4800MQ CPU @ 2.70GHz
    Motherboard
    Product : 190A Version : KBC Version 94.56
    Memory
    16 GB Total: Manufacturer : Samsung MemoryType : DDR3 FormFactor : SODIMM Capacity : 8GB Speed : 1600
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA Quadro K3100M; Intel(R) HD Graphics 4600
    Sound Card
    IDT High Definition Audio CODEC; PNP Device ID HDAUDIO\FUNC_01&VEN_111D&DEV_76E0
    Hard Drives
    Model Hitachi HTS727575A9E364
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender
    Other Info
    Mobile Workstation
So I can not make an image of C: partition using Macrium. Saying: MFT corrupt - Error code = 6. Please run "chkdsk C: /r"
And this can not do as the drive is write protected.
I need another way to access data.
And Windows to Go from USB drive somehow I am not able to boot. After setting language, country etc there is some message that system was restarted and they will fix it when I install updates, so I have to connect to internet, but it is connected and it is doing nothing after 2 tries, same end point.

//
I can disable verification of the integrity of file systems in Macrium and create backup, but not sure how reliable and usable such backup will be.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Core i7 8700K @ 4.8Ghz
    Motherboard
    MSI Z370 GAMING PRO CARBON
    Memory
    16GB Corsair Vengeance 3200Mhz
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI RTX 2080 GAMING X TRIO
    Monitor(s) Displays
    DELL U2515H
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 970 EVO Plus 500GB NVMe + Crucial MX500 2TB
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Ti Ultra 750W
    Case
    Fractal Design Define R4
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D15
    Mouse
    SteelSeries Rival 110
    Internet Speed
    50Mbps
I can disable verification of the integrity of file systems in Macrium and create backup, but not sure how reliable and usable such backup will be.

You can probably mount image as a drive to recover most of your data but you will not be able to restore image.

Probably easier to boot from a live linux drive and copy what data you can recover to an external drive.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro + others in VHDs
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Vivobook 14
    CPU
    I7
    Motherboard
    Yep, Laptop has one.
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Integrated Intel Iris XE
    Sound Card
    Realtek built in
    Monitor(s) Displays
    N/A
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Optane NVME SSD, 1 TB NVME SSD
    PSU
    Yep, got one
    Case
    Yep, got one
    Cooling
    Stella Artois
    Keyboard
    Built in
    Mouse
    Bluetooth , wired
    Internet Speed
    72 Mb/s :-(
    Browser
    Edge mostly
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    TPM 2.0
Yes, at the moment that is my plan to mount this image in laptop and see what can I do. But have to think about how to verify that data are okay. To see files is one thing, if they are usable is second.

Live linux probably yes, but I have no experience with this. But maybe I can do this with some tutorial and try to copy data as a second backup.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Core i7 8700K @ 4.8Ghz
    Motherboard
    MSI Z370 GAMING PRO CARBON
    Memory
    16GB Corsair Vengeance 3200Mhz
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI RTX 2080 GAMING X TRIO
    Monitor(s) Displays
    DELL U2515H
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 970 EVO Plus 500GB NVMe + Crucial MX500 2TB
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Ti Ultra 750W
    Case
    Fractal Design Define R4
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D15
    Mouse
    SteelSeries Rival 110
    Internet Speed
    50Mbps
A live Linux won't be much different from windows as a GUI.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 7 HP 64 - Windows 11 Pro - Lubuntu
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    custom build
    CPU
    i5 6600K - 800MHz to 4400MHz
    Motherboard
    GA-Z170-HD3P
    Memory
    4+4G GSkill DDR4 3000
    Graphics Card(s)
    IG - Intel 530
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung 226BW
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    (1) -1 SM951 – 128GB M.2 AHCI PCIe SSD drive for Win 11
    (2) -1 WD SATA 3 - 1T for Data
    (3) -1 WD SATA 3 - 1T for backup
    (4) -1 BX500 SSD - 128G for Windows 7 and Lubuntu
    PSU
    Thermaltake 450W TR2 gold
    Keyboard
    Old and good Chicony mechanical keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech mX performance - 9 buttons (had to disable some)
    Internet Speed
    500 Mb/s
    Browser
    Firefox 64
  • Operating System
    Windows 7 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Asus Q550LF
    CPU
    i7-4500U 800- 3000MHz
    Motherboard
    Asus Q550LF
    Memory
    (4+4)G DDR3 1600
    Graphics card(s)
    IG intel 4400 + NVIDIA GeForce GT 745M
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG Display LP156WF4-SPH1
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    BX500 120G SSD for Windows and programs
    & 1T HDD for data
    Internet Speed
    350 Mb/s
    Browser
    Firefox 64
Will try, is there any quick guide ?

In the meantime I have image from Macrium mounted in laptop. Everything seems to be there, but I have problem to access my Users\MyName folder as I do not have permissions. I believe files are there but unaccessable for me. Is there any way to open it ?

edit:
managed to solve it... needed to check enable access to restricted folders and make writeable while mounting image... everything is there... will check then
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Core i7 8700K @ 4.8Ghz
    Motherboard
    MSI Z370 GAMING PRO CARBON
    Memory
    16GB Corsair Vengeance 3200Mhz
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI RTX 2080 GAMING X TRIO
    Monitor(s) Displays
    DELL U2515H
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 970 EVO Plus 500GB NVMe + Crucial MX500 2TB
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Ti Ultra 750W
    Case
    Fractal Design Define R4
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D15
    Mouse
    SteelSeries Rival 110
    Internet Speed
    50Mbps
Create on the laptop a user with same name (Users\MyName), log on with it and you will have permissions to it.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 7 HP 64 - Windows 11 Pro - Lubuntu
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    custom build
    CPU
    i5 6600K - 800MHz to 4400MHz
    Motherboard
    GA-Z170-HD3P
    Memory
    4+4G GSkill DDR4 3000
    Graphics Card(s)
    IG - Intel 530
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung 226BW
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    (1) -1 SM951 – 128GB M.2 AHCI PCIe SSD drive for Win 11
    (2) -1 WD SATA 3 - 1T for Data
    (3) -1 WD SATA 3 - 1T for backup
    (4) -1 BX500 SSD - 128G for Windows 7 and Lubuntu
    PSU
    Thermaltake 450W TR2 gold
    Keyboard
    Old and good Chicony mechanical keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech mX performance - 9 buttons (had to disable some)
    Internet Speed
    500 Mb/s
    Browser
    Firefox 64
  • Operating System
    Windows 7 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Asus Q550LF
    CPU
    i7-4500U 800- 3000MHz
    Motherboard
    Asus Q550LF
    Memory
    (4+4)G DDR3 1600
    Graphics card(s)
    IG intel 4400 + NVIDIA GeForce GT 745M
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG Display LP156WF4-SPH1
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    BX500 120G SSD for Windows and programs
    & 1T HDD for data
    Internet Speed
    350 Mb/s
    Browser
    Firefox 64
Whatever files are corrupted will be corrupted regardless if you try to copy them from a live Linux flash drive or from a Macrium Reflex image. The results are going to be the same.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Homebuilt
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 3800XT
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Crosshair VII Hero (WiFi)
    Memory
    32GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Education
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 7773
    CPU
    Intel i7-8550U
    Memory
    32GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Nvidia Geforce MX150
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Toshiba 512GB NVMe SSD
    SK Hynix 512GB SATA SSD
    Internet Speed
    Fast!
Whatever files are corrupted will be corrupted regardless if you try to copy them from a live Linux flash drive or from a Macrium Reflex image. The results are going to be the same.
Sure - however, I have doubts OP will get an image though - it will probably bomb out before completion.

Of course, OP could use the Reflect PE Explorer to copy the files, but whilst useful at finding a few files and copying them, it is rather non intuitive to navigate around and copy lots of files.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro + others in VHDs
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Vivobook 14
    CPU
    I7
    Motherboard
    Yep, Laptop has one.
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Integrated Intel Iris XE
    Sound Card
    Realtek built in
    Monitor(s) Displays
    N/A
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Optane NVME SSD, 1 TB NVME SSD
    PSU
    Yep, got one
    Case
    Yep, got one
    Cooling
    Stella Artois
    Keyboard
    Built in
    Mouse
    Bluetooth , wired
    Internet Speed
    72 Mb/s :-(
    Browser
    Edge mostly
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    TPM 2.0
Yep, not going with Linux as the results will be the same.... it seems that I have access to everything now from windows environment so I can play with it.... maybe just windows files are corrupted and not user data, so far I can open everything... there were just 4 file segments corrupted as you can see on previous page from chkdsk but anyway, clean install and restore date from this image is the best thing I can do at this point right ?
Do you think I can try to restore whole image using Macrium after clean install ? Is is worth ?Will this even start or will it restore corrupted image again ? Just curious how it works, since I disabled integrity verification while doing image.

Hopefully there is no hardware damage on the disk.

Sure - however, I have doubts OP will get an image though - it will probably bomb out before completion.

Of course, OP could use the Reflect PE Explorer to copy the files, but whilst useful at finding a few files and copying them, it is rather non intuitive to navigate around and copy lots of files.
It has completed. I have full image, but with some corrupted stuff in it as explained before. From first look everything looks okay what I need to restore.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Core i7 8700K @ 4.8Ghz
    Motherboard
    MSI Z370 GAMING PRO CARBON
    Memory
    16GB Corsair Vengeance 3200Mhz
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI RTX 2080 GAMING X TRIO
    Monitor(s) Displays
    DELL U2515H
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 970 EVO Plus 500GB NVMe + Crucial MX500 2TB
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Ti Ultra 750W
    Case
    Fractal Design Define R4
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D15
    Mouse
    SteelSeries Rival 110
    Internet Speed
    50Mbps
Fpr those that do not know, on MSI motherboards, the boot menu key is F11. F12 is for Gigabyte motherboards (possibly ASUS as well). OP can try F11 during boot up to access boot menu options.

Just information
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom built
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 5 3600
    Motherboard
    MSI X470 Gaming plus max
    Memory
    Gskill Ripjaws V F4-3600C16D-16GVKC
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI RX570 Armor 8GB OC
    Sound Card
    Integrated Realtek ALC892 with Nahimic
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung TF27T35F
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080 @ 75hz
    Hard Drives
    WD Black SN750 NVME SSD (500 GB)
    WD40EZAZ 4TB 5400
    PSU
    Seasonic Focus Gold GX750 750 watt
    Case
    Aerocool Aero One Eclipse
    Cooling
    EK Basics 240 AIO
    Keyboard
    Logitech K350 Wireless
    Mouse
    Logitech Performance Plus M705 Wireless
    Internet Speed
    900 Mbps down, 20 Mbps up.
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    EDUP EP-9636 PRO, Intel AX200 based WIFI, bluetooth.
    Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 THX speakers
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom built
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
    Motherboard
    MSI MAG B550M Bazooka
    Memory
    Gskill Ripjaws V F4-3600C16D-16GVKC
    Graphics card(s)
    AMD RX470 ARMOR 4 GBOC
    Sound Card
    Integrated realtek ALC892
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung 27"
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080 @75 Hz
    Hard Drives
    WD Black SN750 NVME SSD (500 GB)
    WD40EZAZ 4TB 5400
    PSU
    Seasonic Focus Gold GX750 750 watt
    Case
    DIY PC micro ATX
    Cooling
    Aerocool Cylon4
    Mouse
    Generic gaming
    Keyboard
    Generic gaming
    Internet Speed
    900 Mbps down, 20 Mbps up
    Browser
    Chrome, Firefox
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    EDUP EP-9636 PRO, Intel AX200 based WIFI, bluetooth.
    Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 THX speakers
F11 will give me 2 options:
1. Windows Boot Manager (Samsung SSD 970)
2. Enter Setup
First option will do nothing, just blink and will stay on this. Second option is UEFI.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Core i7 8700K @ 4.8Ghz
    Motherboard
    MSI Z370 GAMING PRO CARBON
    Memory
    16GB Corsair Vengeance 3200Mhz
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI RTX 2080 GAMING X TRIO
    Monitor(s) Displays
    DELL U2515H
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 970 EVO Plus 500GB NVMe + Crucial MX500 2TB
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Ti Ultra 750W
    Case
    Fractal Design Define R4
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D15
    Mouse
    SteelSeries Rival 110
    Internet Speed
    50Mbps
A Macrium Reflect image is like a Zip file. Instead of compacting a file or a folder it compacts a hole partition or even a drive.
As I already wrote, once you have finished a clean install (delete all partitions) boot from the Macrium Reflect drive and restore your data from the backed up image created.

Windows can be installed in two ways: Legacy-MBR or UEFI-GPT
To install as Legacy-MBR you must boot the installation drive as Legacy
To install as UEFI-GPT you must boot the installation drive as UEFI.

As you have a UEFI BIOS, you should install as UEFI-GPT
Detach any other drives (SATA or Power cable) from the MB.

During POST, press F12(?) to launch the boot menu. You will see two options for the USB drive. USB UEFI (Name) and USB (Name). Select USB UEFI (Name).
Go to install and delete ALL partitions on the main drive till you have one and only one unallocated space and then proceed.
If you don't want to use MS account, don't enable updates or connect to the internet during installation.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 7 HP 64 - Windows 11 Pro - Lubuntu
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    custom build
    CPU
    i5 6600K - 800MHz to 4400MHz
    Motherboard
    GA-Z170-HD3P
    Memory
    4+4G GSkill DDR4 3000
    Graphics Card(s)
    IG - Intel 530
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung 226BW
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    (1) -1 SM951 – 128GB M.2 AHCI PCIe SSD drive for Win 11
    (2) -1 WD SATA 3 - 1T for Data
    (3) -1 WD SATA 3 - 1T for backup
    (4) -1 BX500 SSD - 128G for Windows 7 and Lubuntu
    PSU
    Thermaltake 450W TR2 gold
    Keyboard
    Old and good Chicony mechanical keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech mX performance - 9 buttons (had to disable some)
    Internet Speed
    500 Mb/s
    Browser
    Firefox 64
  • Operating System
    Windows 7 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Asus Q550LF
    CPU
    i7-4500U 800- 3000MHz
    Motherboard
    Asus Q550LF
    Memory
    (4+4)G DDR3 1600
    Graphics card(s)
    IG intel 4400 + NVIDIA GeForce GT 745M
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG Display LP156WF4-SPH1
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    BX500 120G SSD for Windows and programs
    & 1T HDD for data
    Internet Speed
    350 Mb/s
    Browser
    Firefox 64
I keep a bootable Linux Mint usb on hand for just such scenarios when I need to perform file recovery. I run Mint from the usb and am able to copy and paste files I want to save onto external media in a folder structure. It's saved my bacon many times when working on other people's computers and there wasn't any backup procedure in place.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 22631.3296
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 7080
    CPU
    i9-10900 10 core 20 threads
    Motherboard
    DELL 0J37VM
    Memory
    32 gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    none-Intel UHD Graphics 630
    Sound Card
    Integrated Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1tb Solidigm m.2 +256gb ssd+512 gb usb m.2 sata
    PSU
    500w
    Case
    MT
    Cooling
    Dell Premium
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Internet Speed
    so slow I'm too embarrassed to tell
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender+MWB Premium
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 22H2 19045.3930
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 9020
    CPU
    i7-4770
    Memory
    24 gb
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    256 gb Toshiba BG4 M.2 NVE SSB and 1 tb hdd
    PSU
    500w
    Case
    MT
    Cooling
    Dell factory
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Internet Speed
    still not telling
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender+MWB Premium
@Megahertz thanks a lot, will do like you suggested, that was my plan more or less... with installation I am more familiar. I have already prepared USB drive Win 11 image with Rufus as UEFI GPT compatible. Second SATA Data drive is unplugged and LAN as well as I want local account.

So once the installation of Win will be completed and will boot to desktop I can restart pc and boot Macrium reflect tool from USB and try to restore image from External HDD right ?
I am just wondering how it will work due to corrupted file segments from previous installation.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Core i7 8700K @ 4.8Ghz
    Motherboard
    MSI Z370 GAMING PRO CARBON
    Memory
    16GB Corsair Vengeance 3200Mhz
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI RTX 2080 GAMING X TRIO
    Monitor(s) Displays
    DELL U2515H
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 970 EVO Plus 500GB NVMe + Crucial MX500 2TB
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Ti Ultra 750W
    Case
    Fractal Design Define R4
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D15
    Mouse
    SteelSeries Rival 110
    Internet Speed
    50Mbps
On the clean install, create the user with the same name as before so you don't have ownership issues.

I never use Rufus. I let MCT create the Win 11 installation drive.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 7 HP 64 - Windows 11 Pro - Lubuntu
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    custom build
    CPU
    i5 6600K - 800MHz to 4400MHz
    Motherboard
    GA-Z170-HD3P
    Memory
    4+4G GSkill DDR4 3000
    Graphics Card(s)
    IG - Intel 530
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung 226BW
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    (1) -1 SM951 – 128GB M.2 AHCI PCIe SSD drive for Win 11
    (2) -1 WD SATA 3 - 1T for Data
    (3) -1 WD SATA 3 - 1T for backup
    (4) -1 BX500 SSD - 128G for Windows 7 and Lubuntu
    PSU
    Thermaltake 450W TR2 gold
    Keyboard
    Old and good Chicony mechanical keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech mX performance - 9 buttons (had to disable some)
    Internet Speed
    500 Mb/s
    Browser
    Firefox 64
  • Operating System
    Windows 7 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Asus Q550LF
    CPU
    i7-4500U 800- 3000MHz
    Motherboard
    Asus Q550LF
    Memory
    (4+4)G DDR3 1600
    Graphics card(s)
    IG intel 4400 + NVIDIA GeForce GT 745M
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG Display LP156WF4-SPH1
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    BX500 120G SSD for Windows and programs
    & 1T HDD for data
    Internet Speed
    350 Mb/s
    Browser
    Firefox 64

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