Solved No Signon screen

FreeBooter said:

You enable Administrator account and login using Administrator account you enabled you can also use same method to reset your user account password which allow you to automatically login into Windows 11.

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I was thinking perhaps you could give Vince the correct steps to making an Administrator account via CMD in Safe Mode? I've never done it on Win 11 so I don't know if that is still an option.

The steps are the same to enable the Hidden Administrator account in post #9 off a boot disk or in Safe Mode.
Vince's system is so jacked it is going to need a major repair from Installation Media.
All he needs is a flash drive that is at least 8GB in capacity and an internet computer to make the media.
You can also make a Hirens Boot disk that has many Windows repair tools on it as well,
plus you can browse the C: drive from the Hirens Boot disk and save your User files to a different drive, like a USB HDD.
Then try a clean install, but the internal drive may need to be replaced.

Scannerman said:

I was thinking perhaps you could give Vince the correct steps to making an Administrator account via CMD in Safe Mode? I've never done it on Win 11 so I don't know if that is still an option.

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In this guide, i will show you step by step how to create a new user in Windows using Command Prompt.

Scannerman said:

Okay, I watched the video. Yes, this would appear to be the case. My method is more time consuming but it works. You stated you do not want to reinstall Windows but you may need to do just that on a different drive in order to access the data on the drive in question. You could try installing the drive in a different PC and accessing the data that way via Windows Explorer or Disk Management. Sometimes that works if the data isn't encrypted or if you're not locked out of the drive. Otherwise you will have to repair your installation of Windows with a repair disk (if you have one) or a USB boot drive being careful to select "repair" and not "install". There is one other option that I haven't used in some time. Have you tried accessing your XPS via Safe Mode?

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No; I do not know how to access the win11 machine in Safe Mode.

Yes, as previously mentioned, I have Rufus ready to burn the win11 ISO onto a Sandisk. I will be using that USB thumb drive with win11 ISO iso on it. YES ! I must select repair (NOT INSTALL). when using that iso file.
Afterwards, I will need to install the apps that I have been using. I think I may still have installation files in my Downloads folder; which might speed things up once I am logged into my User Account on the win11 machine.

I am working up to doing that; but, first I need to have this bandage removed on Monday. It is difficult for me to see the monitor's screen now, and I want to avoid mistakes.

As for transferring to another SSDdrive: UGH! My only other PC is the old DELL XPS8600 (my win10 machine), which has its own set of problems.. I do not have another machine available.

VinceB said:

No; I do not know how to access the win11 machine in Safe Mode.

Yes, as previously mentioned, I have Rufus ready to burn the win11 ISO onto a Sandisk. I will be using that USB thumb drive with win11 ISO iso on it. YES ! I must select repair (NOT INSTALL). when using that iso file.
Afterwards, I will need to install the apps that I have been using. I think I may still have installation files in my Downloads folder; which might speed things up once I am logged into my User Account on the win11 machine.

I am working up to doing that; but, first I need to have this bandage removed on Monday. It is difficult for me to see the monitor's screen now, and I want to avoid mistakes.

As for transferring to another SSDdrive: UGH! My only other PC is the old DELL XPS8600 (my win10 machine), which has its own set of problems.. I do not have another machine available.

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I only mentioned another PC because it was a potential option. If you can manage a repair that would be your best move in my opinion. Frankly, I love DELL computers and I still have a number of them running in my home. I even have a version of Win 11 running on an old DELL XPS 450/9000T sporting the original i920 Bloomfield chip! So I can relate to "old". My daughter wouldn't trade that PC for the world. She loves it.

Take your time. We are here for you. I remember after my surgery I could only stay up an hour at a time. The body needs to heal, eh? Unfortunately, to get into Safe Mode you have to interrupt your boot three successive times at which point your PC (theoretically) will boot into Safe Mode. From there you would be able to run CMD. But we'll cross that bridge should we come to it. We don't have to rush anything. Take care, friend. Stay in touch.

Eye patch is GONE !
Now have use of my left eye once again, and am able to drive my own car, when need arises...
_______________

I created a WIN11 bootable drive yesterday with Rufus; I selected all boxes, not just the first two. And, specified a local user account name with Rufus.

CONGRATULATIONS! On the successful surgery and the bootable drive. Hopefully this will allow you some access to the drive in question.

Before I make use of the Rufus generated win11 installation media,I would appreciate some info about the need for a MS Product key.

My DELL XPS8960 came with win11 home. I later used the Win11 Pro product key supplied by the OEM (DELL) to upgrade the OS.

When I use the USB installation media, I wonder if Ishould use the win11pro product key; i do want to ultimately have the WIN11 PRO OS running on this machine.
I seem to vaguely recall that there was a "generic" product key involved during that upgrade process.

My questions, before I continue:
Is there a generic key for me to first use?
Or, should I enter the WIN11 Pro product key?

First of all, unlike some of the early Windows 8 "distributions" a product key is not required to make an installation or repair. It comes last.

Secondly, if you want Win11 Pro you must install Win 11 Pro first. There is no "one size fits all" deal here.

If you are trying to repair your DELL with Win 11 Home edition you cannot use a mere product key to transform it into Win 11 Pro. You must use the key that came with the installation or purchase a key that is suited to that particular OS. I know that Bel Arc Advisor will give you your product key but we are jumping ahead of ourselves here. You do not need access to a product key to repair a Windows 11 OS to the extent that it boots to your log in.

I hope this helps.

I can get to "Advance options" screen.

I clicked the Startup Repair button; it returns "Startup repair couldn't repair your PC.

What next?

At turn on tap FF8?

SAFE MODE - F8

F8 is not doing anything. Maybe it is F2?

Must learn how to get to safe mode.

When you select Advance Options do you get a list? Sometimes you can just enter a number.

Apparently, since I had upgraded from win11 home to win11pro I am now a victum of the BitLocker encryption, not able to get to Safe Mode.. Even though I never wanted BitLocker to be enabled. To my knowledge I have not ever logged into a Microsoft Account.

NOTE: I misstyped in my post that mentions when I purchased the XPS8960 (from Amazon). It actually was during March/April 2025, NOT 2024. The DELL basic warranty coverage ended on 20 Mar 2026.

What are my options at this point?
(1) Purchase win11 and try to install?
or
(2) use the install media to "INSTALL" rather than repair?

Will the BitLocker allow me to do either of those above?

With BitLocker enabled you can boot to Safe Mode but only if you know your BitLocker recovery key i suggest you clean install Windows 11.

I do not know the BitLocker recovery key.

How might I do a clean install? Is theRufus USB install media useable?

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I am now just beginning to read about DELL's SupportAssist OS Recovery tool. The model XPS8960 is supported by that tool.

You can clean install by booting to Windows 11 installation setup USB or DVD delete Windows 11 all partitions you don't want and install Windows 11 on unallocated space.

You can create bootable Windows 11 USB using Rufus or Windows 11 Media Creation Tool.

There are a number of ways to approach this. You can use Rufus to make a fresh install instead of the DELL recovery tool, you can use an authentic ISO from Microsoft without using Rufus (not recommended), you can install on a fresh hard drive (recommended) or you can write over your data with a fresh install. I would recommend installing on a fresh hard drive after disconnecting your drive with your current OS. Just connect the new drive and install the fresh OS. After you do this you can reconnect the old drive when the system is shut down and reboot. Hopefully you will boot back to the new OS. If not you can boot to it from your UEFI/BIOS.

Once you are back on your new OS you can access the old drive from disk management (or Disk Manager). You may even be able to open the old drive and have a look at what personal files and data are still there. You can drag and drop these over to your newly installed desk top to deal with later. Once you have managed to rescue all your data, personal files and folders, you can reboot back to your new OS. At this point you can use Bel Arc Advisor to find your license keys and take a note of all those keys that matter to you. After that you can re-format the old drive and use it for something else.

*NOTE* If you want to preserve the old drive with all it's factory partitions etc. You will need to shut off your PC and disconnect freshly installed OS instead of re-formatting the old drive. From that point you can try using the DELL OS Recovery tool without risk of losing your personal files and folders as they will already be copied to the new drive (which you can reconnect later). This will also allow you to enable a dual boot system where you can run both your Home Edition and your Pro, but I'm jumping ahead here. User preference prevails.

I hope this helps.

@Scannerman: Rescuing my User files data is important to me. I have been browsing my thumb drives and two external HDDs here to determine what can be rescued from those. I think I have files that can be rescued, but not as a single "backup file". Essentially, the targeted files were written about one year ago or more recent than that. It will be time consuming, no doubt.

Rather than wiping the existing internal SSD in the XPS8960, I feel that it would be better not to go the new SSD route that you suggest, if possible. I know that you are comfortable with doing the hardware replacement, but I am not, due to several reasons, including my vision and my lack of dexterity.

My fear is that BitLocker would prevent me from proceeding.

FreeBooter said:

You can clean install by booting to Windows 11 installation setup USB or DVD delete Windows 11 all partitions you don't want and install Windows 11 on unallocated space.

You can create bootable Windows 11 USB using Rufus or Windows 11 Media Creation Tool.

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My fear is that BitLocker would prevent me from proceeding. I have here win11 installation media created by Rufus. My previous attempt to do a "Repair action" failed , thanks to BitLocker security.

If I understand your suggestion correctly, when I use this install media for "Install' (not Repair action), the BitLocker will not stop the process???

How/what will I see to determine which partitions I don't want?