About Fred64

@daddle wrote: So wherefrom did you get the Install files for Power Recover? You got them from Medion stored on E:\Drive? Yes - it was one of apps in the 'Tools' directory (includes stuff like McAfee) that Recover re-installs.   https://drive.google.com/file/d/1I-aMQRoa2j52uLZRAcGjXjbzNcnHSZZd/view?usp=sharing       ... View more

@daddle wrote: @Fred64    This starts the Power Recover program, but can not create a Bootstick with PowerRecover on it.  At least not on my PCs. (Win 7, Win 8.1 Win 10) Cannot create or no option?  I reinstalled PowerRecover program from my E: drive to check.  It is version 5.7.0.5610.  Running it, the first screen shows 3 options: Create Driver and Tool Rescue media; Refresh your PC without affecting files; Restore.  After choosing the first option, it asks to what media type: DVD-R or USB stick/HD; then source folders for Tools and Drivers (on my E: drive); then destination drive (USB stick).  It then proceeds to create a USB named BOOTABLE. ... View more

@sweetpoison wrote: F7 according to this https://www.ecs.com.tw/he/Product/Motherboard/B250H4-M20/gallery And of course I could be wrong since I can't test it live. As for 5 beeps, like I said, there are enough posts to create confusions like this https://forums.tomshardware.com/threads/5-beeps-on-startup.1907473/ https://forums.tomshardware.com/threads/5-beeps-but-system-seems-fine.3283225/ Also https://www.computerhope.com/beep.htm The '5 beeps' problem had me puzzled for a long time.  After much googling I found a post in a forum which asked: 'Was your monitor powered on when the PC was turned on?'.  That was the answer.  In my case I have a power board in which the PC controls the power to the peripherals such as monitor.  There was enough delay between the PC turning on and the monitor turning on to produce the beeps.  I agree "process error" has likely been mis-translated to "processor error" in some cases.    ... View more

@daddle wrote: @Fred64    @Fred64  schrieb: Thanks for the explanation.  I did make a PowerRecover USB stick before I ran MS' bootable USB which wiped the primary drive.  How did you make the PowerRecover USB Stick? This I would like  to know.   I believe it was from Windows Start then Cyberlink PowerRecover. ... View more

Thanks for the explanation.  I did make a PowerRecover USB stick before I ran MS' bootable USB which wiped the primary drive.  If I run PowerRecover USB now it simply says it can't find what it needs.  Had I known I'd have backed up the drive with Macrium before 're-installing' anything.  IMO both Medion and MS are at fault here for not warning users the 'recovery' method each employs is essentially incompatible and can leave users with an unusable machine. ... View more

@daddle wrote: @Fred64  schrieb:  AFAIK there is no going back to the original factory settings after this. If you do not change the partition scheme to  other sizes still PowerRecover should work. If you change afterwards the partition size, e.g. deleting a second data partition to enlarge the size of the Windows partition, then Power Recover will not work anymore.   I assumed that if E: drive (2nd partition HDD) held the recovery data and one had made a PowerRecover bootable USB stick then that should be enough to rebuild the SSD if damaged or overwritten - but sadly no.  In reality one needs to backup with something like Macrium Reflect.  Wish I had known this earlier 😞   ... View more

@daddle wrote: @Fred64  schrieb: The newly installed Windows will be linked to your Microsoft account and will require you to enter a PIN number each time Windows starts Not automatically. You can override the question for your Microsoft account or other eMail-accounts. Otherwise no one without a MS account could  install Windows. Hmm.  I didn't see an option to skip (despite online tutorials showing one) otherwise I would have used it 😞   @daddle wrote: But luckily your Windows is working again.  Yes - not something I wish to repeat!  Thanks. ... View more

Thanks for the reply.  To clarify I first used "Reset PC (keep files)" but this left me with some applications where window size/position wasn't remembered.  I then found and tried Power Recover.  This resulted in factory settings but I was unable to update much beyond this.   The latest news is that I used MediaCreationTool 21H2 to create a bootable USB stick.  This finally worked but is not without some considerations I will mention in case others choose this path.  It will ask which disk/partition to install.  It is essential to select SSD Windows partition.  The newly installed Windows will be linked to your Microsoft account and will require you to enter a PIN number each time Windows starts.  You will manually need to install the Intel & Realtek drivers contained in E:\Drivers\.  AFAIK there is no going back to the original factory settings after this.   There may be other ways but in my case I was forced to use a bootable USB stick as I could no longer boot Windows (long story). ... View more