To open Internet Explorer 11 in Windows 10, in the search box on the taskbar, type Internet Explorer, and then s elect Internet Explorer in the list of results. Learn more about how to use Internet Explorer 11 in Windows 10.

1. Searching For Windows Installations Won't Stop Window 7
2. Searching For Windows Installations Hangs
3. Windows Repair Loop

A nasty new form of ransomware is wreaking havoc on computers. Hackers that encrypt your files and demand money from you in the form of bitcoin is bad enough, but a few versions also overwrite your Windows PC’s master boot record (MBR).The master boot record is a key part of your PC’s startup system. It contains information about the computer’s disk partitions and helps load the operating system.

Without a properly functioning MBR, your PC simply won’t work.Ransomware that overwrites the MBR isn’t all that new, with examples of it. More recently, the has been causing MBR problems. Then in August, a popped up on FossHub that overwrote the MBR, which caused headaches for affected users. And the master boot record can sometimes be damaged via less hostile actions, as well.Luckily, destroying the MBR usually isn’t irreversible. But it’s still problematic since overwriting the MBR renders your PC inoperative until it’s repaired.

Searching For Windows Installations Won't Stop Window 7

On top of that, the method for fixing it is far from obvious.Here’s how to make everything right if your master boot record was erased.How to fix the MBRThe main way to fix the MBR is to use a command prompt and run the bootrec.exe command. In versions of Windows prior to Windows 8 and 10, you usually accessed the command prompt through recovery media like a DVD disc or USB drive.

That still works in Windows 10, and we’ll discuss that method at the end of this tutorial. But the latest versions of Windows offer an easier method for running recovery commands without external media.When you first boot up a Windows 10 PC it should recognize that there’s a problem and enter “automatic repair” mode.

Searching For Windows Installations Hangs

When it does, you’ll see the words 'Preparing Automatic Repair” appear below the blue Windows logo.If that doesn’t happen, but you do see the blue Windows logo, turn off your computer using the hard reset/power button. Keep turning the computer on and off until you see your PC booting into automatic repair. It should only take a few reboots.Once automatic repair mode is ready, you’ll see the Automatic Repair screen.

From here select Advanced options.On the next screen, click Troubleshoot and then Advanced options once again.You’ll see a screen with six options. If you want, you can select Startup Repair before turning to the command prompt and Bootrec. Startup Repair is an automated program that will try to fix any problems it finds on the computer disk without any intervention from the user.It’s a good utility that may fix your problem, but Startup Repair will take far more time to complete its task than simply running Bootrec.To use the Bootrec option, click the Command Prompt tile. This may prompt your computer to reboot yet again and then ask you to login with your password. If that happens, do so.Once the command line appears, all you have to do is type the following, then press Enter:bootrec.exe /fixmbrNote the space between “exe” and “/fixmbr”—it’s critical to include this space for the command to run properly. The first part tells the PC to run the Bootrec program, while the “/fixmbr” option tells Bootrec exactly what we want it to recover.If all goes well, the command prompt should print out, “The operation completed successfully.” When you see that you can reboot your PC.If you’re trying to recover from ransomware or some other form of malware, be sure to boot into Safe Mode and then run an antimalware program.

For more details on these steps, check out our earlier tutorials on and.Bootrec from a system repair driveIf you’re running an older version of Windows, or if your Windows 10 PC isn’t launching the repair options, you’ll need to use a recovery drive to fix your MBR. Start by inserting the system repair media into the PC.

This will be either one you created, or a purchased version of the Windows install discs.Creating a recovery drive for Windows will give you peace of mind in case the worst happens.Next, boot your system. If you’re using a USB drive, your system’s BIOS needs to be set to boot from USB before falling back to any internal drives. If you don’t have your BIOS correctly configured, the system recovery drive will be of no use. Adding to the complication, the way you enter the BIOS (and how you set it up) is not universal. Lincoln Spector has a tutorial on how to handle.Once you’ve booted into the recovery drive, you should be asked to select a keyboard layout in your language—US English in this case. Next, you’ll land on the troubleshooting screen we saw earlier.At this point you can continue to the command prompt as we discussed earlier and run Bootrec.If you’re on Windows 7, you’ll need to follow slightly different steps once you launch into the recovery mode.

After you’ve selected the input method, select Repair your computer, followed by the operating system name. Then click Next System Recovery Options Command Prompt and start Bootrec using the same bootrec.exe /fixmbr as above.Next stepsAlthough the MBR problem is relatively easy to repair, it’s still best to be prepared for the worst in case this problem ever strikes again.The most important thing you can do to protect against MBR erasure and most other catastrophic PC malfunctions: Back up your personal files. That means keeping a local daily backup on an external hard drive or using a third-party program for daily backups. It’s also a good idea to have a secondary backup that lives offsite, such as an online backup service like Backblaze, Carbon, or CrashPlan. PCWorld’s guide to can help you out.You’ll also want to create a system recovery drive. This is an especially important measure in the age of Windows 10, since many early Windows 10 users upgraded to the new operating system via a digital download—and thus don’t have a physical copy of the operating system. If the automatic repair method ever fails, you’ll need a system repair drive in order to use Bootrec or any other system recovery tools.Check out our earlier tutorial to learn, and the about recovery drives.

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As a guest, you can browse and view the various discussions in the forums, but can not create a new topic or reply to an existing one unless you are logged in. Other benefits of registering an account are subscribing to topics and forums, creating a blog, and having no ads shown anywhere on the site.or read our to learn how to use this site. Prior to the system being unable to boot, it was experiencing a few (related?) issues: intermittent wifi, mystery network connection (?), lagging browser, warbly and slowed Spotify, etc.

Windows Repair Loop

I'm hoping that it's not the HDD failing, considering that I've years of family photos that I was in the process of backing up when this occurred.I'm fairly savvy, but this is stumping me, and I've perused a few of the similar posts on the topic here, so I'm hoping to find a solution on this forum. Boots into System Repair, hangs on 'Searching for Windows installations' at best,2.

It won't boot into Safe Mode, just falls back on error screen allowing for System Repair or boot normally (latter leads to #1 above)3. Tried booting from install (disc and usb, both), but no change.4. Tried running portable Win8 from usb, but only blue screened.The last thing that was processing was a driver auto-install for the new wireless keyboard, though I'm having trouble blaming this all on that alone.Any help would very much be appreciated. I'm wanting desperately to salvage memories and back them up like I should have long ago. You can make a repair disk on another Windows 7 computer that's 32 or 64 bit the same as yours.

Go to Start - Control Panel - Backup and restore - Create system repair disc. Insert a blank CD-R. Then you can boot from it and try the repair from that. If that doesn't work, you can boot to the Command Prompt from that disc and use the XCOPY command to copy your data. If you need the syntax, just type XCOPY /?

You can also check your hard drive from the Command Prompt by issuing this command: sfc /scannow.Good luck. Not really.when I've encountered that 'searching for Windows install' message, I deleted the partition and reinstalled. My feelling was there's not a lot that I could do if I could not even get Windows to recognize the Windows installation.other than delete the partition, then run a hard drive diagnostic to see if it's worthwhile to try to use said hard drive.You can't try a Windows repair install because you can't boot into Windows.I have nothing further that I could suggest.maybe others here do.Louis.