Windows 8 "Your PC needs to be repaired" message

[earguy]

A client tried downloading some "free" software on his Dell Inspiron 3520 laptop computer running 8 and almost immediately the computer shut down. When trying to boot it up the Recovery window comes up stating "Your PC needs to be repaired". then, in about a minute, the computer shuts off.

My client does not have any repair disks or any installation media with this computer. As this seems to be the work of a virus, I was wondering if running a rescue (Kaspersky) disk would fix this problem if it is due to a virus, or will we end up having to order installation media anyway? I am hoping that I can resolve this issue quickly, as my client needs his computer ASAP.

Any ideas?

Thanks

 

[wavey]

Clone it first, or at least boot to a live disk (e.g. Partedmagic) & backup all data.
Then run your rescue disk (Kasp, Bitdef, Eset etc.)
See what happens.

 

[earguy]

Clone it first, or at least boot to a live disk (e.g. Partedmagic) & backup all data.
Then run your rescue disk (Kasp, Bitdef, Eset etc.)
See what happens.

Good idea. thanks

 

[nlinecomputers]

You don't need to order media. Any copy of Windows 8 will install on that unit.

 

[Larry Sabo]

When trying to boot it up the Recovery window comes up stating "Your PC needs to be repaired". then, in about a minute, the computer shuts off.

What does a Linux live CD do in the same amount of time? For virus removal, I like to slave the drive to my PC and do an offline scan, since it is much faster that the patient PC. Doing that also lets me check the drive's health with gSmartControl.

 

[cypress]

What does a Linux live CD do in the same amount of time? For virus removal, I like to slave the drive to my PC and do an offline scan, since it is much faster that the patient PC. Doing that also lets me check the drive's health with gSmartControl.

This would be the better route to take when running scans @earguy

 

[Porthos]

You don't need to order media. Any copy of Windows 8 will install on that unit.

Unless it is with BING.

 

[bitznpcz]

Thankfully there isn't a Windows 8 with Bing (it's just 8.1). It's probably worth upgrading them to 8.1 as part of the repair though:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows-8/create-reset-refresh-media

 

[gadgetfixup]

As others mentioned, back it up first. I'd boot a linux CD, find the most recent backup copy of the registry, backup up the current and run that backup. My guess is it will boot after that. If he was doing a software install, it probably put the entries into the registry and every boot tries to run that broken install.

 

[earguy]

I made an image of the HDD and ran a scan with Kaspersky Rescue disk (before reading all these replies). It found nothing. I will follow the link provided by bitznpcz. thanks for all the advice.

 

[earguy]

I made a rescue disk from my Windows 8 machine. But nothing I try on my client machine is working (PC restore, Startup Repair, etc.). He hasn't backed up his computer (ever) so I do not have an image to restore nor any back-up registry files to restore as suggested by inbargains. The PC doesn't refresh nor will it do a Reset. Startup repair doesn't work. I guess the next step, then, is to contact Dell for the product key and restore disks. Suggestions?

 

[nlinecomputers]

Do you not have a Windows 8 or 8.1 install disk? http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/create-reset-refresh-media

After being on the market for 3 years now it is amazing that all techs don't know this but Windows 8 product keys are stored in the bios. Just install Windows 8 and it automatically fetch them and activate. On the rare situation that it doesn't work you can install with a generic key, Google it or search the forums to find them, and after it is installed use the latest version of Produkey to get the key out of the bios and then manually activate it.

 

[earguy]

Do you not have a Windows 8 or 8.1 install disk? http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/create-reset-refresh-media

After being on the market for 3 years now it is amazing that all techs don't know this but Windows 8 product keys are stored in the bios. Just install Windows 8 and it automatically fetch them and activate. On the rare situation that it doesn't work you can install with a generic key, Google it or search the forums to find them, and after it is installed use the latest version of Produkey to get the key out of the bios and then manually activate it.

thanks

 

[earguy]

Apparently repairs were made. I restarted the computer and Windows loaded and all appears well. Thanks again to everyone for your help.