Chkdsk c: /f
After running a chkdsk of the C: drive, Windows will reboot and run the scan. It will then reboot back into windows. To check the results, run this powershell command, or open Event Viewer, Application Log, and look for the Source to be Wininit.

Get-EventLog -LogName Application -Source wininit | select -First 1 -ExpandProperty Message



https://askleo.com/how_do_i_see_the_results_of_a_chkdsk_that_ran_on_boot/

Create new Win10 user without password:
Boot from Win10 USB
Press Shift-F10
cd /d c:\windows\system32
copy utilman.exe utilman-.exe
copy cmd.exe utilman.exe
Reboot
Press Ease of Access button in bottom right
net user useradmin /add
net localgroup Administrators useradmin /add
Reboot and login to useradmin account.
From admin cmd window:
cd /d c:\windows\system32
copy utilman-.exe utilman.exe
Over-right the file.

https://www.wintips.org/fix-dell-laptop-needs-the-bitlocker-recovery-key/
Try enabling UEFI/Secure Boot, PTT in BIOS.

Microsoft link to see all recovery keys:
https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/p/?LinkId=237614

Show recovery key:
manage-bde -protectors C: -get

https://www.top-password.com/blog/reset-windows-10-password-with-sticky-keys/
https://4sysops.com/archives/reset-windows-10-password-by-disabling-windows-defender/

Run Command Prompt from Recovery Media
copy c:\windows\system32\sethc.exe c:\
copy /y c:\windows\system32\cmd.exe c:\windows\system32\sethc.exe
reboot
At login screen, tell it to restart while holding SHIFT. This allows you to boot into Safe Mode, which disables Windows Defender, which will otherwise catch this trick.
Select Troubleshoot...<Too long, click to read the rest>

Use no@thankyou.com as the email address. Enter gibberish for the password. It should then give an error and let you sign in without creating an account.

After doing this, you should disable this Windows annoyance which keeps trying to get you to sign in using an online account.
https://notes.airinscomputers.com/?item=246


https://www.tomshardware.com/how-to/install-windows-11-without-microsoft-account

When asked to create an account, press CTRL-SHIFT-F3 to enter audit mode, which lets you use the Administrator account without creating a local account.
This is confirmed to work in Windows 10 and Windows 11.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCwtxO4BZm0


Keywords: Windows, OOBE, Account, Skip, Administrator, Setup, Set Up, Bypass, Login, Install, Windows 10, Win10, Win11, user, creation, create

Check your Log file here:
notepad C:\Windows\System32\LogFiles\Srt\SrtTrail.txt


Keywords: Windows 10/11 Preparing Automatic Repair Boot Loop, hours, stuck, crashed, froze

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-update/windows-10-bootrec-fixboot-access-is-denied/747c4180-7ff3-4bc2-b6cc-81e572d546df?auth=1

Boot into Command Prompt from recovery media.
Diskpart
List disk
*** Make sure the disk has a * in the GPT column. If it doesn't, then this is not a UEFI drive, so you should follow the instruction for MBR instead.
Select Disk X
list vol
(Look for the 100-300MB partition with FAT32 filesystem, probably the last one)
sel vol X
assign letter=v:
...<Too long, click to read the rest>

https://m.majorgeeks.com/files/details/bootice_64_bit.html


Keywords: EUFI, UEFI, Boot, Config, Startup, Boot Ice, Bootice

Windows 10 Partition Layout
BIOS/MBR: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/manufacture/desktop/configure-biosmbr-based-hard-drive-partitions
1: SYSTEM - 100MB NTFS
2: Windows - Main Partition - 20GB+
3: Recovery - 300MB+ (I recommend 550MB)

UEFI/GPT: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/manufacture/desktop/configure-uefigpt-based-hard-drive-partitions
1: SYSTEM - 100MB+ FAT32
2: MSR - 16MB Microsoft reserved partition
3: Windows - Main Partition - 20GB+
4: Recovery - 300...<Too long, click to read the rest>

Windows 10
Go to Settings > System > Notifications & actions and uncheck these three items:
"Suggest ways I can finish setting up my device to get the most out of Windows"
"Show me the Windows welcome experience after updates and occasionally when I sign in to highlight what's new and suggested"
"Get tips, tricks, and suggestions as you use Windows"

Windows 11:
Settings > System > Notifications
Click on Additional Settings, and uncheck all options in there.


Keywords: Disable Microsoft asking ...<Too long, click to read the rest>

Inaccessible Boot Device

If you moved from SATA to NVME, you need to run this. You can do this before cloning from admin command prompt, or after cloning by booting it into safe mode:
sc.exe config stornvme start= boot


Keywords: Crash, Clone, SSD, NVME, SATA

https://superuser.com/questions/675378/windows-8-wont-boot-bcd-error


Likely also applies to Windows 10

You can reset the activation timer by running this command from a command prompt. Restart in safe mode (tap F8 during bios startup phase, pick Safe mode with Command Prompt):
rundll32.exe syssetup,SetupOobeBnk
Wait a few seconds, then reboot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzTuHuWhdcY

Keywords: Windows XP Activation

You may need to make sure the hard drive controller is set to IDE instead of SATA.

The Hard Drive Controllers registry keys need to be rebuilt.
https://www.hirensbootcd.org/files/Hirens.BootCD.15.2.zip
Boot it in "Mini Windows XP".
Click icon in system tray, then choose Registry -> "Fix hard disk controller (fix_hdc.cmd)".

https://www.raymond.cc/blog/move-windows-xp-hard-drive-or-change-motherboard-without-getting-blue-screen-of-death/2/


Keywords: disk2vhd, virtualbox, 0x0000007B, Blue Screen ...<Too long, click to read the rest>