Just a quick tip for those who are new to Windows 10 (especially those who got the forced update to Windows 10 without ever asking for it).
Many customer both in the UK and now in Paphos have mentioned that when Windows 10 installs Windows Updates it can quite often take a long time, and at times it appears that the computer has crashed or stopped working. When Windows 10 first came out the update process did catch out quite a few technicians (the Microsoft Tech Net forums were full of complaints).
Windows update normally follows a three step process (but not always) – step one of the Microsoft Update process normally happens when you are working on your computer. Microsoft will send your computer whatever updates it has available and your computer will begin pre-installing whatever it receives, while you are using your PC / Laptop.
Stage 2 happens when you go to shut down or restart your computer. Most times you will be shown a window which tells you updates are been installed and not to turn off your computer. This stage normally has a percentage counter which during the shutdown process will count up to 30% then your computer will either turn off or restart, depending on what you told it to do.
Stage 3 will continue the percentage count from 30% – 100% and then your computer should load into Windows as normal.
The stage where people often get a little concerned is during the stage 3 process. Quite often at this stage your computer may show a completely black / blank screen with nothing displayed on it at all. This screen can remain for as long as 7 – 8 minutes at times, depending on the update and the specification of your computer. If you leave the computer it will eventually come to life and continue the update process but many customers have become concerned during this stage and have often forced the computer to turn off, believing that it had crashed, resulting in the operating systems file becoming corrupt and the computer becoming un-bootable.
My advice to you is, if you see a black / blank screen during the boot up process, do not turn off your computer – or not at least for the first 10 mins or so. A good indication as to whether your computer has really crashed is to see if the hard drive light on the computer (if you have one) is flickering at different rates. If so, it shows the hard drive is reading / writing and therefore working on the updates it is trying to install.
Should your computer get corrupted or if it is not responsive / non-bootable give us a call.
