However, the fact that you have an error message puts you in a class of relatively lucky victims of computer failure. An error message gives you a specific place to work from, unlike a vague symptom like a computer that turns on but displays nothing or one that shows no sign of power at all.
How to Fix Errors Seen During the Computer Startup Process
Here’s what to do if you see an error message on your computer while your PC is trying to start: Misspelling a DLL file or writing down the wrong characters in a STOP code could have you trying to fix a problem with a file, driver, or piece of hardware that you don’t actually have a problem with. If you’re “fortunate” enough to receive one of these common errors, you can save yourself the trouble of searching around for a solution and instead get started on solving the problem that’s causing the error:
BOOTMGR is missing. Press Ctrl Alt Del to restart Hal.dll is missing or corrupt. Please re-install a copy of the above file NTLDR is missing. Press any key to restart
Have an error other than one listed above? No problem, you just aren’t experiencing one of the more common computer startup error messages. Move on to Step 3 below for help. An error message during startup is an indication of a specific problem, so it’s important to troubleshoot the specific issue the message is indicating and not to waste time testing unrelated pieces of hardware or replacing unrelated files. Here are links to lists of error messages that you might see during startup:
List of Windows STOP Codes (Blue Screen of Death errors) List of System Error Codes
We also keep a list of Device Manager error codes and HTTP status codes, but the types of issues that cause these errors aren’t the types that prevent Windows from starting. For the best results, your search string should be surrounded in quotes so it’s searched as a continuous phrase, and it should include the complete error message or the file name that the error message references, assuming one is referenced.
