Solved! Dell won't get past loading screen

[Mobkiller800]

My hard drive recently broke, so I replaced it with a different one. It worked just fine. I decided to clear out all personal files on it, but it downgraded to Windows 8. It still worked though. I did not want Windows 8, so I got the free Windows 10 upgrade that Microsoft provided. It was a legit one. So I restarted my computer, and it went to a screen with only the Dell logo on it. Not even the little circle loading thing. No progress bar, just the Dell logo. Mind you, it was working just fine before. I have powered it off, unplugged the hard drive, and yet, nothing. I don't know what I did, I also have an Ethernet cable into the modem. So, I honestly have no clue what's happening.

 

[Samaratin]

ok, so it worked fine on Windows 10 before? Or.. are you saying it worked fine before you tried to upgrade to Windows 10?

 

[boosted1g]

This drive that you replaced.

Was it a bare drive you bought from the store and then installed windows onto it. or was it one you took out of a different computer with an OS on it and just used that?

If it was the latter (one from a different computer), then unless the computer was EXACTLY the same hardware then it is surprising it worked at all. You need to a do a full reinstall of windows. The install of windows for one set of hardware does not just work on another and often even with loading the right drivers it is still unstable.

 

[Mobkiller800]

ok, so it worked fine on Windows 10 before? Or.. are you saying it worked fine before you tried to upgrade to Windows 10?

Yes, Windows 10 did work just fine before I accidentally downgraded to Windows 8. When I tried to upgrade to 10 afterwards, it's not doing anything. It went back to Windows 8 whenever I did a factory reset.

Also, I did use a hard drive from a different computer that was also running Windows 10. But, it originally had Windows 8.

 

[Samaratin]

ok, since you've already had windows 10 running on it from upgrading, you should be able to do a clean install of windows 10. Installing windows 10 to be a fresh install is not the same as factory resetting. My advice would be to completely wipe the drive you want to use, and then install windows 10 to that drive using the windows media creation tool from microsoft (either disc or usb).

 

[boosted1g]

As stated you need to do a clean reinstall of windows.

Once you tried to re-install windows 10 on the win 8 drive from a different computer it either got messed up due to the fact that you did not have the right drivers on the system, or could have even been because the OS on the drive is linked to a different motherboard then the one in your computer.
It would mess up even more if your computer is not a dell computer but you put in a drive from a dell computer.

Bottom line, wipe and reinstall windows 10 for the proper computer.