Hibernated Win10 laptop says hdd is read-only - What to do?[SOLVED]

[greengeek]

I just bought a 2015 Acer laptop which the previous owner has reset. When i first booted it the screen went through the initial setup process and i allowed it to connect to my home network.

Then it came up with a screen requesting phone number, email address or some other data and there seemed to be no way past that screen. I did not wish to personalise the laptop in any way so i shut down by holding the power button for 10 seconds.

I have since changed the boot selection and booted into various Puppies from usb and all works very well - but the Windows drives are saying that they are in hibernation and can only be mounted read only. So I have a large storage disk sitting there unusable.

I would like to find a way to access and use the Windows drives without completing the Windows account setup if possible.
(Have not decided yet whether I will leave the drives as NTFS or reformat as EXT4 or similar)

I am not committed to restoring the WIndows 10 install - although if i can keep that as a future option it makes sense in case i don't like the laptop and decide to resell it. But if ditching the Win partitions is the only way forward then so be it.

Any thoughts welcome.

Cheers!

EDIT : Solution here: viewtopic.php?p=21479#p21479

[mikewalsh]

@greengeek :-

Ian, I'm no expert on this.....I haven't used Windoze in anger for several years. I do, however, know a couple of things.

• If you want to be able to access the existing Windows install in anything other than 'read-only' mode, the only way to do so is by booting into Windows.....so that you can perform a 'full' shutdown, as opposed to the hibernation that the FastBoot thing provides. Only with a full shutdown does Windows close down properly. And to do that, you're going to HAVE to complete the registration stuff. I don't believe there's a way round this; at least, if there IS, I've not yet come across such.

However:-

• With Windows 10 this confers certain benefits. Once your machine/details are registered with M$, they are then held on Microsoft's servers.....permanently. Win 10 can then be removed. But; if at any time in the future you ever want to re-install it, all you would need to do would be to download a current copy of Windows, install it, and so long as it's on the same hardware it was registered with, your registration details should be automatically recognised.

Some of our other Windows-using Puppians will no doubt be along soon, and will either confirm with what I've just said, or correct me with more relevant information. BleepingComputer, where I moderate, is primarily a site for Windows problems; I may not run it myself, but I can't help but pick stuff up, the more time I spend there..!

Mike.

[bigpup]

Limitations Of Unregistered Version :

So, what really happens if you do not activate your Win 10?
Indeed, nothing awful happens.
Virtually no system functionality will be wrecked.
The only thing that'll not be accessible in such a case is the personalization.

[wizard]

The trick is to boot up without any internet connection, check this article:

https://www.howtogeek.com/442609/confir ... -creation/

wizard

[mikewalsh]

Limitations Of Unregistered Version :

So, what really happens if you do not activate your Win 10?
Indeed, nothing awful happens.
Virtually no system functionality will be wrecked.
The only thing that'll not be accessible in such a case is the personalization.

There ya go. Told you I was no expert on it, but registering DOES greatly simplify subsequent 'activations'. Your choice, of course; all depends on how much ya wnat to keep it, I suspect.

Mike.

[greengeek]

The trick is to boot up without any internet connection, check this article:

https://www.howtogeek.com/442609/confir ... -creation/

wizard

Thanks wizard - that article seemed 100% applicable to my situation - but after i followed it I still have the same issues. I booted Windows successfully, then shut down properly, but Puppy still says the drives are hibernated.

I am wondering if each drive needs to be written to by Windows before shutdown - maybe Windows did not truly "see" each drive before shutdown. I just don't know.

[foxpup]

Have you turned off hibernation in windows prompt?

Code: Select all

powercfg.exe /hibernate off

You may have to delete some hibernation file that is still present as well.
https://www.howtogeek.com/howto/15140/w ... delete-it/

[bigpup]

I booted Windows successfully, then shut down properly

Are you sure?

If you would like to perform a full shutdown, simply hold down the SHIFT key on your keyboard and then click the “Shut down” option in the Start Menu, or on the sign-in screen.
This will immediately close any open applications without prompting to save your work, and completely shut down your PC.

However:
Why does Windows 10 hibernate instead of shutting down?
If you enabled the Fast Startup feature, Windows 10 will often hibernate instead of shutting down.
Fast Startup closes your active programs and puts the computer into a low-energy hibernation state that allows you to boot up your computer much faster next time.

[wizard]

@greengeek

Per foxpups message, disable hibernation. Also disable Windows Fast Boot, which is a partial hibernation (should be disabled anyway, as it is a source of trouble)

wizard

[williams2]

When MS Windows reboots (restarts) as opposed to shutting down (power off) it does not hibernate,
because it needs to unmount the hard drive to delete files that run constantly in the background (as a service.)
For example, when installing the latest version of an application or driver.

So if you reboot Windows then start Puppy, the hard drive file system should not be hibernated.

If you reboot Windows, you can power off the machine by briefly pressing the power button (do not hold the power button for 5 to 10 seconds) when it is at the boot screen, and Windows hasn't really started yet. For example, when you see the grub boot screen. Then the next time you turn on the machine, the file system will not be hibernated.

if you forget and power off Windows, it will be hibernated again, so you eventually do need to disable hibernation and Fast Boot, so that Puppy and Windows will play nicely together.

[greengeek]

Have you turned off hibernation in windows prompt?

Code: Select all

powercfg.exe /hibernate off

You may have to delete some hibernation file that is still present as well.
https://www.howtogeek.com/howto/15140/w ... delete-it/

Thanks Foxpup - that did the trick.

I notice that his recommended syntax is slightly different:

Code: Select all

powercfg -h off

That command also apparently removes the hyberfil.sys file.

and he says if needed it can later be switched back on with

Code: Select all

powercfg -h on

All good after running that command (had to search for "command" then "run as administrator")
EDIT : on some machines have to use Winkey+X to get into the control screen
Here is a good resource to discover ways to get into the command prompt:
https://www.howtogeek.com/235101/10-way ... indows-10/

[cthisbear]

All you need to know to stop Win10 bs.

http://murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic. ... 26#1057726

Chris.

[cthisbear]

It seems the link above is not working.

So I have a zip file for those interested.

Also.....
My number one rule in any Windows install is never be connected to the internet.
Install everything offline....after downloading it beforehand.
This is a game changer with Win10 or it goes downhill fast.

Chris.