After updating Windows, you may encounter a message ‘Getting Windows ready, don’t turn off your computer’. Usually, this goes off after a while, but sometimes it stays for a longer time and your computer gets stuck at the same screen. This poses a problem as you cannot access your PC during this time. To help you resolve the error, we’ll provide you with some helpful tips in this article.
Solution 1: Wait for 1-2 hours
If your screen is stuck at ‘Getting Windows ready, don’t turn off your computer’, the safest solution is to wait for 2 hours. Your Windows may be working in the background to complete certain tasks such as installing necessary files and completing updates. Ideally, the issue should be resolved by waiting; however, if after 2 hours, you’re stuck at the same screen, you can try other troubleshooting steps discussed below.
Solution 2: Shut down your PC
Disconnect all external devices and turn ‘OFF’ you’re PC by pressing the ‘power’ button. After doing this, your PC should be able to restart normally without any problems. However, if your PC has problems starting, you can proceed to the next solution.
Solution 3: Run SFC /SCANNOW
‘SFC’, short for ‘System File Checker’; is used to restore corrupt system files and help Windows function normally. To run ‘SFC’, you will have to go through command prompt.
This can be done in 2 methods – one is using ‘Windows installation media’ and other is using ‘recovery mode’ on your system.
- If you have a ‘Windows installation disc’, insert it and ‘restart’ your computer
- Boot from the disc and select ‘Repair your computer’
- Click on ‘Troubleshoot’ and select ‘Command Prompt’
If you don’t have a ‘Windows installation disc’, you can also go through the ‘recovery mode’ by ‘restarting’ your computer and hitting the ‘F8’ key. Then click on ‘Repair your computer’. In the ‘recovery options’ provided, select ‘Command Prompt’ and proceed.
After you have entered ‘Command Prompt’ using one of the methods explained above, type ‘sfc /scannow’ and hit ‘Enter’. This command will scan for corrupt system files and restore them. Once the process is complete, you should be able to boot the system without any issues.
If none of the above methods work, you can use ‘System Restore’ to restore your computer to a previous point when things worked fine. But for this feature to work, you need to have it enabled beforehand.
However, if you don’t have ‘System Restore’ enabled, you can ‘reinstall OS’ entirely to start fresh. But before you do this, you need to have a complete backup of your system as all your data will be lost during the reinstallation process.
Data recovery using Yodot Recovery Software
If you don’t have backup data and your data is lost during a system restore or during reinstallation, data recovery tools are your best option to restore your data. Tools such as Yodot Recovery are great to recover your data after OS reinstallation or after a system restore. You can also use the software to recover files after a factory reset.
The software is designed with a simple interface to simplify data recovery for all users. All you have to do is download the tool and follow simple on-screen instructions to recover your data in minutes.
