Yesterday, I decided to use the "Refresh system files" option from PC settings after I noticed a degradation in the overall performance of Windows 8. After it finished, Windows 8 no longer started up properly.
After logging in, all I would see is a black screen with no way to interact with the Desktop. I could no longer launch the Start screen, even from the Windows key. When I shift my cursor to the upper right corner, I do not see options like "Share" and "Start". Sometimes, I get a Blue Screen before Windows 8 manages to launch.
When I go to Automatic Repair, it tells me that "Windows could not load properly." I attempted to use System Restore to go back to a restore point several times, but it just hangs.
I tried to indirectly boot Windows through the Linux Ubuntu boot menu. I had two options to boot: Windows 8 and Windows 8 recovery mode. Both options gave me this Windows Boot Manager error:
Windows Boot Manager
Windows failed to start. A recent hardware or software change might be the cause.
<...>
File: \Boot\BCD
Status: 0xc000000e
Info: The Boot Configuration Data for your PC is missing or contains errors.
Since I have no possible option to modify the Boot Configuration Data, I figured that fully reinstalling Windows 8 is the only feasible solution.
However, my laptop came with a preinstalled Windows 8, and I have no Windows 8 Installation/Recovery Disk or similar.
How do I go about reinstalling Windows 8? Am I supposed to buy a new Windows 8 Disk?
After logging in, all I would see is a black screen with no way to interact with the Desktop. I could no longer launch the Start screen, even from the Windows key. When I shift my cursor to the upper right corner, I do not see options like "Share" and "Start". Sometimes, I get a Blue Screen before Windows 8 manages to launch.
When I go to Automatic Repair, it tells me that "Windows could not load properly." I attempted to use System Restore to go back to a restore point several times, but it just hangs.
I tried to indirectly boot Windows through the Linux Ubuntu boot menu. I had two options to boot: Windows 8 and Windows 8 recovery mode. Both options gave me this Windows Boot Manager error:
Windows Boot Manager
Windows failed to start. A recent hardware or software change might be the cause.
<...>
File: \Boot\BCD
Status: 0xc000000e
Info: The Boot Configuration Data for your PC is missing or contains errors.
Since I have no possible option to modify the Boot Configuration Data, I figured that fully reinstalling Windows 8 is the only feasible solution.
However, my laptop came with a preinstalled Windows 8, and I have no Windows 8 Installation/Recovery Disk or similar.
How do I go about reinstalling Windows 8? Am I supposed to buy a new Windows 8 Disk?