Windows 8 doea not boot: error is="Operating system version is inc

[elite1967]

Hi all,

I have searched through forums, but could not find the solution to my problem:

I have a notebook ASUS with Windows 8 preinstalled.

Yesterday I was doing some housecleaning jobs with some freeware tool (don't remember the name).

Afterwards I have not been able to boot into Windows.

 

CURRENT SITUATION: When I switch the PC on, after the welcome screen of ASUS and Windows 8 the system goes to a blank screen (no cursor, no mouse, CTRL+ALT+DEL not working).

On next reboot, it does not start automatically the Recovery/Repair procedure and goes through the same steps again. It's not a loop, it just hangs.

Looking into c:\windows\system32\LogFiles\Srt\srttrail.txt I see the following error message at the bottom of the file on the time of my last boot attempt: "Operating system version is incompatible with Startup Repair"

 

I tried several things without success, so now I want to solve the problems one by one and first thing is to understand what might be causing the "Operating system version is incompatible with Startup Repair" error and how it can be solved.

[NoelC]

Do you have media you can boot from (ideally a WIndows 8 DVD or a Recovery USB Drive) to try to get into the Windows Recovery environment?

 

Proper computer maintenance requires care, understanding, and rigor.  Doing "housecleaning" jobs with software you can't remember the name of implies perhaps you're not being quite as careful as you ought to be.  I'm sure you've learned your lesson on that score.  Think twice before running any "cleaner" software.  While the "cleaner" industry would have you believe otherwise, it's not required.

 

-Noel

[osRe]

Maybe a mixup between 8.1 and 8 somewhere?

 

If it's currently 8.0 and you don't mind the trouble, it might be a good opportunity to do a clean install of 8.1 (not an update).

Edited August 27, 2014 by shae

[DosProbie]

Just do the "F9" at boot-up and do the Asus System Recovery.

 

~DP

[Tripredacus]

This user updated to Windows 8.1, as per their thread on Technet:

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/windows/en-US/1ae70c1b-a761-4b92-8b71-531f234c2038/cannot-boot-from-windows-8-notebook-error-operating-system-version-is-incompatible-with-startup

In my initial testing of using stock MS recovery, there was no problem recovering Windows 8 after it had been updated to Windows 8.1. I never tried Startup Repair in that testing.

[NoelC]

This doesn't help elite1967 directly, but I'll mention...

 

To this day if I'm going to run a Microsoft Windows OS on a real machine, I require a DVD of that version.  This issue seems to affirm that practice.  It might be cheaper and easier to just download a new version via the Microsoft Store, but there ARE downsides.  At the very least, go through the necessary processes to get an ISO and make your own bootable DVD.

 

I also advocate making a bootable USB Recovery Drive after every update, AND make regular System Image backups. 

 

Lastly, it's a good idea to enable the Advance Boot screen at every bootup via these commands:

 

BCDEDIT  /set  {bootmgr}  displaybootmenu  yes

BCDEDIT  /timeout  5

 

I don't know whether updates in today's environment can break WinRE - possibly since Microsoft seems to want to blur the lines between version releases, service packs, and updates - so it's better to be safe in as many ways as possible. 

 

Don't expect disaster, but plan and prepare for it.

 

-Noel