This browser is no longer supported.
Upgrade to Microsoft Edge to take advantage of the latest features, security updates, and technical support.
![](data:image/svg+xml, %3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' height='64' class='font-weight-bold' style='font: 600 30.11764705882353px "SegoeUI", Arial' width='64'%3E%3Ccircle fill='hsl(128, 8%, 22%)' cx='32' cy='32' r='32' /%3E%3Ctext x='50%25' y='55%25' dominant-baseline='middle' text-anchor='middle' fill='%23FFF' %3EA%3C/text%3E%3C/svg%3E)
I came home from work today and my computer was working fine. I went out for a little while with some friends and when I returned, the screen was blank and the hard disk drive was spinning. I couldn't get any response from the computer and had to just do a hard shut down. When I restarted the computer, it tried to boot up, but then stated it was starting the system repair process.
It came to a blue screen with a few options, that I can't remember at the moment.
The error code that was given was 0xc0000185. I hit the enter button as it told me and it tried again. It returned to that blue screen, but there was an additional piece of information, that the winload.efi file was apparently the issue.
After buying the computer, I was instructed to make a recovery thing, which I did using a 32 GB USB flash drive. After much messing about, I think I figured out how to get the system to look at that drive. I had to go into the boot order options and set the USB port as the first one. Having done that, I figured I had it worked out, since this was the supposed recovery disk and it should have been able to fix the problem. Au contraire, mon frere. Unfortunately.
The computer did seem to recognize the USB flash drive. And it seemed to recognize that something to make it go was there. It didn't go back to that blue screen. However, after going through the initial screen stating the name of the manufacturer, it then cycled into a black screen. The indicator light for the hard drive (I assume that is what the light was for) then just went into a blink for some minutes before a new blue screen appeared for a few seconds saying something about the system encountering an error and it was going to restart for me. Then it cycled through that series of steps again, ad infinitum.
So the recovery disk isn't. And now I am stuck. I don't know what to do. I have some files I have been working with on the computer that I haven't backed up in a while. I have a lot of work in them and I would hate to lose them. But I don't think I have the capability to reformat on my own anyway.
In addition, I bought the computer in Canada earlier this year, but I am now living and working in Korea. They have fairly sophisticated systems for repair here, but I don't know that I can communicate the issue well enough to be able to access any useful help.
Help!
Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.
Hi,
I have this same problem with my lenovo G50 70 that is 1 yr old. I was not able to back up of save a boot file on my USB drive. All files that are saved on the laptop are disposable. So it is fine if I cant get it back to working tate on windows 8. However, is it possible to just instal or boot the laptop to windows 10? Pls help. I really need to get this laptop working.
Oh, and I don't think it has anything to do with anything I have done to the computer. I haven't installed anything in the past couple of months. There was an update from Microsoft a few days ago, but it was working fine for a couple of days before this happened, so I also doubt it would have anything to do with that update. But then, I am not an expert in this, so maybe I am mistaken. Again, you would know far better than I.
A bit more information: I do have rescue media. I created it on a USB stick when Windows 8 told me to do that after beginning to use the computer. Now perhaps I am misusing the USB stick and rescue files. Perhaps I am doing something else incorrectly. Perhaps there is some problem with the rescue files themselves, for some reason. And perhaps there is some other problem with the computer that makes the rescue files immaterial. Perhaps you have enough information to make some kind of determination.
Should I attempt to get a different copy of the rescue media?
Should I be trying a copy of the installation disc? Can I do that on a non-Windows 8 machine (I have a Windows XP netbook)?
Have I done something wrong to get the computer to read off the USB stick? Can you describe the steps (in language that isn't too technical) how to go about doing that?
I am really hoping that I can recover some files that I have just finished creating on the computer, but have not backed up. And I have photos for the past couple of months on there that are also not yet backed up.
If I can get those, then I would be all right with formatting and re-installing. It would be even better, of course, to just somehow recover the whole system and not have to re-install all the programs and applications that I have installed since I bought it.
Hello Basith,
Thank you so much for taking time to try and help me. I will try to give you the information you need. I hope I can give you enough information for you to be able to make some kind of determination.
First you wish to know the make and model of the computer. Unfortunately, I am not exactly sure which model this is. Acer seems to have a number of models that are fairly close to the same and have most of the same instructions, so the instructions that came with the computer have three different models. They are Aspire E1-521, E1-531, and E1-571. It is the one with the Intel Core i5 chip, if that helps.
I get these a couple of error messages.
When I turn on the computer without the recovery USB stick inserted, I get the Acer logo for a few seconds, then a message stating that the system is "Preparing Automatic Repair."
Then a blue screen comes up. At the top is the title "Recovery"
Then it says:
Your PC needs to be repaired.
A required device isn't connected or can't be accessed.
Error code: 0xc0000185
You'll need to use the recovery tools on your installation media. If you don't have any installation media (like a disc or USB device), contact your system adminstrator or PC manufacturer.
Press Enter to try again
Press F8 for Startup Settings
Press Esc for UEFI Firmware Settings
Pressing Enter or F8 only results in the screen going black for a few seconds and the blue screen reappearing with most of the same stuff, but a couple of additional lines.
The application or operating system couldn't be loaded because a required file is missing or contains errors.
File: \Windows\system32\winload.efi
Error code: 0xc0000185
You'll need to use the recovery tools on your installation media. If you don't have any installation media (like a disc or USB device), contact your system adminstrator or PC manufacturer.
Press Enter to try again
Press F8 for Startup Settings
Press Esc for UEFI Firmware Settings
Pressing Esc leads to a screen labeled InsydeH20 SetupUtility (where I have just noticed the model is the Acer E1-571) I can find a bunch of information about the computer including the boot order for devices which I had to change to put the USB first so I could try to boot from there. I hope that was the right move.
Once I did that and it appeared the computer was booting from the USB stick (or rather trying to, as it didn't ending up starting the computer), it acted differently. It did seem to recognize that the USB stick was there and in place. It seemed to be trying to do something from the USB stick and recovery media. The Acer logo appeared as before, but it didn't tell me it was "Preparing Automatic Recovery."
The "I'm working" light on the computer flashed, as did the lights on the USB stick indicating it was being accessed. This continued for a few seconds and then stopped. The "I'm working" light on the computer then began a rhythmic on and off flashing of a couple of seconds on and then a couple of seconds off. This continues for a few minutes and then a different blue screen comes up for a couple of seconds.
It starts with an unhappy face emoticon ( :( )
Then it says:
Your computer ran into a problem and needs to restart. We're just collecting some error data and then we'll restart for you.
Then it goes back to the start screen and goes through that again until I stop the process by turning the computer off.
Hi Scion,
usually this issue occur if there is system/setup file is missing in the recovery disk. I would like to know some information about the Recovery issue so that we could assist you further.
If you do not have a recovery disk, then I would suggest you to create Windows 8 Installation Media from a different Windows 8 computer and then try to perform Automatic repair and check if it works for you.
Refer to the following Microsoft Help article to create an installation Media.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2780338/en-us
Note: Refer the section "Method 2: Burn the Windows 8 ISO file to DVD or USB drive using an alternative PC".
Once you have created installation media, then try the following steps to perform Automatic Repair using the installation Media.
Follow the steps to perform Automatic repair from Windows 8 DVD:
a. Insert media such as (DVD or flash drive) and press F12 key and click on change default or other optionswhich is at the bottom of the screen.
b. In the next screen click on troubleshoot option, this will display you different WinRE (Windows Recovery Environment) options to resolve issues with the computer when it is in no boot state.
c. Now Click on Automatic Repair, this will open up a Wizard which will automatically diagnose and repair issues with the computer startup.
For the recovery disk, you will have to contact the computer manufacturer.
Please reply with the status of the issue, so that we could help you better.
