How to Safely Boot into Safe Mode or Advanced Repair Options on a Lenovo Yoga 9i Gen 7
This guide is designed to help you troubleshoot and repair boot issues on your Lenovo Yoga 9i Gen 7, particularly when you encounter a unmountable boot volume error. You will learn how to safely boot into safe mode, access advanced repair options, and use installation media to resolve common booting problems.
1. Troubleshooting in BIOS
When experiencing a restart loop and encountering a unmountable boot volume stopcode, your first step should be to access the BIOS settings. BIOS settings can be accessed by tapping the appropriate function key during the startup process.
Power on your Lenovo Yoga 9i Gen 7 by pressing the power button.
Immediately after the Lenovo ThinkPad logo appears, repeatedly tap the F1 key. Your computer may emit a single beep to indicate that it is entering the BIOS settings.
Once in BIOS, you can check the following options to identify and potentially resolve the issue:
Change the boot sequence to a different drive (e.g., changing from C: to D: to boot from it instead).
Remount or repair the C: drive.
Reformat the C: drive (be cautious with this option as it will delete all data).
Scan the C: drive for errors.
BIOS settings can sometimes provide valuable information and options to help you proceed. If you find the C: drive is failing, making these changes may temporarily resolve the issue.
2. Using Installation Media for Advanced Repair
When BIOS options do not resolve the issue, using installation media can provide more comprehensive repair tools. Here’s a step-by-step guide:
Create Installation Media: Download the Windows 10 or 11 installation media from Microsoft. Use a tool like Rufus to create a bootable USB Flash Drive from the downloaded ISO file.
Boot from Installation Media: Restart your laptop and ensure it is booting from USB. This can be set in the BIOS if it is not the default boot device.
Access Advanced Repair Options: After Windows starts from the USB drive, click Next to proceed to the installation screen. Instead of proceeding with a fresh installation, select Repair your computer in the bottom-left corner.
Choose Startup Repair: Follow the on-screen instructions to reach the Troubleshoot settings, then select Startup Repair to attempt an automated repair. Windows will then try to fix your boot issue. If the unmountable boot volume error persists:
Select Repair your computer, then Troubleshoot.
In the Advanced Options menu, choose Command Prompt.
In the Command Prompt, type the following commands to repair the boot:
bootrec /fixmbr
bootrec /fixboot
bootrec /scanos (for GPT disk)
bootrec /rebuildbcd
After running these commands, you can attempt to boot your computer normally. If the issue persists, additional manual repair steps may be necessary.
By following these steps, you should be able to diagnose and hopefully resolve boot issues on your Lenovo Yoga 9i Gen 7. Remember, always back up important data before performing significant repairs or reformatting to avoid data loss.