I upgraded to Windows 10 on my Sony Vaio Duo 11 a few weeks ago. It was running fine, until I did an update and found the start menu and notifications panel were unresponsive. I did a laptop reset without issue and the problem disappeared. However, as soon as it updated again, the problem came back.

I tried to reset again, but once it hit 100% it fell into a loop. It starts up, 3 seconds later it shows a BSOD with a “CRITICAL_SERVICE_FAILED” error, then restarts, goes back to the BSOD with the same error 3 seconds later, resets, and so on. 

I cannot get to the login screen. I cannot get to desktop. I cannot get to BIOS. I do have the OS installation ISO on a usb but I cannot get more than 3 seconds into start-up, so I can’t force an OS install from the usb. 

What can I do? 

From the description provided, I understand that Windows is unable to boot to login screen and you are experiencing Blue Screen error CRITICAL_SERVICE_FAILED.

Please let us know if you noticed any error code prompt  along with the error message.

This error is usually caused by a missing or corrupted device driver, or incompatibility issues with a newly installed hardware or driver. So as an initial recommendation, I would suggest you to disconnect any peripheral devices except for the mouse and keyboard and check if it helps.

If the above recommendation did not help, perform an Automatic Repair using an Installation media.

Automatic Repair is a Windows recovery tool that can fix certain system problems that might prevent Windows from starting. Automatic Repair scans your computer for the problem and then tries to fix it so your computer can start correctly. Run Automatic repair and check the issue status.

Create Windows 10 ISO: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

Please follow the below steps to perform the repair for the computer.

a) Insert the Installation Disk into the disk drive of the computer. Press any key from the keyboard when prompted to.

b) Follow the instructions till the Install Now screen and then Click Repair your computer.

c) Click Advanced Options.

d) Click Troubleshoot.

e) Click Automatic Repair.

f) Follow the on screen instructions.