HELP! - My laptop is now a Paper Weight

[Mike Lynch 0]

Here are my specs for the Laptop:
DELL Inspiron 5502
Processor 11th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-1165G7 @ 2.80GHz (1.69 GHz)
Installed RAM 16.0 GB (15.7 GB usable)
System type 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor

Edition Windows 11 Home
Version 25H2
Installed on ‎9/‎20/‎2025
OS build 26200.7171
Experience Windows Feature Experience Pack 1000.26100.265.0

What do I do now???

I upgrade this laptop from Windows 10 to Windows 11 a month or so ago.

So, I was having trouble with the Google.com voice search not working on Firefox browser. It works on my desktop computer, but not my laptop so I figured I would try safe mode. I restarted in Safe Mode a few times, and somehow, I ended up with the following screen...



I don't know much about computers (enough to be dangerous), so I tried repairing Windows using the Windows 11 recovery USB I have.......no good.

I tried using Dell backup and recovery tool, no good



I then said, ok fine....I'll just recover from my latest Windows 11 system image I have (from November 15, 2025)..........NO GOOD!



During the Restore system-image process, it recognizes the System image on November 15, allows me to choose it, but then I get the above error. When I click on windows Explorer, it shows the SSD has 2 TB of storage capacity.

Anyway, I ended up somehow reinstalling windows (not a clean install, but a refresh), thinking that would restart everything, and I could then recover from the system image, but I get the same error as above.

I then tried installing a fresh clean version of Windows 11 using the Media creation tool (usb flash drive). It doesn't work! Gives me the same error "did not find any disk...."

Wondering what the next step might be. Reformatting the SSD? Then trying the media creation tool?

Using my desktop computer, I was able to recover folders and files from my laptop's backup (on it's external hard drive), so I assume the System Image and backups for the laptop are fine.

So I'm stuck. There is a computer repair place right in town, but of course, they've been closed all week (Thanksgiving). Just wondering what might be next. I've been running Crystal Disk Info on laptop and it was 97% good status. Can't believe safe mode booting did this.

Windows 11 has been a royal pain so far. Between FAST-START option (on both laptop and desktop) suddenly not recognizing the keyboard (after a recent update apparently) and now this issue with my laptop, I'm not a fan of Windows 11 lol.