Windows 7: Was working, now hangs at boot

When you install a diver, the pcmia is re-created and system won't boot.

Did you use UBCD to rename?

I was afraid of that.. Ill have to get hold of a USB stick that supports WPA2 \psk

I don't know if this is related at all... but...

I had the same issue with nothing new* added. By new, I mean it was an external HD that I had been using with it last week with no problems (disconnecting, reconnecting each day).

Today, I plug in my ext HD and... Explorer freezes. Still have mouse, keyboard still functions... but I can't do anything with them.

Disconnected the drive, hard booted the laptop and it would sit at an empty desktop (post splash). Brought up the task mgr, explorer was running... ended it, re-launched explorer... still no dice.

Restarted in safe mode, froze on the same file yours did. I let it sit for a couple of minutes and I finally got my command prompt. Ran chkdsk, no errors... rebooted again... blank desktop. Pulled up the task mgr, ended explorer, re-launched explorer... desktop!

Then I started getting notifications that Windows Defender was having problems. I brought up the window for Defender and it was pretty much frozen right away. I let it sit for a few minutes and got a notice that its service was having issues, so I just disabled it.

Connected my ext HD and everything is working perfectly again. I checked for app error/failure logs, but there weren't any.

I've never been a fan of windows defender, so I'll probably just keep it disabled.

Yes i did and it worked just fine

Hey guys, thanks for hijacking my thread!
Does anyone have any new info on the original topic of this thread?
I am still unable to even install Windows 7, since any boot method results in a total system hang at the initial "Starting windows" screen.
I even tried removing the drive that Windows 7 was installed on, thinking that maybe some leftover files were causing the lockup.
However, since I'm not able to boot to safe mode, or even to the installer from either a DVD or USB drive, I have to assume it's not a driver issue.
Any thoughts?
Elmojo

Are you starting Windows 7 setup from XP?

No, I'm trying to boot from the DVD or from a USB stick, niether works.

Sounds like you Windows 7 install is beyond repair for some reason. What i would do is quick format the Windows 7 partition from XP. Start Windows 7 install from XP. Choose clean install, not upgrade. Make sure to choose the Windows 7 partition to install to.

I've already deleted the windows 7 installation, deleted the partition, reformatted the partition, and even unplugged the drive entirely and plugged in a new physical drive!
Also, I can't launch the installation from within XP, since my XP is 32bit and I'm wanting to install Windows 7 64bit.