Windows Not Booting

Recently, I was trying to install a game from my external Hard Drive and my computer blue screened and shut down. Now it refuses to boot up. The HP screen comes up but right after, the screen is black with a white blinking underscore. I had a similar problem occur on the same machine while the Hard Drive was connected during booting, but if it wasn't connected, it started normally. Now it will not start at all. I do not have my product key from Digital River, because my old email has been closed down, but I still have the boot disk. Is there anything I can do to fix my machine? I am running Windows 7 Home Premium 32 bit. I just want the machine to work again, I do not care about any data on the disk.

Edit
I have done start up repair, it still won't boot. I have also system restored and that has not worked either. I am now doing the "Primary Hard Disk Self Test" in the BIOS. I also put the system hard drive on top of the boot order.

Go into the BIOS setup screens and make sure the first BOOT device is set to the internal hard drive.

I've had this happen. Boot off of a CF card to run some utilities and the next time I boot/reboot the BIOS first boot device has changed to the CF card reader and then the CD/DVD drive. Since there is not CF card in the reader or a BOOT CD/DVD in the DVD drive the system just shows a blinking cursor in the upper left hand corner of the screen.

Unplug the External HD, boot the DVD Repair console or Repair CD to System Restore to before this happened. System Recovery Options - Windows 7 Forums

If this fails confirm that the 100mb System reserved boot partition, or if you don't have it the Win7 partition is marked Active: Partition - Mark as Active - Windows 7 Forums
Then boot DVD/Repair CD to Startup Repair - Run 3 Separate Times - Windows 7 Forums

Why would you not preserve your Product Key like any other valuable? You need to run Belarc Advisor when you get into Win7 to audit your Product Key off the HD.

If you can't get Win7 started, you can copy out your data using this method: Copy & Paste - in Windows Recovery Console - Windows 7 Forums
Reinstalling Windows 7 - Windows 7 Forums

Contact Digital River to ask for a replacement Product key using your old email address and bank account records.

gregrocker said:

Unplug the External HD, boot the DVD Repair console or Repair CD to System Restore to before this happened. System Recovery Options - Windows 7 Forums

If this fails confirm that the 100mb System reserved boot partition, or if you don't have it the Win7 partition is marked Active: Partition - Mark as Active - Windows 7 Forums
Then boot DVD/Repair CD to Startup Repair - Run 3 Separate Times - Windows 7 Forums

Why would you not preserve your Product Key like any other valuable? You need to run Belarc Advisor when you get into Win7 to audit your Product Key off the HD.

If you can't get Win7 started, you can copy out your data using this method: Copy & Paste - in Windows Recovery Console - Windows 7 Forums
Reinstalling Windows 7 - Windows 7 Forums

Contact Digital River to ask for a replacement Product key using your old email address and bank account records.

Ran the Hard Disk Self Test, it states "#10009 - Replace Hard Disk"

So I am assuming my Hard Disk has crashed? Would it be worth it to try and reinstall Windows 7? I actually just found my product key online by using my information.

Thanks again for the help.

Edit - I find it weird that it finds that there is a Windows 7 installation installed on C drive with the boot disk, but my hard disk has supposedly crashed? Shouldn't it not be able to read it at all?

That error isn't a crash of the hard drive. It means it failed.
Reinstalling probably would work. Replace the drive.

Shootist said:

That error isn't a crash of the hard drive. It means it failed.
Reinstalling probably would work. Replace the drive.

Ahh, just for my own curiosity, how could it have failed? And do I really need to "replace" it if the reinstallation works?

Thanks a lot for the replies guys. Ya'll are awesome!!

Things fail. One minute they work the next they don't. Happens all the time.

Have you run the manufacturers disk diagnostic software? Is that what you ran to get that error?

If not give it a try and see what that software says.

Shootist said:

Things fail. One minute they work the next they don't. Happens all the time.

Have you run the manufacturers disk diagnostic software? Is that what you ran to get that error?

If not give it a try and see what that software says.

I ran the HP Disk Test, that's what gave the error.

The actual maker of the HD (not the computer) will have a diagnostics/repair extended CD scan which can repair HD's to return them to service, when run in conjunction with Disk Check.
HD Diagnostic
Hard Drive Diagnostics Tools and Utilities (Storage) - TACKtech Corp
Disk Check - Windows 7 Forums

If these tools repair the HD to where it no longer reports errors after several scans each, then back up your files and try a clean reinstall. Or you can replace your HD if it points you in that direction.

Be sure you have the actual Product key as audited from the HD now by Belarc Advisor or Magic Jellybean.