BSOD: STOP: 0x0000007B on win7 after removing virus

Arc said:

gosssamer said:

Is there a way to recover the license number from an unbootable Windows system so I can perform a reinstall?

Well, I dont know, but I will see if anyone knows.

I'm also now considering following these instructions to perform a Dell Recovery since the Recovery DVDs I made with the Dell software don't boot:

Dell 1545 Will Not Boot Into Recovery Partition - General Hardware - Laptop - Dell Community

I'm so annoyed that the recovery media and Windows Rescue disc that I created don't boot. I even tried it on another computer and it also doesn't boot there. It just reports winload.exe is missing.

Arc said:

gregrocker suggests these two methods to to attempt a recovery of the product key:

• ProduKey - Recover lost product key (CD-Key) of Windows/MS-Office/SQL Server
• How To Recover Windows 7/8 Product Key From Unbootable Drive

Hopefully you can go for a clean install now.

Thanks very much. That's exactly what I remember. Suppose I also could have googled it, so I appreciate it.

Okay, so I've figured out how to do a full Recovery using the images on the recovery partition instead of the DVD method.

It has the same boot problem that it did previously.

Could this now be an actual bootsector virus? Or perhaps it is a defective hard disk? Or the partition table/MBR is somehow screwed up?

I've searched for a util to check a Toshiba hard disk, but haven't found one. I believe it's the same as the HGST/Hitachi utility?

Arc said:

gosssamer said:

Okay, so I've figured out how to do a full Recovery using the images on the recovery partition instead of the DVD method.

It has the same boot problem that it did previously.

Could this now be an actual bootsector virus? Or perhaps it is a defective hard disk? Or the partition table/MBR is somehow screwed up?

I've searched for a util to check a Toshiba hard disk, but haven't found one. I believe it's the same as the HGST/Hitachi utility?

Image recovery will not help you anyhow in this issue.

We cannot have a crash dump in case of stop 0x7B, so we cannot say what is the actual reason behind it. But my experience says that if it is an infected computer having stop 0x7B, the most feasible solution is a wipe up and start afresh.

I have taken this line because you wanted it in this line. Otherwise the starting place of a stop 0x7B troubleshooting is Seatools for DOS.

So "wipe and start afresh" you mean reinstall from the original media? You seem to know it would work compared with just doing a Recovery. What is the problem that a fresh install would fix and Recovery would not?

I've tested the hard disk and it is fine.

Arc said:

gosssamer said:

So "wipe and start afresh" you mean reinstall from the original media? You seem to know it would work compared with just doing a Recovery. What is the problem that a fresh install would fix and Recovery would not?

I've tested the hard disk and it is fine.

For any problem of things in C drive, recovery is sort of ok (though still not suggested, as it contains factory bloatware and old drivers); but for any problem of the system reserved partition that is beyond repair after trying all known ways to replace teh bootloader there, a clean reinstall is the way.

But at the end, it is your computer, you will decide what you will do. And my action will be conditional of yours. I hope you understand what I am saying.

I figured it out. After performing a Recovery and the system not working, and after thoroughly checking the hard disk for virus and consistency (surface check, etc), I figured I would try and determine the OEM license number from the system to use during a clean install. I even used bootrec from the command-line during a repair session, it still didn't work. It would just blue-screen with 0x7B.

I downloaded this program:

[crap software link removed by admin]

It creates a bootable image (DVD, CDROM, USB key) that can be used to do all sorts of cool things, including recovering license key information. It also has a boot recovery app built into it. Clicking the icons to rebuild the BCD, boot sector, and MBR fixed it, and now it boots successfully.

Using this from the working system before I performed the Recovery probably would have worked as well.

I'd encourage you guys to direct your users to this product page as part of your "Troubleshooting windows booting" document.