"windows failed to start"

Anderson2 · 18 Jan 2010

This is a one week old laptop with pre-installed Windows Home Premium 64.

Recently, everytime I reboot, after the initial bootup screen, I get a black window that says
...................................
Windows failed to start. A recent hardware or software change might be the cause. To fix the prblem:

1. Insert your Windows installation disc and restart the computer
2. Choose your language settings and then click "next"
3. Click "repair your computer"

status: 0xc0000034
Info: An unexpected error has occured
......................
If I click on Enter it just repeats.

If I click on Esc at reboot it takes me to a screen where I click on "system repair" after which it boots normally to my desktop. But the next time I reboot it does the same thing again.

I do not have a "Windows installation disc" to use. I have the System Restore discs I created that would restore the system to factory condition.

There also is a "Repair Partition"

What should I do? Thanks, Jeff

Tews · 18 Jan 2010

I found this fix .... substitute Windows 7 for Vista....This should work...

To fix this issue, you will need to boot from the Windows Vista DVD. Follow these steps:

Boot from the Windows Vista DVD or the Windows Vista recovery disc that was supplied with your computer by inserting it into the drive then restarting (if you don’t have this disc or can’t find it, you can download a replacement here). (Note: if your system does not automatically boot from the Vista disc when it is inserted, you need to change the boot device in BIOS. To do this, boot from the installation disc, insert the disc, then restart, and while the computer is restarting, continually press the appropriate key [F12 on most systems, F1, F2, F10, the Delete (del) key or the Escape (ESC) key on others -- consult your user's manual or perform a Google search for your specific model] then select CD/DVD/CD-RW as the boot drive.)
Choose your language settings and hit “Next”
Click “Repair Your Computer” at the bottom of the screen. This will launch Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE)
Choose the installed OS to repair, and you will see a list of recovery tools.
Open the command prompt
Enter the following commands, pressing enter after each, to create a Manual System Restore (as discovered by Arun Kumar on the TechNet discussion boards):

cd windows\system32\config
ren default default.old
ren sam sam.old
ren security security.old
ren software software.old
ren system system.old
cd regback
copy default c:\windows\system32\config
copy sam c:\windows\system32\config
copy security c:\windows\system32\config
copy software c:\windows\system32\config
copy system c:\windows\system32\config
Restart your computer, this time booting from the hard disk.
If the problem recurs, repeat the process.

mxosder16 · 18 Jan 2010

From the looks of this article you have three options:
File: \boot\BCD Status: 0xc000014c Windows Vista

1) Ask the OEM for a disk

2)
1. Turn on your machine
2. Immediately begin tapping the F8 key repeatedly (If you get to the Windows startup screen start over)
3. When the Startup Options menu comes up select “Last known good configuration”
4. Let the computer attempt to boot into Windows

3)
1. Turn on your machine
2. Immediately begin tapping the F8 key repeatedly (If you get to the Windows startup screen start over)
3. When the Startup Options menu comes up select “Safe Mode with Command Prompt”
4. At the command prompt type this command sfc /scannow
5. Then press enter

Hope this helps

Anderson2 · 18 Jan 2010

Thanks. I'll try that.

Anderson2 · 18 Jan 2010

redsoxm16 said:

From the looks of this article you have three options:
File: \boot\BCD Status: 0xc000014c Windows Vista

3)
1. Turn on your machine
2. Immediately begin tapping the F8 key repeatedly (If you get to the Windows startup screen start over)
3. When the Startup Options menu comes up select “Safe Mode with Command Prompt”
4. At the command prompt type this command sfc /scannow
5. Then press enter

Hope this helps

F8 does not work on this laptop.
Instead Esc gets you to the "Startup Menu" and this has the following options:

F1 System Information
F2 System diagnostics
F9 Boot Device Options
F10 Bios setup
F11 System recovery.

- I already did system diagnostics and it found the drive to be fine.

- System recovery does its thing and then it boots fine to the desktop, but the next time I boot up it does the same thing again.