Windows 7 - Windows 7 won't boot!

Is the HD recognized in your BIOS?

I tried getting to the cmd prompt, but it just hangs when I click repair. Any other suggestions?

Yes, my BIOS sees my HD just fine.

I just booted into Paragon again and tried searching for the OS. It failed, telling me that there was an I/O error and could not IDENTIFY the HD.

Omlet,
Assuming that you haven't been messing around with bios settings related to your hard disk, then:

1. check all harddrive related connectors,
2. if you find nothing then download, put an a cd, and boot therefrom
   Hitachi Drive Fitness Testhttp://www.hitachigst.com/hdd/suppor...2_v416_b00.iso
   tests SCSI, IDE and SATA drives without overwriting data
   

I could not do the Hitachi Drive Fitness Test because te CD refuses to boot. I'm stuck at the boot ready screen. I've already burned two of the same discs just to make sure.

Omlet,
I've reviewed your original post.

I think that our absorption with Windows 7 has caused us to overlook the obvious: You have a hardware failure.

Do you have an extra harddrive laying around such that you can completely remove your present harddrive and install the other one?

If yes, see if you can install onto that one.

What I'm after here is to find out what unit went out. Much more likely is a power supply, motherboard or memory failure. This all assumes that between the system working and not working your did not move the computer. If you moved the computer, then definitely look for loose connectors. Take the cover off of your computer and make sure that all fans work and that there are no clogged vents.

If you live in an area which is subject to thunderstorms and lightning strikes, then you could possibly have a fried component. The power distribution systems in the US are not number one in the world and we do have violent lightning displays in the US. Even my wife has learned that during lightning times to simply disconnect the power cable to the computer and do something else. She has never lost a computer.

I, unfortunately, do not have a spare hard drive lying around. I have no idea how the component can be fried as it was working fine when I last turned it off. There weren’t any storms while I was using it and no issues. I did not move the computer but there is quite a buildup of dust but I doubt that could be the issue.
Is there ANYTHING else that we could possibly try?

Omlet,
I'm out of ideas. Let's hope that someone else can come up with the solution.

Alright. Well, in the meantime, I'll open the computer up and wee what I can do. There is quite an amount of dust buildup on the HD itself considering this is about a year old build. I'll run to the store first think in the morning and pick up a can of compressed air and go through there. All connections were secure, however, and the HD is held firmly in place. If this is a HD failiure, I'll need to rethink my views on Western Digital.