PC won't boot. Help needed please!

UPDATE:

I tried to create the PE boot disc on another PC, and this time it worked. Installed DriveImageXML as a plug-in and burned the resulting .iso to a CD-ROM.

Then ran the CD-ROM on the Win7 PC. Accessed the DIXML backup and ran it onto the clean partition. Rebooted. Got a 'Bootmgr missing' message. Managed to get Startup Repair to fix that - restarted the PC. Blue screen....

I'll have to give up on this. I'll go back and redo the partition wipe with Diskpart and then reinstall Win7 afresh. Then back to setting things up as they were - going to take me till Christmas (at least).

And I am no wiser as to why the problem suddenly surfaced - could happen again in another 3 weeks for all I know.

Win7 doesn't see the XP installation now - maybe I can just format the drive it is on?

Martin

Take your time reinstalling Updates and programs to monitor performance after each is installed - long enough to find out if one of them is causing the problems.

Here are some tips to get a purrrfect install, based on hundreds done here: re-install windows 7

Will read through that link. I'm going to leave the System Reserved partition in place, rather than preformat the drive to avoid it. I have 3TBs + of space, I 'aint gonna miss 100/200MBs and I think that my dual boot problems may be because at one stage I dispensed with it.

Actually this PC is solely to run Microsoft Flight Simulator, so there aren't that many programmes go on it - and the simulator programme itself is on a different SSD from the o/s.

When things are up and running (whenever!) I'll make a system image through Win7. I wonder whether, had I made one and not an XML backup, restoring it would have saved me all this hassle?

Thanks once again for the encouragement (sorely needed, as you will have gathered from my tone of abject despair at times!!),

Martin

I didn't know the Win7 backup was limited in that way. I used to use Ghost 12, but that doesn't run in Win7. I also had Acronis but found that when it came to the crunch it wasn't reliable at restore..

I have Seagate & WD external HDDs: I'll look into the software you mention. Very helpful reply, yet again!!

Martin

I'm using it as I reinstall - you can't choose a subfiolder location, but otherwise seems OK (or more than - not that I've tried a restore (yet!!!)).

M.

Going through same scenario here. After receiving and installing automatic updates on 12/15, computer froze often and would shut down. Then it stopped being able to restart. We would power it up, it would run thru the Dell start page, then BSOD with only a cursor and hang.
We ran the Startup Repair several times, System Restore several times, all to no avail. In a fit of frustration, I hit the f12 key a bit late (trying to go into dvd boot) and somehow windows started. So now we can get into Windows, and can run our printers, but everything is running slow. I dont know why we have to hit f12 to start windows, either.
We ran TrendMicro Security and cleaned off 15 viruses contracted during the update. Uninstalled all the updates and turned off auto-update. Am now running various other security software to finish cleaning up.