Windows 7 will only boot into safemode and hangs on regular boot.

Hello. I am a repair tech so I usually can figure out the cause of weird issues, but I am currently stumped.

I have a custom built machine that has windows 7 pro 32bit installed. Things were going quite nice until a multi card reader (some roswell version) crapped out. No problem, I'll just buy a new one...

Well, I got the new one in, shut down the computer, installed the new one in the same USB port, restarted the computer and I haven't been able to boot into windows normally since.

I have checked the error logs after booting into safe mode and I don't see anything about hardware errors (I could be wrong or looking in the wrong place). I have tried the built in windows 7 repair features included with the windows 7 disk, I have tried sfc /scannow, I have tried bootrec.exe /fixboot and /fixmbr, I have tested the memory and the HDD, I have tried restore, and I cannot figure out how to solve this problem.

I would love to do a "Windows 7 repair install" but you can't do that while in safe mode.

Where should I go to figure out why this machine won't boot in normal mode? Is there a way to completely erase all the current device drivers and attempt to re-install all the drivers?

Thanks in advance!

TVo said:

Hello. I am a repair tech so I usually can figure out the cause of weird issues, but I am currently stumped.

I have a custom built machine that has windows 7 pro 32bit installed. Things were going quite nice until a multi card reader (some roswell version) crapped out. No problem, I'll just buy a new one...

Well, I got the new one in, shut down the computer, installed the new one in the same USB port, restarted the computer and I haven't been able to boot into windows normally since.

I have checked the error logs after booting into safe mode and I don't see anything about hardware errors (I could be wrong or looking in the wrong place). I have tried the built in windows 7 repair features included with the windows 7 disk, I have tried sfc /scannow, I have tried bootrec.exe /fixboot and /fixmbr, I have tested the memory and the HDD, I have tried restore, and I cannot figure out how to solve this problem.

I would love to do a "Windows 7 repair install" but you can't do that while in safe mode.

Where should I go to figure out why this machine won't boot in normal mode? Is there a way to completely erase all the current device drivers and attempt to re-install all the drivers?

Thanks in advance!

Probably needs a different driver than the old one.

To erase the driver goto device manager find the device and un-install it.
{start>search>device manager)

I've been in device manager and tried this. Regardless, even when I physically remove the device Windows still will not boot. Basically I've removed all hardware that isn't absolutely necessary while trying to fix this. I only mentioned the card reader because that is what started the problem.

So yeah, the card reader is now not even connected and I still cannot boot. It hangs on the glowing, pulsing windows icon forever.

You don't say what happens exactly when you try to boot normally? Error message? Behavior?

Is it any different if you unplug the card reader?

Boot the WIn7 DVD repair console or Repair CD to run Startup Repair - Run 3 Separate Times.

We really need to see a picture of Disk mgmt. Boot free Partition Wizard bootable CD, post back a camera snap.

Mark Win7 partition Active, click on HD to highlight, then from Disk tab select Rebuild MBR which may preclude needing to run Startup Repairs again once WIn7 is marked Active.

gregrocker said:

You don't say what happens exactly when you try to boot normally? Error message? Behavior?

TVo said:

So yeah, the card reader is now not even connected and I still cannot boot. It hangs on the glowing, pulsing windows icon forever.

To add a little more detail: The system posts, comes up with the glowing Window saying "Starting Windows" and then sits there pulsing until I force power down or reboot. It gets "stuck" at the Starting Windows Logo.

gregrocker said:

Is it any different if you unplug the card reader?

TVo said:

Regardless, even when I physically remove the device Windows still will not boot. Basically I've removed all hardware that isn't absolutely necessary while trying to fix this. I only mentioned the card reader because that is what started the problem.

Detail: I have removed the card reader. I will worry about it again when I can get the system running again.

gregrocker said:

Boot the WIn7 DVD repair console or Repair CD to run Startup Repair - Run 3 Separate Times.

I have run it, but not 3 separate times. While I will go ahead and try this, I can't see how that will fix the problem. The problem isn't in the mbr or boot options (I don't believe) but I will do this and report back.

gregrocker said:

We really need to see a picture of Disk mgmt. Boot free Partition Wizard bootable CD, post back a camera snap.

Mark Win7 partition Active, click on HD to highlight, then from Disk tab select Rebuild MBR which may preclude needing to run Startup Repairs again once WIn7 is marked Active.

Burning the disk now. I'll report back after I get a picture.

Well, after hours of beating my head against this problem, I finally found the issue.

When my dad had attempted to install the new card reader, apparently he tweaked the serial card (pci port for a serial connection). This serial card was causing the driver issues. We happened to have the exact same card in stock, switched it out, and got it running fine.

I appreciate the help figuring this out, and that sysprep command was EXACTLY what I was looking for in other types of situations so I can't help but feel as if I have gained a lot from this experience :)

Thanks again!