Windows 7: Computer seems to be a mess, random restarts, slow boot time.

Hi everyone, this is my first post. I'll try to be thorough and not leave out any details.

My computer began acting very strange a few weeks ago after I input the wrong key trying to register Word 2007. I tried to uninstall Word and thats when my PC seemed to begin crumbling on me. My conputer began freezing and taking between 20 minutes and an hour to boot up. I used a recovery partition on my laptop which I believe is supposed to basically wipe your computer back to the day that you first loaded it up.

It seems to have done that, but I'm still being plagued by problems here and there. My computer still takes over 5 minutes to boot up, and it is having difficulty loading the fixpack for my Realtek speakers to fix the sound (without that update the speakers are ridiculously quiet).

My computer also seems to freeze up or randomly restart itself sometimes. It also has trouble installing all of the updates for Windows Update.

Up till this point I really hadn't had any problems with my computer, now it just seems like its giving up.

My PC is a MSI A6200. It has got an I5 processor, 2.3ghz. Also has 4gb RAM, running windows 7 32 bit home premium. The graphics card is just an intel graphics media accellerator HD.

Does anyone have any suggestions? Is there some sort of log program that I should be posting up as well? If there's any other info I can provide I certainly will do so.

Thanks,

Peter

Hello Peter and welcome to Seven Forums.

My usual disclaimer: I'm not an expert at anything. Having said that there are a couple of things that come to mind. You said you used the recovery partition to return your machine to factory specs (just like the day you got it.) Did the recovery partition include SP1? Did you let Windows Update automatically install all the available updates? I've found that if the recovery partition does NOT include SP1 it's best to install it first and then manually install any other updates just a few at a time. By doing a few at a time (maybe 5 or 10) and keeping track of their KB numbers, if there's a problem you'll know which 5 or 10 updates to uninstall. Then reinstall them one at a time. If they all install OK, go on to the next group. If one or more don't install correctly just ignore them for the time being and go to the next group. Yes, it's a slower process but usually results in a cleaner installation.

For right now, unless you want to use the recovery partition again and start over, you could try running a System File Checker scan from an elevated command prompt (option two this tutorial.) If problems are found, run the scan 3 times rebooting in between each scan.

SFC /SCANNOW Command - System File Checker

If you're still having issues, one of the Forum experts prepared these troubleshooting guidelines that may help. They are time consuming but can help to pinpoint specific problems.

Troubleshooting Steps for Windows 7

Troubleshooting Windows 7 Failure to Boot

Please post back if any of this helps or not.

Is there still a System Restore point from before you installed Word as this may be the best way to get back before the problem began?

If not work through the Troubleshooting Steps linked above starting with the hardware tests.

Peter,
Welcome to SevenForums.

Did you perform the sfc /scannow? Yes/No.

There are many possible causes of your present situation.

If you disconnect from the internet, is the computer still slow? Yes/no?

If you boot up into SafeMode, is the computer still slow? Yes/no?

That's three questions, please answer all three.

Ø Power down your computer.
Ø Power up your computer.
Ø IMMEDIATELY—Start tapping the SPACEBAR
Ø When the Windows Boot Manager screen appears,
Press the F8 key
Ø The Advanced Boot Options screen will appear.
Ø Using the down arrow key, highlight Safe Mode
Ø Press the ENTER key.

In shorthand,
PowerUp | Spacebar until Windows Boot Manager
| F8 | Safe Mode | ENTER