Windows 7: Windows 7 won't start, hangs on "Starting Windows" screen, no logo

F3 plugged in, boot to CD: Hangs on "Starting Windows", no logo.

Here is a list of what I've tried and the results

-F3+SSD plugged in: select SSD and press F8-->logged into windows successfully-->reboot and hangs at "Starting Windows"
-F3+SSD plugged in: select SSD and press F8-->hangs on "Starting Windows"
-F3+SSD plugged in: launch start up repair for SSD-->logged into windows successfully-->reboot and hangs at "Starting Windows"
-SSD plugged in: BOOTMGR is missing
-F3 is plugged in: select F3 and press F8-->hangs on "Starting Windows"
-F3 is plugged in: select F3 and press enter to start --> hangs on "Starting Windows"
-SSD+F3 plugged in: boot to CD-->hangs on "Starting Windows"
-F3 is plugged in: boot to CD-->hangs on "Starting Windows"

I'm at a loss guys. I'll try some of the other methods when I get back. Thanks again for the helps

Are you booting into System Recovery Options from the installer or System Repair Disk?

Try resetting the BIOS to defaults: Clear CMOS - 3 Ways to Clear the CMOS - Reset BIOS

Set SSD first to boot, then trigger disk using one-time BIOS Boot Menu key.

If this fails burn another Repair CD or Windows 7 installer from Troubleshooting Windows 7 Failure to Boot,
which also has steps to mark Active and Rebuild MBR using free Partition Wizard CD: Partition Wizard Rebuild MBR Video Help.
How to Set Active/Inactive partition -Partition Wizard Video Help.

The steps also show you how to use the bootrec tool to Rebuild the MBR and run the complete set of boot fixes automated in Startup Repair.

If these all fail I would test the HD using the tests also given.

If everything has been tried then you can wipe the SSD with PW CD which will force installer to boot itself to Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7

Greg, I just want to thank you for your extensive help and knowledge. I really appreciate all your efforts in helping me.

-I'm booting from the installer disk.
-I've tried loading defaults from BIOS, and the problem persists. I can try removing the CMOS battery later to see if that works too.
-For setting the active partition and rebuilding the MBR, would I do this for the F3, or my SSD? The F3 is where I first installed windows, and the SSD is where I installed Windows within the last year.

To be honest, I'm leaning towards using the PW CD to do a clean reinstall. My issue with this is: I had quite a lot of files on my F3 that I would like to access. If I do a clean install on my SSD, would I still be able to access the F3's data? I'm worried because it seems as if the F3 is the drive with the boot manager right now, and if I have that connected while trying to boot from the fresh windows install on the SSD, I might run into the same problem. Is there a way to do a fresh install on the SSD, and make the Windows 7 on the F3 unusable (so that it won't mess with my booting) but still allow me to move the files/data off of that drive?

I would first try to start Windows 7 on the SSD using PW CD by marking 7 partition Active to Rebuild the MBR. Then you can plug back in the F3 to see if your files are accessible to copy out from Windows 7. If not run the tests on the F3 I gave you.

If PW repair options fail then you can try rescuiing your data from the SSD before wiping it to reinstall.

You can also try to copy your data out of the F3 at any time with the methods given in Troubleshooting Windows 7 Failure to Boot which you should read over carefully to make sure you understand fully all that can be done to repair Windows 7.

Thanks, I'll give those a shot tomorrow. If I am able to rebuild the MBR and mark Partition Active on my SSD, will plugging in the F3 interfere with startup?

Not if you keep SSD set first to boot in BIOS setup.

You may be able to repair the F3 similarly.

Wait, if I repair and mark active partition for the SSD, I should also do it for the F3? I'm concerned about the F3 because it seems to have the original Boot Manager and might be causing my problems right now, so I don't know if repairing it will help me or harm me haha

As long as you do these repairs on each HD separately with the other one unlugged, you might be able to start both of them and can do no harm. You will also find out more about the condition of the F3 which may have failed.

It is a concern that you cannot boot the Windows 7 installer or Repair CD. Have you tried burning a new one to rule out a bad installer, using USB flash instead of DVD or vice versa? I gave you a link to the latest installer and tool to burn/write.

You may need to read back over the thread a few times to study the resources you've been given more in depth, ask back any further questions to get the steps done.

Okay, so it looks like I'll use my laptop to burn a repair disk CD to see if that works and if not, I'll try using a USB drive. The PW CD sounds like the best option though. Thanks so much for all this info!

I tried making a new Windows 7 installer CD, and that failed on the SSD. I also tried booting the Partition Wizard (I used the bootable CD Version) and that also failed. It goes to a black screen with a bunch of white words. The last row says:

NET: Requested protocol family 1
_

The dash keeps blinking, so I don't know if it's still working. Hitting "Enter" or "ESC" gets me no where, so I guess I'll let it sit for now. I'll repeat these steps for the F3 to see if it works, but not looking too good right now

[UPDATE] So I tried partition wizard on the F3, same exact sequence of events, with it loading to a black screen with a bunch of white words. Also says "NET: Requested protocol family 1". Searching that on google gave me nothing. I tried the new repair disk on the F3 as well, and still stuck on "Starting Windows" no logo. I'm going to let it stay like that overnight, see if maybe it's just taking a super long time to load or something. If it is still stuck like that tomorrow, I'll try using the Seatools utility you gave me.

It looks like my plan to use PW to wipe the hard drives and do a clean install of Windows 7 won't work since PW won't even load. I'm going to see if I can borrow a clean hard drive from a friend and install Windows there, then attempt to use Partition Wizard to see if I can salvage the SSD or the F3.