Laptop won't boot after replacing ndis.sys?

HallucinogenX · 23 Nov 2013

Today i started my laptop but found that it would not detect any wi-fi connections.So i checked the device manager and found that everything under "Network Adapters" had a yellow exclamation and there were around 12 drivers listed under it.

I scooped around the net and found that this problem is caused when a file called ndis.sys iscurropted or deleted by Antivirus or Anti-Malware programs.I went to C:\Windows\System32\drivers and found the file there so it had not been deleted.So i downloaded a copy of the file from the net which was roughly the same size.I tried replacing this new file with the old one but i didn't have the necessary permissions even though i am the administrator.So i used "takeown" command in command prompt and i was successfully able to replace the file.

I restarted my laptop hoping everything would be fixed instead i got an error saying :

Windows failed to start. A recent hardware or software change might be the cause......

Status: 0xc0000225

Info: The boot selection failed because a required device is inaccessible.

I don't have a windows 7 disc but i do have a Windows Vista Ultimate disk and in the past whenever such problems have occoured,i've simply used this disk to run a "chkdsk" command and that usually fixes everything but now it does not.

Things i've tried that don't work.

Booting into Safe Mode
Booting into Safe Mode With Networking
Using Windows Startup Repair
(All three bring me back to the "Windows failed to start" message)

Running System Restore from the Windows Vista disk.
(Says there are no restore points which is strange cuz there obviously are Restore Points.Windows automatically makes one like every week)

Running chkdsk,chkdsk /f,chkdsk /r from Command Prompt in Windows Vista disk.
(Scan complete but does nothing)

Running sfc /scannow and the offline version of this command.
("Windows Resource Protection could not start this service" error)

Tried deleting pending.xml to make "sfc / scannow" command work.
(Sytem could not find the file)

I cannot format my hard disk.My hard disk has over 500GB of important data and formatting is not an option.Please help me.

Ztruker · 23 Nov 2013

If you do not have a Windows 7 installation DVD, or it's not up to the Service Pack level currently installed, you can download a legal copy with SP1 integrated from here: Windows 7 Direct Download Links

Make sure you get the same version you have, Home Premium, Pro or Ultimate and 32 or 64 bit.

Note that Basic or Starter is not available.

I recommend using ImgBurn at 4X speed (or the slowest available) to create the DVD from the downloaded .iso file. Just be careful during the install not to accidentally install some of the bundled junk that comes with it. Always take The Custom Install option. You can do this on any computer capable of burning a DVD.

YOU MUST HAVE A VALID KEY TO INSTALL THIS .ISO. The one on the COA sticker on your computer will work.

You can also create a bootable USB Flash drive (4GB or larger) to install Windows 7 from.

Download and run Universal USB Installer – Easy as 1 2 3
Select Windows 7 from the first drop down list, all the way to the bottom
Select the downloaded Windows 7 iso file
Select your USB flash drive
Click Create

For techies or folks who work on computers: Create Windows 7 Universal ISO With All Editions Selection On Install with ei.cfg Removal Utility. This will fit on a 6GB flash drive or can be burned to a DVD.

Now, run System File Checker (SFC) from the Recovery Console

Boot your Vista or Windows 7 installation DVD
When you see "Press any key to boot from CD or DVD", press Enter
At the "Install Windows" screen, click on Repair your computer at lower left
At the System Recovery Options screen, make note of the drive letter assigned to your boot drive (normally C:) and click Next
At the Chose a Recovery Tool window, click on Command Prompt. You will be sitting at X:\Sources directory
Run SFC
- If you did not note the drive letter of your boot disk, you can enter bcdedit and look at the osdevice line to see what it is.
- Type sfc /scannow /offbootdir=c:\ /offwindir=c:\windows and press Enter (use the letter from above)

Let it run to completion undisturbed.

Vista or Windows 7: If you don't have a install DVD, you can download a legal copy here: Windows 7 Direct Download Links Download Official Windows Vista RTM with SP1 Setup Files (32-bit and 64-bit) Make sure you get the same version you have installed: 32 or 64 bit; Home Premium, Pro or Ultimate.

gregrocker · 26 Nov 2013

Your better off rescuiing any files you need to do the vastly superior Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7, since HP is loaded with the worst load in the industry of corrupting bloatware and duplicate utilities which interfere with better versions built into Win7. Everything needed is in the blue link.

On some recent models you can run a Minimal Recovery option on HP System Recovery to achieve close to the same thing.

Matts · 26 Nov 2013

A while back my laptop started freezing and getting Bsods.
I just booted from last known good configuration When you press f8 And it worked like a charm.
Just my 2 cents

Ztruker · 27 Nov 2013

The Users Guide has this: