New
#1
Computer fails to boot after using Disk Cleanup.
Hey guys,
At the minute Windows 7 is completely failing to boot on my PC. I reach the Windows logo (with the loading animation) and it freezes after roughly half a second before restarting my computer. The machine also fails to boot into safe mode and recovery mode.
Before I rebooted my computer (which is when the problem arrived), I did two things. First I ran Disk Clean-Up to free up some space. In Disk Clean-Up I was able to free a lot of space by deleting temporary update files. After this, I unistalled AVG Antivirus in preparation to change to a different AV. During the uninstallation, my keyboard starting behaving strangely, and so when the installer asked if I wished to reboot I said yes. As my computer was shutting down, it displayed the 'Installing updates' message, but only very briefly. After that, my computer was unable to start.
I have two theories:
1. My computer was host to some sort of dormant virus (I don't actually know if this is a thing) that was activated once it detected my antivirus was gone. I don't know whether my keyboard behaviour was anomalous or a strange symptom of the infection. I ran the AVG rescue CD with a completely up to date definition library and it returned no results. I'm hoping someone can debunk this theory...
2. Running Disk Clean-up deleted files that were necessary for a scheduled update. When the update attempted to run, it failed due to the files missing, leaving my Windows installation in a broken state.
Personally, I think both are a bit far fetched; it would be crazy to be infected with a virus so quickly, and I can't imagine that Windows would let Disk Clean-Up erase such crucial files. But I have nothing else.
Does anyone have any thoughts or tests that I might be able to try?
Thanks