Changed msconfig setting. Booting win7 now impossible.

Sir George said:

Check the following thread for some information that may be useful;

Changing msconfig without windows [Solved] - Msconfig - Windows 7

Read down the list of posts until you get to the one from Sam_23 "before I did anything,..."

HTH

Will try. Thanks. I'll post whatever progress is reached.

Alpha said:

Did you try reseating your Ram.

Yep. No results. I even tried inserting my old RAM instead (2x 2gb).

gregrocker said:

Have you tried accessing System Recovery Options by tapping the F8 key a boot, to run System Restore?

Otherwise you'll need to get the Win7 bootable installation media or System Repair disk to boot. Failure to boot disk is almost always a user failure.

But make sure you have media that is bootable in another PC. If not create new media from Steps 1 and 2 of Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7.

Follow these steps:

If disk fails try the flash stick method also provided in tutorial.

If both fail then reset the BIOS to defaults: How To Clear CMOS (Reset BIOS)

Yep, I've tried all these options (Including F8 > System restore and everything from both tutorials). With no results unfortunately. When I boot using an installation disk (Win7 install-USB), I get up to where it shows "starting windows" exactly like the YouTube video. However the windows graphics don't appear, and after about 4 seconds. It reboots.

AddRAM said:

ESARE said:

remove Mem sticks
boot
shutdown
insert memory sticks
boot
???

He`s asking the OP to try this.

I don`t understand why you can`t boot from the windows 7 install dvd, are you sure you have one ?

I've actually tried what he asked. Didn't work. And I don't understand why it won't boot either. I'm quite sure I have one. :P However, it is a USB stick (my CD/DVD rom drive has been broken for around a year). My BIOS is also set up correctly. It does detect the USB as a boot device AND it boots from it. Just until the "starting windows" text appears, then it reboots after about 4 seconds. (Its not the USB. I've used it 2 months ago to install win7 without problem).

Sir George said:

Check the following thread for some information that may be useful;

Changing msconfig without windows [Solved] - Msconfig - Windows 7

Read down the list of posts until you get to the one from Sam_23 "before I did anything,..."

HTH

I can't get a command prompt started, so this solution isn't going to work.

I've been able to borrow a laptop to which I can connect my C: drive.
Is there any way I could fix this problem by accessing this drive through USB?

gregrocker said:

So what about the flash stick install?

Is your disk in fact bootable in another PC?

have you tried a new ISO burned to DVD with tool provided, then if that fails written to flash stick to try that.

The behavior you describe sounds like a bad installer. We see it all the time here.

Is the disk clean and new? Where did you get it?

Try the new ISO burned with tool provided in tutorial, first to disk and then to flash stick.

The USB install boots on the laptop I borrowed (2nd screenshot).

The hard drive is not bootable.

I'm downloading the ISO now. Might take a while on this wifi before I can post results.

The disk is a 160 GB Western Digital hard drive (2005). Quite old but it functions without problem.
Will try the new ISO on my USB stick (8gb ADATA) just to be sure.

whs said:

If you can attach the disk to another PC via USB, you can at least have a look at the disk with disk Management or Partition Wizard. Make a snip so we all can have a look at it.

By snip you mean screenshot? Not sure what you want to see, here's a screenshot of the disk management. Everything looks fine to me (The laptop is installed in german, I don't really understand the language either, but I guess it's easy to see what the important words like 'Aktiv' mean). If you meant something else just let me know.

We not seeing all of the drives in the Disk Mgmt window. It says in the listings above that you have a System Resreved partition which is booting Win7 (System). But you've cut off columns in the listings and are not even showing the System Reserved disk on the drive map in the window so we can't see how its configured. Please follow the instructions for Disk Management - Post a Screen Capture Image which I am sorry you were not given. It will show you how to include all listings and all drives.

It looks like you have a mess with the System partition booting C on another Hard drive, programs on a separate partition which is never a good idea. If you only have one Win7 on C, then what I would do after posting the requested screenshot is to unplug all other HD's except Win7, swap the DISK0 cable to it so it is in thes correct DISK0 position set first to boot in BIOS. Then boot the Win7 installer or Repair CD to run Startup Repair - Run 3 Separate Time until Win7 starts and holds its own System flag. You can then plug back in the other HD's and we will tell you how to dispose of System Reserved. Until you do this, SYstem Reserved must be left intact and set first HD to boot in BIOS setup because it is what is booting Win7, incorrectly from another HD.

Test the HD with bootable WD Data Lifeguard flash stick download/tutorial - Click "Instructions"
or slave the HD to another PC to run WD DL diagnostics from Windows.

I added a new screenshot to clarify. Only 'Datentrager 1' is important (Win7 OS, Programs, and 370 GB DATA). That is my hard drive (from my sony vaio). Datentrager 0 is the internal drive of the borrowed laptop (packard bell) that I am on. So SYSTEM RESERVED also belongs to the packard bell. Datentrager 2 is my external HDD.

I understand now. Were there any other drives in the other PC? The reason I ask is you have no System flag on the C drive so no evidence that you even have boot files on it. They may be there and have lost bootability, or are not being read by the host PC.

You'll need to get the disk to boot in the problem machine so you can run Startup Repair - Run 3 Separate Times
to repair or replace the boot files.

If the new media won't boot in either form, then reset the BIOS to default. Try booting with and without the HD plugged in, then with or without the DVD drive plugged in. Either can be blocking the disk from booting, and there is a remedy but if it's the HD it will mean wiping the HD to reinstall. Best to Rescue your files now in the host PC.