W7 will not boot - sorry for another thread

I want to try one more thing tonight. My computer is overclocked, not by very much, and I'm going to take the MB back to the original settings. If all else fails then I'll hit you up for doing a correct install - thank you!!

I'd do that and reset BIOS to defaults, taking note of the SATA controller and any UEFI, CSM or Legacy BIOS settings.

I have to admit I'm pretty confused about UEFI, CSM, and Legacy, even after googling. I've captured all my settings in the BIOS before I set to default, which I'm about to do.

There is something I've failed to mention. When I power up the computer and hit F8., I'll get the option to select boot device. When I put my W7 desk in the CD/ROM drive I get 3 options:
P5: HL-DT-ST DVDRAM CH24NS72 (316MB)
M4 - CT256M4SSD2
UEFI: P5: HL-DT-ST DVDRAM CH24NS72 (316MB) - This option shows up when I put the disk in.

When I selected UEFI it will take me to the system recover menu. When selecting System Repair I get an error message saying this version of W7 is not compatible...

When I did the boot from desk system repair yesterday I used the first boot option. Anyways, just wanted to throw that out there. I'll reset BIOS and report back. I'm sure I'll be asking for advice for a clean install, which I can see you have linked in your signature.

Just reset BIOS and no luck.

Is Win7 installed to UEFI or Legacy?

Download the latest official Win7 installer for your version and burn to DVD to try to overcome the wrong version error to repair, or to rescue files or reinstall which are all in the Failure To Boot tutorial.

I am flying around the world so others will hopefully pick this up.

Greg,

I'm really not sure if it's in Legacy or UEFI. I do have an image of the SSD from Macrium that is saved on an external HDD. I also have my files backed up on the same HDD

Thanks for you time and effort. If you are ever in the Washington, DC I owe you several drinks of your choice. Safe travels

When I selected UEFI it will take me to the system recover menu. When selecting System Repair I get an error message saying this version of Windows 7 is not compatible...

It means your current installation is on "Legacy" mode - not UEFI. Also the "Disk Management" screenshot you posted shows an MBR partitioned disk which further confirms a legacy mode install.

Before re-installing Windows, i highly recommend to update SSD firmware to the latest version.The current firmware version 000F is known to be buggy. Latest revision is 070H which is a must have for all Crucial M4 drives.

More info about the firmware issue : AnandTech | Crucial Provides a Firmware Update for M4 to Fix The BSOD Issue

To update the firmware, select your model and download "Manual Boot file for Windows and Mac" from the below link.

Crucial SSD Firmware Updates


Burn the bootable ISO to a blank CD and follow instructions on the accompanying PDF file. Once the firmware updated successfully, perform a clean install. Make sure to select DVD drive without UEFI prefix for an MBR mode install which is recommended for "Win 7".

Anshad,

Thank you so much for the recommendation! I'll be sure to do that before I reinstall. Do you recommend using the Clean Reinstall Factory OEM that is in Greg's signature? I do have an installation disk.

Do you recommend using the Clean Reinstall Factory OEM that is in Greg's signature? I do have an installation disk.

Yes,of course. Greg's tut is the most complete guide covering OEM clean install procedures. Although the tutorial is aimed towards OEM edition, most of the steps are also applicable to retail versions.

Hi Anshand,

Not sure if you are reading this but something very peculiar happened when I tried to update the curcial firmware. I created a ISO image on a CD. When I started the computer I pressed F8 to get the boot device order and selected DVD. Instead of recognizing the CD it went to my W7 Start Up menu and went into Startup Repair. I did not hear the DVD spinning. This leads me to think in my previous posts that I wasn't accessing the W7 startup repair from my installation disk.

It's hard to understand the problem. I can see all my files in Safe Mode, so it's a little difficult to start all over and reinstall W7. I use this computer for Flight simming and I have some many little tweaks to the computer.

This seems very strange.