Disabling "Setup is starting services" screen

TheThemePark · 06 Jul 2011

So I ended up making a repair install of Windows 7 as suggested in this thread:

Need help resetting folder permissions

Bad idea. For some reason, it goes all the way through the install, or so I think, then I discover that it's rolling back the changes. It reboots and I notice a new option on the boot menu for rolling back Setup, which is the default one. So now the computer keeps booting that option and restarting as soon as the roll back screen has been show for a few seconds.

So I decide to choose the Windows 7 option instead, figuring I will try to reinstall again. Instead I get a screen saying Setup is installing services, and an error message saying "The computer restarted unexpectedly or encountered an unexpected error."

So I've been reading tons of pages online and tried everything like disabling the floppy disk in the BIOS, running Windows in Safe Mode and then through a command prompt disabling some devices, and trying to upgrade from the DVD only to find out I can only do a clean install there.

Making a clean install is absolutely NOT an option. So since the installation saved all the old files, I overwrote the install files with the old files, but I'm still getting that screen. So I'm figuring that there is somewhere in the registry database, where I can tell it not to load install but instead boot directly into Windows. But where would I find that?

gregrocker · 06 Jul 2011

See if you can browse in to look for these files using this method from DVD: Copy & Paste - in Windows Recovery Console

C:\$WINDOWS.~BT\Sources\Panther\setuperr.log
C:\$WINDOWS.~BT\Sources\Panther\setupact.log
C:\$WINDOWS.~BT\Sources\Panther\miglog.xml
C:\$WINDOWS.~BT\Sources\Panther\setupapi\setupapi.dev.log
C:\$WINDOWS.~BT\Sources\Panther\setupapi\setupapi.app.log
C:\$WINDOWS.~BT\Sources\Panther\PreGatherPnPList.log
C:\$WINDOWS.~BT\Sources\Panther\PostGatherPnPList.log

The last listing should be a clue to what's hanging the upgrade (Repair) install.

If necessary copy out your files as you'll likely have to reinstall, like it or not, since you deleted files which may be needed to complete hung Repair install.

Bare Foot Kid · 07 Jul 2011

Hello TheThemePark, welcome to Seven Forums!

You may have to do a wipe to the HDD and start a clean install to get anywhere further; be sure to use the tutorial Greg posted above and backup (copy out) any data you need to save to external media; have a thorough look at the information below and be sure to post back with any further questions you may have and to keep us informed.

Have a look at Step One of the Optimize tutorial below; after you have copied out or made back-ups of the data you need to save to external media, then boot the Windows 7 installation media to do the wipe secure erase to the HDD / SSD and be sure to post back with any further questions you may have and to keep us informed.

Whether you use diskpart to run either the clean all command to completely wipe a HDD / SSD or just the clean command to remove the format configuration data and don't use diskpart to create at least a single partition to do the installation to, letting the Windows installer do the format, the new Windows 7 System Reserved partition will be automatically issued, if you want to make your own decision whether this partition is added, study these two (2) options below.

If you do not want to create the new Windows 7 "System Reserved" partition use the outline in Step Two #2 to create, format and mark Active a single 100GB partition to do the installation to.
If you do want to create the "System Reserved" partition use the outline in Step Two #3 to create, format and mark Active the System Reserved partition and then create and format the 100GB partition to do the installation to.

Either way, running the clean all then creating and formatting the partition(s) using diskpart will get you the best possible space to do a clean install of Windows 7 to; you can always extend the Windows partition to include the remaining unallocated space on the HDD / SSD or create additional Primary partitions or an Extended partition after the installation completes if you choose.

SSD / HDD : Optimize for Windows Reinstallation

DISKPART : At PC Startup

Do a Clean Install with a Upgrade Windows 7 Version

TheThemePark · 08 Jul 2011

I didn't ask HOW to do a clean install, so all this information is pretty useless.

I'll ask again. Is there a registry setting or a file that can be altered, to boot into normal Windows instead of booting into the installation proces? It doesn't matter if Windows won't boot because I ruined some files, the point is to be able to skip the installation.

I figure that there must be such a way, since I can see that winload.exe is used for both a normal Windows and an installation, and as such there must be a file or a setting that tells Windows to run under installation mode, or to run installation files that have been copied. Since I replaced most of the files with the old copies, I figure I have removed all the installation files and that it is as such a registry or ini file setting that I need to alter, but I am not sure of this.

gregrocker, I looked at that directory, but only found the first two files. I was working at this late at night, and started an install, probably a clean one, so I'm guessing the files were there but got deleted because of the new install being in progress. Either way, since I copied over the old Windows files, including ProgramData and what else was backed up, I feel relatively sure that most of the installation files should be gone anyway.

Edit:
I have been able to make some progress on my own. I found out how to remove the "Setup is starting Services" screen, by simply removing the Setup key in HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Setup. But since I still got the same dialogue box, I reverted that change.

I then found out that the dialogue box is likely shown because of some of the file paths being too long, due to the Application Data link pointing to itself, rendering an Application Data folder inside itself.

So now I want to try to roll back the setup again, but unfortunately the BCD entry for that is no longer available. I've been looking at the Rollback folder but I can't figure out which file it runs in BCD. Does anyone know what the Rollback BCD entry looks like?