Windows Failed to start message - dual boot system

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  1. Posts : 12
    Windows 7 Ultimate
       #1

    Windows Failed to start message - dual boot system


    I've got a dual-boot system with Ubuntu 12.04 and Windows 7 Ultimate x64. When I boot up, the first screen I see is the Grub menu. If I choose Windows, then I go through Windows boot menu, although I have it set not to display anything because I now have only one copy of Windows on the machine - I had two copies of Win 7 Ultimate before I decided to remove one and go with Ubuntu instead. So normally Windows would boot up. That does happen most of the time, but occasionally - maybe once in 25 or so boots, Windows starts to boot, then the system reboots, and I get back into Grub. I then select Windows again, and I get the message "Windows failed to start" and a list of options. I choose Start Windows Normally, and it boots up and runs fine.
    I don't see anything in Event Viewer that would suggest a HDD problem, I have run many tests on drive, memory, and CPU and all PASS.
    I ran "sfc /scannow", and it reports no problems. I have run CHKDSK, and again, no problems.

    I have been having this problem for a while, long before I installed Ubuntu, so I cannot blame it for corrupting anything.

    Any ideas?

    Thanks

    FW
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 19,383
    Windows 10 Pro x64 ; Xubuntu x64
       #2
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 12
    Windows 7 Ultimate
    Thread Starter
       #3

    Here is the screenshot of disk management:

    Windows Failed to start message - dual boot system-disk-management.jpg


    FW
      My Computer

  4.    #4

    It looks correct. Type msconfig in Start Search box, rightclick to Run as Admin, then on Boot tab delete the other OS from Dual Boot menu.

    Then I would uninstall GRUB from its partition, boot the Win7 DVD or System Repair Disk
    to correct Win7 boot by running Startup Repair - Run up to 3 Separate Times.

    You can then add your Linux distro to a Dual Boot menu using the cleaner method in Dual Boot - Windows 7 and Linux - Windows 7 Forums and Dual boot Ubuntu-Win7. Then author of the tutorial is in the thread already so can advise you on how best to recreate the Dual Boot after repairing Win7's boot files.
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 12
    Windows 7 Ultimate
    Thread Starter
       #5

    Won't Ubuntu just re-install Grub when it detects that Windows is already on the system?
    BTW, I think I'm using Grub 2.0, which is supposed to handle Windows much better than older Grub.

    Checking Boot tab in MSConfig, I no longer have the 2nd Windows install. I must have removed it immediately after installing Ubuntu.

    Can anyone explain why it is necessary to run System Repair 3 times? I have read this in several other forums/articles.

    FW
      My Computer

  6.    #6

    If you prefer GRUB to manage your Dual Boot you can keep it, but running Startup Repairs to check over the Win7 boot files may override it.

    Sometimes WinRe needs to reboot to check for additional repairs needed - for example if it fails to repair the System boot files, it may need to next rewrite them. Then once rewritten it needs to detect if the F8 WinRe link is still effective and if not rewrite it. There are myriad tests it does which require up to 3 separate repairs if things are messed up badly. There may also be no way to know for sure if 1-2 repairs are enough.

    Normally however it will tell you if it finds something to repair, and unless the System drive is being moved it should be enough.
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 21,482
    Win 7 x64 Home Premium (and x86 VirtualBox VM)/Win10
       #7

    Silly question......
    Please post a mgadiag report
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 12
    Windows 7 Ultimate
    Thread Starter
       #8

    I ran Startup Repair three times, and each time it reported that it could not detect any problems.

    As for Grub, the version I have is 1.99. But the problem is not Grub. I have been having this problem for a long time, long before I installed Ubuntu.
    That said, I did at one time about a year ago have Ubuntu installed on the same system dual-booting with Windows 7 x64. I think I was having trouble back then too.

    At one point, I decided to remove Ubuntu, and install the 2nd copy of Windows 7. I don't recall whether or not I wiped the HDD first. Perhaps I should have - thinking that the old Ubuntu and Grub install somehow corrupted the disk, and this problem persists because I failed to completely wipe out all partitions on the disk.

    I can live with this situation - it only happens once in a while - certainly not on every boot. My biggest concern though, is that the problem indicates a more severe underlying problem - one that I really need to address if I want a stable system.

    In a seemingly (but perhaps not) unrelated problem, I was getting a lot of BSOD. Most of the bugcheck reports listed corrupted page frame number as the fault. That is when I started running all sorts of tests.
    Finally, I decided to disable Perfect Disk 12.5 from running in automatic mode, and that stopped the BSOD's. I assumed that there was an issue with PD, maybe in combination with Norton Internet Security, or another program running. But could this have been an indicator that something more serious is going on? Perhaps not unrelated to the Failure to start Windows - although I continue to have the boot problem but not the BSOD's.

    I have been doing a lot of research, and am not very familiar with a lot of the terms listed in some of the articles - and forget the Windows 7 Resource Kit. It seems to have been written for professionals.

    Any thoughts on this?

    FW
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 19,383
    Windows 10 Pro x64 ; Xubuntu x64
       #9

    Follow Noel's suggestion. Lets see the MGADIAG report......

    1. Download and save this tool to your desktop:
    http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=52012

    2. Run the tool, and then click Copy - ignore any errors if they appear

    3. Use CTRL+V to paste the unedited results of the tool here in your next reply
      My Computer


  10. Posts : 12
    Windows 7 Ultimate
    Thread Starter
       #10

    Here is the result of MGADiag

    Diagnostic Report (1.9.0027.0):
    -----------------------------------------
    Windows Validation Data-->

    Validation Code: 0
    Cached Online Validation Code: 0x0
    Windows Product Key: *****-*****-GQ97F-7QH8Y-H3FM2
    Windows Product Key Hash: wEuYjEo8VqgnPYNsbj8Z3+i6h+s=
    Windows Product ID: 00426-292-1976676-85746
    Windows Product ID Type: 5
    Windows License Type: Retail
    Windows OS version: 6.1.7601.2.00010100.1.0.001
    ID: {34DFC5BE-9275-451F-ADEF-3423D033FDCA}(3)
    Is Admin: Yes
    TestCab: 0x0
    LegitcheckControl ActiveX: N/A, hr = 0x80070002
    Signed By: N/A, hr = 0x80070002
    Product Name: Windows 7 Ultimate
    Architecture: 0x00000009
    Build lab: 7601.win7sp1_gdr.111118-2330
    TTS Error:
    Validation Diagnostic:
    Resolution Status: N/A

    Vista WgaER Data-->
    ThreatID(s): N/A, hr = 0x80070002
    Version: N/A, hr = 0x80070002

    Windows XP Notifications Data-->
    Cached Result: N/A, hr = 0x80070002
    File Exists: No
    Version: N/A, hr = 0x80070002
    WgaTray.exe Signed By: N/A, hr = 0x80070002
    WgaLogon.dll Signed By: N/A, hr = 0x80070002

    OGA Notifications Data-->
    Cached Result: N/A, hr = 0x80070002
    Version: N/A, hr = 0x80070002
    OGAExec.exe Signed By: N/A, hr = 0x80070002
    OGAAddin.dll Signed By: N/A, hr = 0x80070002

    OGA Data-->
    Office Status: 109 N/A
    OGA Version: N/A, 0x80070002
    Signed By: N/A, hr = 0x80070002
    Office Diagnostics: 025D1FF3-364-80041010_025D1FF3-229-80041010_025D1FF3-230-1_025D1FF3-517-80040154_025D1FF3-237-80040154_025D1FF3-238-2_025D1FF3-244-80070002_025D1FF3-258-3

    Browser Data-->
    Proxy settings: N/A
    User Agent: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 8.0; Win32)
    Default Browser: C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe
    Download signed ActiveX controls: Prompt
    Download unsigned ActiveX controls: Disabled
    Run ActiveX controls and plug-ins: Allowed
    Initialize and script ActiveX controls not marked as safe: Disabled
    Allow scripting of Internet Explorer Webbrowser control: Disabled
    Active scripting: Allowed
    Script ActiveX controls marked as safe for scripting: Allowed

    File Scan Data-->

    Other data-->
    Office Details: <GenuineResults><MachineData><UGUID>{34DFC5BE-9275-451F-ADEF-3423D033FDCA}</UGUID><Version>1.9.0027.0</Version><OS>6.1.7601.2.00010100.1.0.001</OS><Architecture>x64</Architecture><PKey>*****-*****-*****-*****-H3FM2</PKey><PID>00426-292-1976676-85746</PID><PIDType>5</PIDType><SID>S-1-5-21-1714750011-1647401879-576458297</SID><SYSTEM><Manufacturer>MSI</Manufacturer><Model>MS-7673</Model></SYSTEM><BIOS><Manufacturer>American Megatrends Inc.</Manufacturer><Version>V1.18</Version><SMBIOSVersion major="2" minor="7"/><Date>20120222000000.000000+000</Date></BIOS><HWID>FE243B07018400FE</HWID><UserLCID>0409</UserLCID><SystemLCID>0409</SystemLCID><TimeZone>Eastern Standard Time(GMT-05:00)</TimeZone><iJoin>0</iJoin><SBID><stat>3</stat><msppid></msppid><name></name><model></model></SBID><OEM/><GANotification/></MachineData><Software><Office><Result>109</Result><Products/><Applications/></Office></Software></GenuineResults>

    Spsys.log Content: 0x80070002

    Licensing Data-->
    Software licensing service version: 6.1.7601.17514

    Name: Windows(R) 7, Ultimate edition
    Description: Windows Operating System - Windows(R) 7, RETAIL channel
    Activation ID: ac96e1a8-6cc4-4310-a4ff-332ce77fb5b8
    Application ID: 55c92734-d682-4d71-983e-d6ec3f16059f
    Extended PID: 00426-00170-292-197667-00-1033-7601.0000-2832013
    Installation ID: 009772000584357626619452930920930990275700772575256923
    Processor Certificate URL: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=88338
    Machine Certificate URL: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=88339
    Use License URL: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=88341
    Product Key Certificate URL: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=88340
    Partial Product Key: H3FM2
    License Status: Licensed
    Remaining Windows rearm count: 3
    Trusted time: 11/15/2013 8:17:11 PM

    Windows Activation Technologies-->
    HrOffline: 0x00000000
    HrOnline: N/A
    HealthStatus: 0x0000000000000000
    Event Time Stamp: N/A
    ActiveX: Registered, Version: 7.1.7600.16395
    Admin Service: Registered, Version: 7.1.7600.16395
    HealthStatus Bitmask Output:


    HWID Data-->
    HWID Hash Current: MAAAAAEABAABAAEAAAABAAAAAQABAAEAln2WYJrYvlbiWGI0St1YwGz2zDRQzi5z

    OEM Activation 1.0 Data-->
    N/A

    OEM Activation 2.0 Data-->
    BIOS valid for OA 2.0: yes, but no SLIC table
    Windows marker version: N/A
    OEMID and OEMTableID Consistent: N/A
    BIOS Information:
    ACPI Table Name OEMID Value OEMTableID Value
    APIC ALASKA A M I
    FACP ALASKA A M I
    HPET ALASKA A M I
    MCFG ALASKA A M I
    SSDT AMICPU PROC
    ASF! INTEL HCG

    An interesting note about the failed to start issue:
    I used EasyBCD to move the Windows boot files to the Windows system disk (C:\).
    Then I ran GParted from CD and deleted the 100MB Boot partition (System Reserved) disk.
    I restarted the system; Windows booted up successfully, but of course I no longer have access to Ubuntu. I expected that.
    Next, I ran GParted again, and resized/moved the Windows system partition to occupy the 100MB unallocated space that was freed when I deleted the old boot partition.
    That operation took a very long time - about 2-1/2 hours.
    When it was done, I tried to boot into Windows, but got the same message - Windows failed to start.
    Inserted Windows DVD and ran repair. Found errors - Needed to reboot and run again, but this is where a very strange thing happened:
    While Windows was loading (on the 2nd of 3 times I ran startup repair)- after the files had been copied from the DVD to memory -
    Screen said "Windows is starting up", then the system spontaneously rebooted.
    Rebooted from the DVD and this time it did boot up. Ran startup repair again - no problems found.
    Rebooted again - this time from the HDD. Windows started normally.

    Does the fact that Windows failed to start from the installation DVD indicate that there is a memory problem? A problem with the DVD image? anything else?
    This is really starting to worry me. Perhaps I should order a replacement DVD from Microsoft?

    FW
      My Computer


 
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