Windows 7 boot issue

gregrocker said:

At this point, I would burn to CD free Partition Wizard bootable CD.

Boot PW, select 1 for screen res, then select Disk tab> Rebuild MBR to see if this will then start Win7.

Next choose from Disk tab>Recover Partition to see if it can recover the Partition data for you.

If not, then also try FREE Rescue Kit Express | PARAGON Software Group - free partition software, hard disk partitioning bootable CD to Recover partition data.

If neither of these work, you can try with Partition Wizard CD to shrink Win7 partition enough to install a Win7 or XP rescue install there, to access your data on other partition and copy it to external or DVD or into gradually-resized rescue partition.

First read up on your Recovery partition to know exactly what your options are by running it. You may be able to have it reinstall factory Win7 to a specified partition (you create with PW CD), or if it sees data on failed Win7 partition it may allow you to back it up first. Consult the manual for your model on Support>Downloads webpage of manufacturer, or chat or call your tech support to inquire.

Okay. I tried this a number of time. I scanned the HD twice and it showed no errors. I tried rebuilding the MBR several times, but it didn't change anything.

I used the recovery wizard and it shows my first partition as "lost/deleted", which I couldn't fix using the Partition Wizard.

If you feel that data is lost, then you can try as a last resort a data recovery software like Recuva.

If you rightclick Explore the partition and it shows files, you might want to try shrinking the partition to install a Rescue Win7 so that you can retrieve the files that way.

There are other options in my last post for you to exhaust before running the Factory Recovery.

gregrocker said:

If you feel that data is lost, then you can try as a last resort a data recovery software like Recuva.

If you rightclick Explore the partition and it shows files, you might want to try shrinking the partition to install a Rescue Win7 so that you can retrieve the files that way.

There are other options in my last post for you to exhaust before running the Factory Recovery.

Alright, I tried using the Rescue Kit express which didn't help much, however, I noticed an interesting thing, which, upon repeated use of Partition Wizard seems to repeat - it cannot find a boot.ini on any one of my partitions.

in addition, using both Rescue Kit and Partition Wizard show that my partition has 60GB available, while everywhere else, it doesn't show anything.

Using PW CD, rightclick on Win7 partition to "Explore" file to see if they still exist. If they do not show up there then your remaining option is data recovery software like Recuva. A new topic in General forum will get you more specialized help in data recovery from erased or failed partition.

If files still do exist then suggest you Resize Win7 partition by about 20gb, create a new partition there to install OS to salvage your files as suggested earlier.

gregrocker said:

Using PW CD, rightclick on Win7 partition to "Explore" file to see if they still exist. If they do not show up there then your remaining option is data recovery software like Recuva. A new topic in General forum will get you more specialized help in data recovery from erased or failed partition.

If files still do exist then suggest you Resize Win7 partition by about 20gb, create a new partition there to install OS to salvage your files as suggested earlier.

Well, after installing the other partition it seems to work again. Most of my settings are lost, but I can just set them again. More importantly, however, all of my files are still there.

Thanks for all the help!

If you'll post back a screenshot of your current Disk Management drive map and listings, we can advise you the best way to copy over your files into the OS partition and then delete the abandoned Win 7 partition.

Use the Snipping Tool in Start Menu, attach file using paper clip in Reply Box.

Do you have an external or DVD's to back up your current files now? What is the approx disk size of the files?

gregrocker said:

If you'll post back a screenshot of your current Disk Management drive map and listings, we can advise you the best way to copy over your files into the OS partition and then delete the abandoned Win 7 partition.

Use the Snipping Tool in Start Menu, attach file using paper clip in Reply Box.

Do you have an external or DVD's to back up your current files now? What is the approx disk size of the files?

No need, really. I've managed to fix everything and delete the abandoned partition on my own. I've done it when I had a similar problem a while ago.

So, yes, thank you for the help. My problem is solved now.

Suggest you save a Win7 backup image externally along with your regularly backed-up files. This way if you bork Win7 again you can reimage the HD in 15-20 minutes then copy your latest files back in.

Glad it worked.