Unable to restore, unable to login


  1. Posts : 4
    Windows 7 Home Premium 32 Bit
       #1

    Unable to restore, unable to login


    This has been quite an odissey so far and I really need help.

    I have an ASUS N51Vf on which I just changed a defective hard drive with a new one, same size and specs as the old.

    After a clean windows 7 install all was working fine. I created a System Restore Point. No errors reported, restore point created.

    I then tried to restore all my data and settings with a back up I had on a external hard drive.
    This back up has been made with LaCie Genie Back up Assistant, a program with decent review online.

    After having finished to restore the back up, I was asked to restart windows, which I did.

    Windows restarted but then it failed to log in giving an error (which appears to be quite common googling it). A window pop up saying
    "Interactive logon process initialization has failed. Please consult the
    event log for more details."
    If you say ok the windows keeps appearing again and again.

    There was no way to access windows whatever mode (safe, normal and all the other boot option appearing when pressing f8) I choosed. Startup repair was as well ineffective (since there was no problem in the startup process itself.)

    People online reported the only way to fix this was to check the event log files on another computer. So I installed Ubuntu on the unallocated space I left when installing win 7, I copied the logs files, I went through all the errors in the event viewer of another computer, particularly those in application.evtx, I copied safe version of winlogon.exe logonUI.exe and userInit.exe on windows/system32 through Ubuntu but nothing worked. Same error preventing log in.

    I then went into the System Restore Point nasty affair. As I previously mentioned, I created this point prior to restore the LaCie backup. The Restore point was there, accessible through the standard recovery options.
    What appears is this: standard final window of System Restore

    Selected restore point
    9/25/2011 5:32:56 AM Manual: name I gave
    ...
    Drive Status
    [] Local Disk (C: ) (System) You must enable System Protection on this drive
    [] Local Disk (C: ) The drive cannot be found

    and I couldn't select any of this drive and proceed.
    So I go to the Command Prompt and I realize that windows has been installed on D:, not on C:, which appears to be the system reserved partition with 70Mb free. Something standard when you install win7 apparently. Since my backup was made copying files from C: and I didn't care for the path when restoring my LaCie backup, I thought I messed up things attempting to copy to the wrong drive, even though no error was reported to me.

    So I formatted everything, reinstalled windows paying attention not to create other partitions. Clean install, all went through fine. I check on Computer what's the windows unit label, and it is C indeed. I didn't check for the presence of other partitions. I re-restore files from the LaCie Backup. At the end I try to create a new System Restore point, but a weird error tells me that I can't. Already suspicious, I restart, to find myself on the exact same position as before, unable to login, unable to restore (both same as previously described) and, moreover, checking through command prompt, win 7 appears to be in the D: unit again with the C: set up to be the system reserved!!!


    I really don't know what to do, I do think this is about "misunderstanding" between the back up restore and windows partitions but I simply don't get it. Hope someone can help.
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 4
    Windows 7 Home Premium 32 Bit
    Thread Starter
       #2

    Plex710 said:
    This has been quite an odissey so far and I really need help.

    I have an ASUS N51Vf on which I just changed a defective hard drive with a new one, same size and specs as the old.

    After a clean windows 7 install all was working fine. I created a System Restore Point. No errors reported, restore point created.

    I then tried to restore all my data and settings with a back up I had on a external hard drive.
    This back up has been made with LaCie Genie Back up Assistant, a program with decent review online.

    After having finished to restore the back up, I was asked to restart windows, which I did.

    Windows restarted but then it failed to log in giving an error (which appears to be quite common googling it). A window pop up saying
    "Interactive logon process initialization has failed. Please consult the
    event log for more details."
    If you say ok the windows keeps appearing again and again.

    There was no way to access windows whatever mode (safe, normal and all the other boot option appearing when pressing f8) I choosed. Startup repair was as well ineffective (since there was no problem in the startup process itself.)

    People online reported the only way to fix this was to check the event log files on another computer. So I installed Ubuntu on the unallocated space I left when installing win 7, I copied the logs files, I went through all the errors in the event viewer of another computer, particularly those in application.evtx, I copied safe version of winlogon.exe logonUI.exe and userInit.exe on windows/system32 through Ubuntu but nothing worked. Same error preventing log in.

    I then went into the System Restore Point nasty affair. As I previously mentioned, I created this point prior to restore the LaCie backup. The Restore point was there, accessible through the standard recovery options.
    What appears is this: standard final window of System Restore

    Selected restore point
    9/25/2011 5:32:56 AM Manual: name I gave
    ...
    Drive Status
    [] Local Disk (C: ) (System) You must enable System Protection on this drive
    [] Local Disk (C: ) The drive cannot be found

    and I couldn't select any of this drive and proceed.
    So I go to the Command Prompt and I realize that windows has been installed on D:, not on C:, which appears to be the system reserved partition with 70Mb free. Something standard when you install win7 apparently. Since my backup was made copying files from C: and I didn't care for the path when restoring my LaCie backup, I thought I messed up things attempting to copy to the wrong drive, even though no error was reported to me.

    So I formatted everything, reinstalled windows paying attention not to create other partitions. Clean install, all went through fine. I check on Computer what's the windows unit label, and it is C indeed. I didn't check for the presence of other partitions. I re-restore files from the LaCie Backup. At the end I try to create a new System Restore point, but a weird error tells me that I can't. Already suspicious, I restart, to find myself on the exact same position as before, unable to login, unable to restore (both same as previously described) and, moreover, checking through command prompt, win 7 appears to be in the D: unit again with the C: set up to be the system reserved!!!


    I really don't know what to do, I do think this is about "misunderstanding" between the back up restore and windows partitions but I simply don't get it. Hope someone can help.
    sorry for this very long post, but I think I saved time replying possibile objections.
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 4
    Windows 7 Home Premium 32 Bit
    Thread Starter
       #3

    one thing I didn't mention was that I didn't restore the windows folder, so all windows files were uncorrupted from the clean install just made.

    Now, I formatted everything again and I've done another clean install. I'll give details of my partitions.
    Last edited by Plex710; 26 Sep 2011 at 02:29.
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 4
    Windows 7 Home Premium 32 Bit
    Thread Starter
       #4

    I can confirm that now, as after the previous clean install, I have two partition. One labelled C:, where is windows, one not labelled, which is the system reserved one. I'm pretty sure this is exacly as before. Now I'll wait some advice before attempting again to restore the back up.
      My Computer


 

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