HELP!! Win 7 Crashed. Will not boot up

bkolt · 02 May 2011

I have a TB external drive. It has 503 gig free. It is my second TB drive. the other one is full from backups and photos. not sure what all I need to back up. Some files were already on my TB drive.

Dave76 · 02 May 2011

Try this one:

MBR - Restore Windows 7 Master Boot Record

It has the command line entries.

If that doesn't work you can try this.

As per this tutorial, you can fix it with these commands:

/fixmbr................do the mbr first
/fixboot...............do the bootsector next
/rebuildbcd...........do the bcd last

You can also put the OS HDD into your external drive and copy the files, but will need another computer to do it.

zane80 · 02 May 2011

Backup everything, its safer. Good luck!!! and patience

bkolt · 02 May 2011

I do not have a CD with Win 7 on it. I am waiting to get that from the tech that installed it. He should have given me a backup copy back then. I have 3 repair cds but all they have are 3 files: bcd, boot.sdi, & bootfix.bin

Dave76 · 02 May 2011

bkolt said:

I can get to the C prompt. I can see all my files but cannot access them.
Is there any commands I can use from the command prompt?

bkolt said:

I do not have a CD with Win 7 on it. I am waiting to get that from the tech that installed it. He should have given me a backup copy back then. I have 3 repair cds but all they have are 3 files: bcd, boot.sdi, & bootfix.bin

Can you still get to the command prompt?

My last post has links to the commands to fix your MBR from the command prompt.

bkolt · 02 May 2011

Dave,
The instructions for mbr require a cd. I do not have a cd. the files it needs are not on my repair cds I looked. How can I do this without a cd? I am waiting for the tech to bring me the Win 7 cd but don't know when that will be. Is there a way to download it to another computer and burn it to a cd? This ACER doesn't have a cd drive but my kid's computer does.

Dave76 · 02 May 2011

How were you getting to the command prompt before?
I was under the impression that you could still access the command prompt.
All you need to run those commands is the command prompt.

This tutorial will show you how to download the files to make a system repair disk.

How to Create a Windows 7 System Repair Disc

NOTE: If you have a OEM Windows 7 instead of a retail Windows 7, then you may need to use OPTION TWO below to create a System Repair Disc with instead.

OPTION TWO, To Download a "System Repair Disc"
NOTE: This option is perfect if you do not have a retail Windows 7 installation DVD and only have a OEM Windows 7 recovery DVD or partition.

3. To Burn the System Repair Disc to a USB Flash Drive

A) You can use the Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool to burn the ISO to a USB flash drive.

This only creates a repair disc that boots to the System Recovery Options screen to allow you to only repair any Windows 7 on any computer with Windows 7 installed. You can use the command prompt option to run commands though.

Another option:

How to Create the Ultimate Bootable USB Flash Drive

You can add any ISO program file onto this USB bootable drive and add an easy edit to the loader file and have a bootable USB tool drive that will work on any computer.
I have used this and it is very easy to do.

As another alternative, you can try this:
You can also put the OS HDD into your external drive or buy an external enclosure and copy the files, but will need another computer to do it.

If you put your OS HDD in the external then connect it to another computer, you can access all the files you need to recover.

After this is done, put the HDD back into your computer and then re-install your OS.

gregrocker · 02 May 2011

Instead of ignoring the suggestions I took the time to write out, why not reply so I can give you others ?

To copy out your files use this: Copy & Paste - in Windows Recovery Console

All of the boot repair commands are automated in Startup Repair if it finds an installation to repair. What were the exact results?

gregrocker said:

Run Gateway full factory recovery using it's hotkey at bootup. Gateway Support - Full Factory Recovery

If it fails, you'll need to order Recovery Disks from Gateway or find/borrow a Win7 installer, unlock all versions if necessary to reinstall with the Product key on COA sticker. Unlock any version eicfg removal tool

If you use a Win7 installer, wipe the HD first of all corrupt and infected code which may be corrupting the boot sector. SSD - HDD Optimize for Windows Reinstallation

Here are steps to get a perfect clean reinstall: Reinstalling Windows 7

SIW2 · 02 May 2011

Hi bkolt,

Let's try one thing at a time

You have a win 7 repair cd already.

Boot it up, go to command prompt and type:

Diskpart

lis vol

( find the drive letter of your win7 partition - use that instead of ? below )

exi

SFC.EXE /scannow /offbootdir:?:\ /offwindir=?:\windows

bkolt · 02 May 2011

Gregrocker,

I am not ignoring your suggestions. I am trying not to wipe my hard drive. I don't have all my files backed up to the external drive. How do I move directories from the Prompt? I have no way to reload Win 7 until I get a CD copy of it. I do not know when the tech that put it on my computer will get it to me. I have access to the System Recovery Options that allows me to get into Control Prompt. I can read CDs on Drive D, My partition is on Drive C My external TB drive is E. What happened to my D drive partition? Is that now X? Is there any way to recover my win 7 without wiping the hard drive? If not, how can I back up subdirectories in the command prompt? My backup system was not working before the crash.