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You may have to do a repair install. That way you won't lose your data. At least we got it to a point where Windows shows up, it just can't be fixed.
See Repair Install
You may have to do a repair install. That way you won't lose your data. At least we got it to a point where Windows shows up, it just can't be fixed.
See Repair Install
Do you have a Windows 7 install disc with Service Pack 1? I imagine you had Service Pack 1 on your computer, so you will need the appropriate Windows 7 disc (Home Premium, Professional, Ultimate) with Service Pack 1 on the DVD.
Edit: nevermind, reread your first post. Recommend searching google for official windows 7 iso and burning to disc.
Before doing the above, you could try the startup repair again and see if that does the trick. It could be that the file system is in better shape now? I'm hoping so.
And you may have to run the repair three times before it works, so run it three times and get back to me.
Thank you for the link, but I'm confused - doesn't that repair install tutorial begin with logging in as an administrator and states that a repair install can only be run from within Windows 7? I'm still stuck with an error message immediately after booting up and can't access Windows...
And sure, I can try running the startup repair again, but I'm not sure if anything's different. The last time I ran it I quit after 30 minutes because nothing had changed (should it let it run for longer?), and the Recovery Options menu still isn't showing an operating system.
I think you can do a repair install booting from the DVD. You just click upgrade instead of new installation. Edit: I stand corrected. You would have to do a clean install and just save WindowsOld so you can get your important data backed up.
The other option is to do a clean install and not overwrite the previous windows and keep it as WindowsOld.
Is the startup repair still running?
Yes, it's still going.
Alright, if it is still going, you can probably cancel it. I don't think it's working. Another option is to start in the repair mode, click the command line utility, and type the following:
bootrec.exe /fixmbr
bootrec.exe /fixboot (may return an 'Element not found' message)
bootrec.exe /RebuildBcd
This time, please make sure each step is spelled properly and runs.
Then try running startup repair three times.
Well, the message in the Startup Repair window has now changed to "Repairing disk errors. This may take over an hour to complete," so at least it's doing something. I don't remember seeing that message before; I think it always remained stuck at the initial message, which was something like "Searching for errors." Should I try letting it run to completion three times, and if it doesn't work, try this new set of commands?
Thanks for all your suggestions so far, btw.