Help! I did something wrong!

Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast

  1. Posts : 198
    Windows 7 Ultimate and Ubuntu 9.04
       #1

    Help! I did something wrong!


    OK, right now I'm using the Ubuntu half of my computer, as, well... it's the only one that works.

    Here's what happened. I've been fed up with the Ribbon interface on Wordpad and Paint for a while, so I got a 64-bit copy of Vista and copied the EXEs and system files from it. Obviously, Windows won't let you delete Wordpad or whatever while Windows is running, so I booted Ubuntu, then deleted the original Wordpad.exe and put the one from Vista, along with the en-US folder, and same with the x86 version. I did back up the original files, in case something went wrong.
    Well with Wordpad, it worked perfectly. Whenever I open Wordpad it uses the Vista version, the only odd thing was that Help still had the Ribbon instructions.

    Well today I thought I'd try it with Paint. Obviously it was a little more risky as mspaint.exe is in system32 instead of in its own folder (and also in SysWOW64), but I figured it would be the same type of thing. I did the same process, and was surprised to find that Windows just would not boot. It had the Starting Windows screen, the little Windows icon, and the disk read light was a solid blue.

    So I immediately went into Ubuntu and restored the backups. But the same thing happened. I tried startup recovery, but nothing worked. Even /fixBoot. I didn't do /fixMBR as that would disable GRUB and make booting into Ubuntu impossible.

    So if I let it try to boot and sit there, it starts up with blah-looking Aero, 800x600 resolution, and like 5 programs crash right away. I changed the resolution back but CLEARLY the video card drivers weren't running, and I couldn't change Aero's colors back no matter what I tried. Explorer also freezes up and runs super-slow.
    Now, one thing I noticed was that when it shows my operating systems, it says Windows 7 Professional (D:)... why not C:? Did the letter change somehow? And how would I change it back?

    All I know is that my Windows isn't booting properly, and I even put back the files I took off in the first place.

    So I need help, and fast! Please!
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 271
    Windows 7 Enterprise x64
       #2

    drfsupercenter said:
    OK, right now I'm using the Ubuntu half of my computer, as, well... it's the only one that works.

    Here's what happened. I've been fed up with the Ribbon interface on Wordpad and Paint for a while, so I got a 64-bit copy of Vista and copied the EXEs and system files from it. Obviously, Windows won't let you delete Wordpad or whatever while Windows is running, so I booted Ubuntu, then deleted the original Wordpad.exe and put the one from Vista, along with the en-US folder, and same with the x86 version. I did back up the original files, in case something went wrong.
    Well with Wordpad, it worked perfectly. Whenever I open Wordpad it uses the Vista version, the only odd thing was that Help still had the Ribbon instructions.

    Well today I thought I'd try it with Paint. Obviously it was a little more risky as mspaint.exe is in system32 instead of in its own folder (and also in SysWOW64), but I figured it would be the same type of thing. I did the same process, and was surprised to find that Windows just would not boot. It had the Starting Windows screen, the little Windows icon, and the disk read light was a solid blue.

    So I immediately went into Ubuntu and restored the backups. But the same thing happened. I tried startup recovery, but nothing worked. Even /fixBoot. I didn't do /fixMBR as that would disable GRUB and make booting into Ubuntu impossible.

    So if I let it try to boot and sit there, it starts up with blah-looking Aero, 800x600 resolution, and like 5 programs crash right away. I changed the resolution back but CLEARLY the video card drivers weren't running, and I couldn't change Aero's colors back no matter what I tried. Explorer also freezes up and runs super-slow.
    Now, one thing I noticed was that when it shows my operating systems, it says Windows 7 Professional (D:)... why not C:? Did the letter change somehow? And how would I change it back?

    All I know is that my Windows isn't booting properly, and I even put back the files I took off in the first place.

    So I need help, and fast! Please!
    Put the normal disc (windows 7 disc) in, boot off of it, hit "recover my system" then do a SYSTEM RESTORE.
    Good luck.
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 198
    Windows 7 Ultimate and Ubuntu 9.04
    Thread Starter
       #3

    There are no restore points.

    Unfortunate coincidence, eh? I swear I had some, but the system can't find them. Is there a way to change the letter back to C:?
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 28,845
    Win 8 Release candidate 8400
       #4

    drfsupercenter said:
    There are no restore points.

    Unfortunate coincidence, eh? I swear I had some, but the system can't find them. Is there a way to change the letter back to C:?
    Well the only truely important thing is there any data you cant live without? If not you will save yourself time and frustration by doing a clean re-install. If there is something you cant do with out you should back it up now

    Ken
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 5,840
    Vista Ult64, Win7600
       #5

    Hi, if I was you I would do a Repair install, I hope this helps .

    Repair Install
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 1,849
    Windows 7 x86/x64, Server 2008r2, Web Server 2008
       #6

    Paint, and the calculator both have some files they depend on. I am surprised that word doesn't.
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 11,840
    64-bit Windows 8.1 Pro
       #7

    Keep in mind that his boot record is now being handled through GRUB, the LINUX boot loader... while a reinstall will solve his vista problem, he will lose his ability to boot into Linux as well... Just a random thought..;
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 28,845
    Win 8 Release candidate 8400
       #8

    Another thing you can do is a system file check (sfc /scannow) it will scan the system files and replace damaged ones woth good copies. who know if it handles word, etc
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 1,179
       #9

    Rest assuredly, you can not copy paste x64 in x86 and expect nothing but problems.

    You might try the REPAIR install or try the upgrade install, and whenyou boot into another OS from Win7 it (other OS) be defaults removes the RESTORE points. in Win7.

    Now you might be able to make Win7 do a restore by:
    boot to disk -> options-> repair and down left side click
    command. option.

    {type} rstrui.exe /offline:C:\windows {enter}
    if there is a restore point it will restore. If not
    try the other repair install.
      My Computer


  10. Posts : 1,112
    XP_Pro, W7_7201, W7RC.vhd, SciLinux5.3, Fedora12, Fedora9_2x, OpenSolaris_09-06
       #10

    Tews said:
    Keep in mind that his boot record is now being handled through GRUB, the LINUX boot loader... while a reinstall will solve his vista problem, he will lose his ability to boot into Linux as well...
    Just a random thought..;
    And,

    a fine one indeed !

    Thanks, Tews
      My Computer


 
Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast

  Related Discussions
Our Sites
Site Links
About Us
Windows 7 Forums is an independent web site and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Microsoft Corporation. "Windows 7" and related materials are trademarks of Microsoft Corp.

© Designer Media Ltd
All times are GMT -5. The time now is 09:50.
Find Us