Computer will not boot normally, must use safe mode

whoisdatazn241 said:

gregrocker said:

Is this Malwarebytes being run in Safe Mode or a bootable AV CD?

You only need to change the boot order to boot a disk to do those repairs. Or you can trigger the disk to boot using one-time BIOS Boot Menu key given on first screen.

So what you're saying is, I download the iso to a CD/flash drive, boot that up from the F10 menu, and from there, I do the startup repair? or system restore?

Btw, I found a Trojan on my computer, but the problem did not fix itself. It was Trojan.FakeAlert, found by MalwareBytes.

Run another Malwarebytes full scan to see if it comes up clean this time.

Then run WDO or another of the free bootable anti-virus scans, after burning the downloaded ISO to CD using Windows Image Burner.

Once scans come up clean, proceed with the other Repair steps, starting with SFC /SCANNOW Run in Command Prompt at Boot to see if damaged System Files will repair enough to boot. Then you may need to also repair the boot using the methods given in Troubleshooting Windows 7 Failure to Start

Yes, stick with the steps in the tutorial which includes everything possible to start Win7, but since you already know you're infected I would run WDO from boot in addition to Malwarebytes.

Okay.. hit a speed bump. I tried to use the Windows 7 USB DVD download tool so I can attach the ISO to my flash drive, but it won't work. Apparently, I'm missing the bootsect.exe application on the flash drive so I cant make it bootable. I tried to attach it from the .zip file onto the download tool's file, but it won't work like that. They really ought to distribute Windows 7 discs with all computers.. this is bullshit.

Did you format the stick first? Try that.

Next try UltraISO Software To Create Bootable USB Flash Drive which always works for me when the others don't.

For repairs you can generate a System Repair Disk so OEM's think that is enough along with making Recovery disks to reinstall their crapware.

For the fourth time, start at the top of Troubleshooting Windows 7 Failure to Start and work through everything if necessary.

If you had done this the first, second or third time it was suggested, it woudn't have taken two days. It would either be repaired or you'd have your data rescued into a new install.

gregrocker said:

For the fourth time, start at the top of Troubleshooting Windows 7 Failure to Start and work through everything if necessary.

If you had done this the first, second or third time it was suggested, it woudn't have taken two days. It would either be repaired or you'd have your data rescued into a new install.

1. If possible unplug all other HD's. Boot into BIOS setup by tapping the key given for this on first boot screen, check that Windows 7 HD is detected and set to boot first (after CD/DVD drive). [Done this before, moved CD/DVD up.]

First try booting into Safe Mode with Networking to install, update and run a full scan with Malwarebytes. [Scan did not bring up anything after a few times]

2. If Safe Mode is not working, download, burn to CD or write to flash stick, boot the disk and run a full scan with Windows Defender Offline. If it fails try one of these FREE Bootable AntiVirus Rescue CDs burned to CD using Windows Image Burner or ImgBurn. You can also move the HD to another PC to scan it with Malwarebytes. [Safe Mode works, burned Windows recovery disk anyway]

3. If infection cleans up enough that Windows 7 will start then run SFC -SCANNOW Command to check for damaged System files. [Ran this several times, nothing out of the ordinary]

If not post back the virus scan results in our Security forum for expert help.

4. Once the System is clean if it won't start boot into System Recovery Options via the F8 menu or disk as shown in tutorial, run Startup Repair repeatedly up to 3 separate times with reboots in between each - no matter what it reports. [Did this three times, first two times, nothing happened, but the third time it attempted to repair hard disk but it failed.]

5. If you need an installer for your licensed version to boot to run Repairs or possible Clean Reinstall, download the latest official Win7 installer w/SP1 ISO, burn to DVD or write to flash stick using Windows 7 USB-DVD Download Tool. [Downloaded repair disc]

6. If no installation shows up to repair when booting into DVD System Recovery Options or Repair CD, or Startup Repair won't work after several tries, click through to System Recovery Options, open a Command Line to use the Bootrec.exe tool which is demonstrated most fully in Steps 1-3 here. [Bootrec.exe did not work, failed to use other commands.]

Failure to boot disk is almost always user error. Set disk drive first to boot in BIOS setup, look for prompt to "Press any key to boot disk." Its absence likely means the ISO or disk is bad. Alternatively tap the one-time BIOS Boot Menu key to trigger disk drive.

7. If these fail, try running System Restore from Recovery Options list working chronologically backward to find a bootable configuration. If those fail, from Recovery Options open a Command Line to run SFC -SCANNOW Run in Command Prompt at Boot. [Cannot find last good configuration, splash screen is stuck. System restore and protection are locked in Safe Mode, cannot use it.]

8. As a last resort boot free Partition Wizard bootable CD to Explore C to see if your files are intact and post back a camera snap of drive map for more help. Make sure C or the 100mb System Reserved partition (preferred) is marked Active, then click on HD to highlight it, from Disk tab select Rebuild MBR, Apply. How to Set Active/Inactive partition -Partition Wizard Video Help.
Partition Wizard Rebuild MBR - Video Help. [Cannot activate Partition Wizard]

If Windows 7 doesn't start and you restored Active flag, run Startup Repair 3 Separate Times. If marking 100mb Active fails to Repair x3, then mark Windows 7 partition itself Active and try above steps again. Make sure the Windows 7 HD is set first to boot in BIOS setup.

For a bootable flash stick version of Partition Wizard as well as many other tools including a mini-XP explorer to copy out your files see Hiren's BootCD From USB Flash Drive or Ultimate Boot CD from a USB flash drive.

Without the Partition Wizard CD you would Mark Partition as Active (Method Two) from DVD/Repair CD System Recovery Options then run the 3 Startup Repairs.

Sometimes a deleted/missing partition can be restored by PW Partition Recovery Wizard. A failed partition which cannot be repaired using steps above can sometimes have its table restored using DiskGenius shareware from Hiren's Boot CD.

9. If these all fail you can copy out your data using your Windows 7 DVD or System Repair Disk using this method: Copy & Paste - in Windows Recovery Console, or use Hiren's Boot CD or Paragon rescue disk to recover data.

10. Then run Factory Recovery from its partition following steps you can find by googling, in the Manual on your computer maker's Support Downloads webpage or in this list of Recovery Methods, disks you made or order from computer maker's Tech Support, or follow these steps to Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7 or Clean Install Windows 7.

11. If you can't boot disks, 90% of the time it's due to User failure. Set DVD drive first to boot in BIOS setup, then HDD, Save changes, exit.
How to Boot A Computer from CD or DVD - YouTube

#8-11, I don't really understand how to do it. The first 7 were easy enough, but the last 4 i will try to find a way to decipher the info.

HOWEVER, I HAVE FOUND THIS INTERESTING:

Problem Event Name: StartupRepairOffline
Problem Signature 01: 6.1.7600.16385
Problem Signature 02: 6.1.7600.16385
Problem Signature 03: unknown
Problem Signature 04: 21200984
Problem Signature 05: ManualRepair
Problem Signature 06: 3
Problem Signature 07: NoBootFailure
OS Version: 6.1.7600.2.0.0.256.1
Locale ID: 1033

If Startup Repair failed during a Disk Check then try manually running it from Command Line: Disk Check

If that also fails run the HD Diagnostic extended CD scan to determine with certainty the condition of the HD.

Back up your data first.

What is "activating" Partition Wizard CD? You boot it from disk.

You only need to ask if you don't understand a step.

gregrocker said:

If Startup Repair failed during a Disk Check then try manually running it from Command Line: Disk Check

If that also fails run the HD Diagnostic extended CD scan to determine with certainty the condition of the HD.

Back up your data first.

What is "activating" Partition Wizard CD? You boot it from disk.

You only need to ask if you don't understand a step.

Sorry, it's just that I'm very new to this and I fear that I am asking way too many stupid questions. Granted, I'm also a bit impatient with this kind of stuff, but I guess i have to cope if I want to get this damn thing fixed.

Anyway, I backed up all of my useful data. Now, I really don't have much else of a clue on what to do next. If I were to say, reset this thing to factory settings, will all of my drivers still stay on my laptop after the HD has been wiped? Drivers like the ones for my AMD graphics card? I frankly can say that i don't mind wiping this thing clean if it means it will work again. I'm tired of having to use safe mode all the time and I dont want to send this in to get it fixed. Thanks.