Spent a year travelling while my desktop at home, crashes upon booting

Aloha friends,

I apologize in advance if this thread had already been posted, although I doubt it since all of my research attempts haven't rendered anything very useful to me.

Long story short, my desktop was working before I left on my year long voyage. I came home a few days ago after being gone for such a long time to find my pc sitting in my room where I had left it. I brushed the dust off (I know, some of you are cringing right about now), set it up, and booted it. First attempt it failed. I figured the inside was dusty as well so I got a can of compressed air and cleaned the heck out of everything in my tower (fans, drives, cables, you name it).

I was able to get it booted after this but noticed my pc was extremely slow (it was really fast when I left), to the point where it would freeze and I would have to do a hard reboot. I finally got it running up to speed, ran a disk defrag, and deleted a lot of old files I didn't need any more. I then noticed there were about 50+ updates that needed to be installed. Ok no problem, I'll just download the updates and things will run smooth right? Nope

Desktop crashes and I try to reboot again. This time I received startup repair. It found a problem but was unable to find a solution. At this point I began trying different ways to boot it, checking BIOS, trying to get in through safe mode. Every time my computer crashed.

I then tried to do a clean install of Windows 7, however; it will begin installing and will present "Windows is loading files...." on the screen with a load bar. It will load and then promptly crash again. Same goes for if I try to start it in safe mode, and yes, starting normally.

I'm not sure if it's a loop, if my HDD is on it's deathbed, or if it's something completely different.

Sorry for such a long post but I am completely stumped on this one. If anyone can be of any assistance I will greatly appreciate it!

In addition work through the other Troubleshooting Steps for Windows 7

Computer0304 said:

There may have been a power surge while you were gone if the pc was left plugged in. If you have another computer available, try making a bootable flash drive to run tests. For Hard Drive:SeaTools for DOS and Windows - How to Use
RAM: RAM - Test with Memtest86+
Put them on seperate drives if possible as they will delete all data on the flash drive.

Thanks for the reply! I had left the computer unplugged from a power source and removed all occupied ports so nothing was attached to my tower. However, I forgot to mention that while I was away I asked a family member of mine to boot my PC and email me a file I had needed that was only available on my HDD. After they sent me the file, they "broke down" my machine for me to the way I had originally left it; unplugged and with nothing occupying the ports. They said they had trouble booting it but were able to after a few attempts. Not sure if that is any help but I figured it was worth mentioning.

As of today, my PC seems to be stuck in a startup repair loop. This is good news to me since yesterday it was giving me all sorts of symptoms so I wasn't even sure where to start. Now, it automatically boots to startup repair in any mode.

I followed this tutorial (Startup Repair Infinite Loop Recovery) but had no success.

I also reset my CMOS, ran a memory diagnostics (nothing wrong there), reset everything in my BIOS to default, and made sure the date and time were exact in BIOS as well.

Is the hard drive detected anywhere in BIOS setup?

If so test it with HD Diagnostic extended CD scan, followed by Disk Check Option 2 from booted Win7 installation media or Repair CD System Recovery Options Command line.

If HD is sound then work through these steps for Troubleshooting Windows 7 Failure to Start. You need to check for infection before begiinning repairs as it may not repair if infected. Once disinfected check SFC /SCANNOW Run in Command Prompt at Boot

Then I'd try System Restore, followed by confirming Partition Marked Active
before running Startup Repair - Run 3 Separate Times.

Report back results as you go. Use the tutorial as a checklist - I've just rearranged a few of the steps priority.

gregrocker said:

Is the hard drive detected anywhere in BIOS setup?

If so test it with HD Diagnostic extended CD scan, followed by Disk Check Option 2 from booted Win7 installation media or Repair CD System Recovery Options Command line.

If HD is sound then work through these steps for Troubleshooting Windows 7 Failure to Start. You need to check for infection before begiinning repairs as it may not repair if infected. Once disinfected check SFC /SCANNOW Run in Command Prompt at Boot

Then I'd try System Restore, followed by confirming Partition Marked Active
before running Startup Repair - Run 3 Separate Times.

Report back results as you go. Use the tutorial as a checklist - I've just rearranged a few of the steps priority.

Thanks again for the input

Yes the BIOS shows that my HD is detected. I ran the HD Diagnostic extended CD scan by burning it to a CD on my laptop and then booting the CD from my desktop. I began running the extended scan, which ran fine for about 1.5 hours and was about 95% completed (estimating based on load bar... it was quite close to the end), but then my PC crashed again.

*edit* I forgot to mention that it crashed when the "Analyzing Media" function was being run.

Is there an installation of Win7 detected on there now when booting into Startup Repair , or do you think the failed installs overwrote it? If you are now able to boot into Win7 or Safe Mode install CrystalDiskInfo - Software to view the SMART status of your HD which will help determine if its a problem.

If not then continue testing the HD as given. If you have another PC you can move it to test it, that would help. If you have another HD you can try installing on it to see for sure if its the HD blocking install.

If not the HD and you fully tested the RAM as given in RAM - Test with Memtest86+ to test sticks and slots, then check over the cable connections.

It might also be a good idea to try working through the steps for Overcoming Windows 7 Installation Failures - Windows 7 Help Forums which reset the BIOS, confirm set to AHCI, wipe the HD of problematic boot code, create and format an Active partiiton to see if you can gain any install traction.

Thanks again for the input :)

I apologize again, for I am not entirely too tech savvy...

I tried the quick HD scan since the extended scan was crashing on me. This scan ran through and prompted a red screen that stated there was a corrupted sector and that my options were to wipe the entire drive or just the corrupt sector. I chose to wipe the sector and after that was completed I was prompted with another red screen titled as "Techinical Result Code".

Here are my results:

Serial Number: HD0DGKAC
Failure Code : 0x70 - Defective Device.
Test date : 14-05-2014 (dd-mm-yyyy)

Technical Result Code (TRC): 7000B7EA

I am assuming Windows 7 is still installed since a screen with Windows logo appears with a loading bar below it just before the startup repair screen begins. I don't believe I had a chance to try reinstalling Windows 7 with my reinstallation DVD due to the fact that every time I try to I am greeted with a black screen that has a white loading bar on the bottom of the screen with the message "windows is loading files...", and immediately after my PC shuts off.

Still unable to boot into Windows 7 or even safe mode. PC just shuts off.

I really appreciate the help you've given me and will continue to troubleshoot and read/ follow these tutorials you have forwarded unto me :)

Did you run the Hitachi Drive Fitness Test? It seems pretty definitive. I think I would have wiped the whole drive to see if it could repair after rescuiing any data if necessary using the step for that in Troubleshooting Windows 7 Failure to Start. But when a failure code is given we're told not to ever trust it again. So the only question is if it is accurate. You can confirm that with Seagate Seatools or Partition Wizard Partition surface test .

Now is a good time to consider getting the best possible HD upgrade now with SSD prices going down to $50-60 for 120gb and $100 for 240 gb. The speeds are amazing, well worth the investment even for a larger one if you don't have another HD to store your data on or to do a Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7 which steps are the same for retail and will assure a perfect install.