Gateway computer occasionally stuck on boot logo.

After a couple of cold starts, the computer freezes at the boot logo again.

When I try to boot from the Windows DVD, there is an error message coming up.

It says "Windows failed to start". "Status: 0xc0000185". "The boot selection failed because a required device is inaccessible."

I did a startup repair a couple minutes ago and it looks like it found something.

Can you access System Recovery Options
via F8 to run Startup Repair?

Try uninstalling your AV if necessary using the uninstaller found at Uninstallers (removal tools) for common antivirus software - ESET Knowledgebase then replace it with free lightweight Microsoft Security Essentials to compare.

Other possible fixes to work through at Windows failed to start". "Status: 0xc0000185". "The boot selection failed because a required device is inaccessible - Google Search most promising is Windows 7 (64 bit) bootmanager fails with Status: - Microsoft Community

If none of these work then work through the Troubleshooting Steps for Windows 7 which goes over your install most thoroughly and finds most problems.

I did another startup repair and everything was fine. After that, I uninstalled Kaspersky with the uninstaller tool. It seems like a lot of people are having problems with antivirus softwares...

I'm now using Microsoft Security Essentials and Malwarebytes Pro just in case. I did 2 cold starts so far and everything was ok. I'll have to do more tests though.

I checked the Windows Event Viewer and I noticed an error message regarding my external HD. It seems like it has bad sectors so I backed it up and I unplugged it. My computer froze a couple of times also. Now it seems fine since I got rid of my HD.

It is possible that it was preventing the system from booting up sometimes I guess...

I will keep you in touch.

Yes, external or another hard drive can interfere with boot either because it is failing or has code that needs clearing.

I'd wipe the drive with Diskpart Clean Command then do a full reformat in Disk Management. Test the drive with the maker's HD Diagnostic extended CD scan, or if none is available use Seagate Seatools followed by a full Disk Check.

My problem is gone for good. I unplugged my external HD but I also did a repair install since I had some corrupted files (sfc /scannow could not repair the system).

The freezes I was experiencing were related to the corruption of Windows components but the boot problem was because my external HD had bad sectors.

I transferred all my files into my internal HD and now everything works fine. I will try to repair my WD external HD and if it fails, I'll just buy a new one. It's old anyways.

Thanks a lot for your help!!

You should be able to scan the external with Western Digital Data Lifeguard Windows Version. This will tell you it's condition with certainty. Once installed look for the tab for the external to select to scan.

Then wipe it with Data Lifeguard Quick Erase or DiskPart Clean Command to create a new partition and run a full Disk check. This will further determine its condition and clear any interfering code which causes the problems.

How is performance after the Repair Install?

WD Support / Downloads / Legacy Internal / WD RE2
Disk - Clean and Clean All with Diskpart Command
Disk Check

My system seems a bit faster and it dosen't freezes like it did previously. I always make sure that my PC is clean and optimised so I can't really tell if it's faster now but still all my problems are gone.