Windows 7 Freezing on Welcome Screen

rogermoses1969 · 13 Oct 2015

About a month ago my desktop PC running Windows 7 Home Premium started freezing on the welcome screen. Since then I have been running it in Safe Mode with Network with no problems. I do not have any recent backups and was unable to correct the freeze with available restore points. I have run Malwarebytes scan and memtest86 with no problems. Last week I formatted another hard drive, unplugged the current hard drive and started a clean install. During the clean install the machine locked on "setup is checking video performance." I rebooted, finished the clean install and during the subsequent restart the PC froze on the welcome screen. While I assume it is the same problem causing both freezes, I'm not sure. I am now back to the original hard drive in safe mode, with the clean install drive unplugged. Suggestions to solve either freeze would be appreciated. I have limited computer knowledge. Thanks.

Boozad · 13 Oct 2015

It's more than likely a driver issue, and maybe the lock point in the clean install provides a clue. Do you have onboard graphics you can switch to? If so, remove the GeForce 6600 after uninstalling it via Device Manager in Safe Mode and try booting using the onboard graphics.

rogermoses1969 · 13 Oct 2015

I do not have onboard graphics.

Boozad · 13 Oct 2015

That rules that out then. Could you borrow a graphics card from a friend or relative for testing purposes?

rogermoses1969 · 13 Oct 2015

I probably can but it may take a few days as the person most likely is out of town.

Boozad · 13 Oct 2015

I think we need to rule out that graphics card first and foremost. Are you able to wait that long?

rogermoses1969 · 13 Oct 2015

I've waited for more than a month; a few more days won't hurt. When I get the card, what will be the next steps?

rogermoses1969 · 16 Oct 2015

I put the new graphics card in and everything seems to be running fine. I am now in normal mode, doing some deferred maintenance built up over 2 weeks in safe mode and have had no problems. If you think there is anything else I should look at, please let me know. Otherwise I think my problem is solved and I very much appreciated your help.

jamis · 16 Oct 2015

I had a similar issue a few months ago. The monitor would not come out of sleep mode properly when the PC powered up. If I forced a power on the monitor power switch repeatedly, I could get Windows beyond the welcome screen. I replaced the monitor and the problem went away. Just a thought

Boozad · 17 Oct 2015

rogermoses1969 said:

I put the new graphics card in and everything seems to be running fine. I am now in normal mode, doing some deferred maintenance built up over 2 weeks in safe mode and have had no problems. If you think there is anything else I should look at, please let me know. Otherwise I think my problem is solved and I very much appreciated your help.

Good to hear you seem to have pinpointed the problem. I guess the next step would be replacing your faulty GPU, if you need any advice or assistance with that just give us a shout. I'm pretty sure that's the long and short of it to be honest, the GPU was causing issues with crashes and was also preventing a clean install. I'd get up and running with a new GPU and monitor performance, if you have any subsequent issues make sure you let us know.

Thanks for letting us know how the issue went.