Windows 7 Startup Repair Loop (Boot manager failed to find OS Loader)

Well, I'm out of ideas. At this point I'd opt for a reinstall. (Or restoring from a backup image ... but it doesn't sound like that's an option because if you had a backup image, you'd have chosen that route much earlier in this thread.)

Even if you were to get it booting again, I'd always have my doubts whether it was truly working properly. A lot of those repair attempts should have worked--indeed, the procedures you highlighted in your first post should normally have worked--so unless you can identify a reason why the repair attempts are failing you'll never be able to say with confidence whether some virus or a botched update messed up something you can't see.

That's the best reason for making backup images: instead of spending days wrestling with a malfunctioning system, you restore from a recent backup image and you're back up and running within an hour.

Your next best option is to factory restore, re-update Windows, reinstall your personal programs, and restore your data from your backups. Then install something like Macrium Reflect or similar, and start a regular regimen of periodically making fresh backup images. If you do that, you'll never have to suffer through a factory restore again.

Looks like this is the end...

Any ideas for data salvation (be it using third party tools or not) though?
I saw Macrium Reflect had an option to create a backup. Is creating a backup at this point possible somehow? Or maybe backing up the registry? Because I technically still have access to all the system files (E.g. via CMD through the Windows Recovery Disc, I have actually already copied everything on the hard disk to another external drive excluding any junctions), maybe I could manually recreate what Windows Backup would usually do?

Also, I have a few other questions since I bought a new Windows 10 laptop that I'm currently using now:

1) Can a system image (not a backup) be restored onto a new computer of different hardware?
2) Windows (7) OEM Keys can't be used on a new computer of different hardware right?
3) Support told me that Windows 7 should not be installed on this Windows 10 laptop, because "no drivers of windows 7 support of your device", "it does not support the important drivers such as Bios chipset... so your machine will not achieve the best performance". Is this true?
4) If I were to perform a clean reinstall of Windows 10 on this laptop to remove bloatware, how would I go about finding and downloading required drivers again?

anglethang said:

Any ideas for data salvation (be it using third party tools or not) though?

To salvage what? You said you already copied everything to an external drive. If you've already copied everything, then you must have copied your user data, too, didn't you? It should all have been under the c:\users\{yourname} folder.

As for the operating system itself and any installed programs, Macrium can indeed make a backup image but there would be no point in doing so. A Macrium backup (or, similarly, a backup made with Windows Backup) would be an image of a non-functional system, and upon restoration would still be the same non-functional system. If you want a functioning system, you'll get it by performing a factory restore or by restoring from an image made when the system was working.

If you don't have an image made when the system was working, then the process of restoring to a working state involves saving your user data, doing a factory restore, reinstalling all your own programs, and finally recopying all your user data back.

That's the point of backup imaging. You make a backup image when the system is working correctly. There's no point in having a backup of a known-bad system.

anglethang said:

I bought a new Windows 10 laptop that I'm currently using now:

1) Can a system image (not a backup) be restored onto a new computer of different hardware?
2) Windows (7) OEM Keys can't be used on a new computer of different hardware right?
3) Support told me that Windows 7 should not be installed on this Windows 10 laptop, because "no drivers of windows 7 support of your device", "it does not support the important drivers such as Bios chipset... so your machine will not achieve the best performance". Is this true?
4) If I were to perform a clean reinstall of Windows 10 on this laptop to remove bloatware, how would I go about finding and downloading required drivers again?

(1) No. Besides, if the image is of a non-functional system, what would be the point?

(2) Correct.

(3) If it's true there are no Win7 drivers, then that is correct. You can check the manufacturer's website to see what drivers they have available for a particular model. If they don't have Win7 drivers, then don't even try to install Win7 on that model because it will be an incomplete install.

(4) Check the manufacturer's website for the drivers.

dg1261 said:

anglethang said:

Any ideas for data salvation (be it using third party tools or not) though?

To salvage what? You said you already copied everything to an external drive. If you've already copied everything, then you must have copied your user data, too, didn't you? It should all have been under the c:\users\{yourname} folder.

Mm yeah, it's just that since installed programs and registry keys can't just be copied over directly, I was wondering if there was an easier process.

Anyway, thanks for your time and all your help!