How repair Win 7 that doesn't start but keep files ??

MisterEd - thanks, but see my earlier post above in this thread at
How repair Win 7 that doesn't start but keep files ??

On my Optiplex 7010, it's F12, and it did give me the option to boot into a UEFI USB, which is my rufus-created Win 7 installation stick. But it wouldn't boot and instead gave me that error message consistently.

Any ideas? I would love to see what you're seeing on your PC.

glnz said:

MisterEd - thanks, but see my earlier post above in this thread at
How repair Win 7 that doesn't start but keep files ??

On my Optiplex 7010, it's F12, and it did give me the option to boot into a UEFI USB, which is my rufus-created Win 7 installation stick. But it wouldn't boot and instead gave me that error message consistently.

Any ideas? I would love to see what you're seeing on your PC.

Are you sure your computer supports UEFI? Even it does, is it in UEFI mode?

To check if your Dell computer is using BIOS or UEFI in Windows:
1. Press Windows + R key on the keyboard.
2. In the Run dialog box, type msinfo32 and press the Enter key.
3. In the System Information window, look for BIOS Mode.

Have you tried creating a MBR/BIOS version of the flash drive in Rufus to see if that boots?

glnz said:

Hey fellow geezers with Win 7 --

My Dell Optiplex 7010 MT dual-boots Win 7 Pro 64-bit and Win 10 Pro 64-bit. The Win 10 starts, but the Win 7 doesn't. The Win 7 gets as far as the four glowing MS flags but no further (although they continue to pulse and glow, forever).

Is there a way to repair my Win 7 Pro 64-bit while preserving apps and files, when I can't start it?

If not, if I boot up into my Win 10, is there anything I can then do to fix/repair the Win 7 while preserving its stuff?

If not, then FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE WHAT????

Thanks.

How long has this been happening?

Is this a new install?

Is Legacy or UEFI turned on in BIOS? How about CSM?

Your issue could be UEFI.

There is a hang on boot issue, but it's slightly different in scope to your issue. https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/e...20the%20system.


I'd try to enable CSM or turn off UEFI altogether and see if you can boot 7 and 10. If 7 now boots and 10 doesn't boot you're gonna have to reinstall...

This is just one of several reasons why I dual boot on more than one HDD. I use a Kingwin 5.25" bay HDD selector switch for this. But it's different with my now included use of NVMe. You have to do things differently... I have four OSs to chose from...

SIW2 - sorry, but that's old info that I should have updated.

My Optiplex 7010 MT has three 1863GB Seagate ST2000DM008-2FR102 (SATA (SSD)), one of which has the dual-booting partitions for my Win 10 + 7. The other two are for files and backups.

By the way, I just copied the HDD model numbers from Speccy, and the three are hard drives, NOT SSDs. You can confirm that by checking their Seagate model numbers. I do not know why Speccy adds SSD at the end.

My BIOS has some kind of option for CSM or legacy ROMs - I'll look later, but it has never been on. My Win 7 used to start fine in my all-UEFI setup.

Still open to suggestions. Thanks,.

SIW2 - You did it! Turning on Enable Legacy ROMs in my BIOS settings did the trick - my Win 7 started effortlessly!

I wasted a good chunk of this past week, as you know, so many thanks for sticking with me and guiding me home.

Here's how I got myself into this pickle: My goal is to replace my classic HDD with an NVMe M.2 SSD, but my Optiplex 7010 MT, purchased in 2014, doesn't know how to boot from an NVMe. However, there is an amazing article that shows how to modify the BIOS to enable a 7010 (or a 3010 or 9010) to boot from an NVMe that is inserted into an adapter that is itself inserted into a PCIe slot. That article is Just a moment...

I've done it once already, a few months ago, on a 7010 test machine, it worked beautifully, its storage throughput increased from 220 MBPS to 3,400 MBps, it boots and starts in seconds, and that machine is now the fourth production PC in my wife's office. However, that machine was Win 10 Pro 64-bit only, not dual-boot, and there was no issue with turning off Enable Legacy ROMs in its BIOS.

In both cases, before I ran the mod in that great article, I replaced the PC's coin-sized CMOS battery, as I didn't want the old one to go dead in the middle of reflashing the BIOS, which could turn my PC into a dead sushi. Well, replacing the CMOS resets the BIOS back to factory settings. I knew that and immediately re-set my (not yet modified) BIOS back to my normal settings but did not turn on Enable Legacy ROMs.

Now, in my current dual-booting 7010, I thought that Enable Legacy ROMs was off anyway because I had taken pains some years ago to make this PC 100% GPT-UEFI. I am not sure now that it had been off, but I am also not sure that it had been on. It is possible it was off and that I had gotten this PC to dual-boot both 7 and 10 successfully anyway. But not sure.

So, now, in my BIOS, Enable Legacy ROMs is on, and Win 7 is starting nicely. However, I believe there are steps I can take to make the Win 7 start with Enable Legacy ROMs off. SIW2, my helpful neighbor, I bet you know how. Please share again.

Many thanks to all here, who provided very good and interesting suggestions. I'm a bit embarrassed I led you on the wrong path, but on the other hand SIW2 taught all of us about modding bcdedit to get us to the classic boot-up menu (which is great).

Also, SIW2 has links in his signature to a hotfix for using NVMes in Win 7. which I have now run in my Win 7. SIW2 - please also let us know what your other links do - for USB3, DISM++ and nt6repair.

Stay tuned - I now have to reflash the BIOS and clone my HDD over to the NVMe, per that article. More fun disasters coming!

SIW2 and all here - With my success booting to both Win 10 and Win 7 on my original HDD, I again followed the amazing article to get my Optiplex 7010 MT to boot from an NVMe M.2 SSD.

This time, on that NVMe, the Win 10 starts and runs, but not the Win 7.

I had difficulty with the Win 10 at first but was able to start it in Safe Mode, and it is now rebooting and running fine.

For the Win 7 on the NVMe, with SIW2's mods to bcdedit, I can try to start the Win 7 in Safe Mode, it shows me the list of drivers (white letters on black background), but then it does not start - I see the very start of the four MS flags for one second (when they are small in the distance) and then it just reboots. Trying Last Known Good Configuration and Don't require signed driver verification have not helped. Enable Legacy ROMs is on in BIOS.

Maybe important - when I was able to run the Win 7 from my HDD, I was able to run SIW2's link to "Windows6.1-KB2990941-v3-x64.msu,", but I was unable to run his link to "Windows6.1-KB3087873-v2-x64.msu". (Both of these are in SIW2's link to nvme-win7x64.zip.) That second one gave me a message that it was not appropriate for my PC.

Should I go back to the Win 7 in the HDD and try to run some more driver hotfixes or installations? Where can I find them now?

Thanks, all and SIW2, again.

- - - Updated - - -

ADDED IN AN EDIT:

Gang - your help on something please:

I'm going to

(a) shut down and remove the Samsung NVMe,
(b) go back and boot to my original HDD which successfully dual-boots my original Win 7 and 10,
(c) add to the HDD's running Win 7 some drivers for my Samsung 970 EVO Plus NVMe M.2, which I found on the Samsung website
[d) possibly also re-do MS hotfixes KB 2990941 and 3087873,
(e) plug back in my Samsung NVMe but ...
(f) reboot back into the original HDD (probably into its Win 7)
(g) erase or reformat the Samsung NVMe so it's back to nothing -- I don;t know how to do that
(h) check that the Win 7 can treat the NVMe as a simple storage device, probably by saving a .txt file to the NVMe to see if i can edit and re-save it, etc.,
(i) shot down, reboot into my Macrium Reflect Rescue Media USB PE stick and re-clone the HDD to the NVMe, and
(j) run Fix Boot Problems using the Macrium Reflect Rescue Media USB PE stick, and
(k) see if I can now boot from the NVMe, noth its Win 10 and its Win 7.

I don't know how to do Step (g) - "erase or reformat the Samsung NVMe so it's back to nothing".
I'm guessing I might be able to do that in Disk Manager or an app like MiniTool Partition Wizard, with only one or two steps.
But please explain what that is.

Thanks again.