Half the time I get stuck on Windows logo screen on restarts

[keredd]

I have had this issue for a while but didn't decide to address it until now since essentially I still have a perfectly working OS. About half the time I have to reboot for Windows updates or whatnot I get stuck either on the "Shutdown" phase where it shows "shutting down" with the spinner going on infinitely or It goes through the shut down and restarts and gets stuck on the Windows logo. On both occasions I simply give the computer a hard reboot to which it usually boots up. Sometimes I have to do it more than once. Anybody have any idea what the issues could be? All help is appreciated.


Thanks!

 

[marsmimar]

You may have some damaged or corrupt system files. Try running a system file checker scan from an elevated command prompt (option two.) If problems are found, run the scan 3 times and reboot the computer after each scan.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/1538-sfc-scannow-command-system-file-checker.html

If that doesn't fix things, one of the Forum experts prepared these troubleshooting guides.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/219533-troubleshooting-windows-7-failure-boot.html

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/220165-troubleshooting-steps-windows-7-a.html

 

[keredd]

Thanks for the quick reply. I ran the scan and it stopped at 68% and said that Windows could not fixed the corrupted files. I then got a copy of the CBS report log file (attached to this message) and holy crap is a bunch of files corrupted! Does this mean I have to manually copy and replace each of the files that show up in that log as for example:

Cannot repair member file [l:32{16}]"lpremove.exe.mui"

?

Am I correct in pointing that out as the file name?

Thanks again for your help. I am currently following the steps to open up my Win 7 install CD using 7zip. This appears to be a daunting task.

 

[marsmimar]

My usual disclaimer: I'm not an expert at anything.

The lpremove.exe removes language packs that are not needed. So in my opinion only, it doesn't seem to be a critical file. As far as the rest of the corrupted/damaged files shown in your attached sfcdetails.txt, that's another story.

There are some folks here on the Forum who are experts in deciphering and repairing system files by extracting fresh copies from the installation disk. I'm not one of them. Because of my lack of expertise in this area, I usually recommend a repair install. This should fix your currently installed Windows 7 and preserve your user accounts, data, programs, system drivers, etc and take less than an hour to accomplish. The most time consuming part of the repair is reinstalling Windows Updates.

(Which I recommend doing manually and not automatically. Start with the critical updates, then the important, and finally the optional. Keep track of the KB numbers. Install just a few at a time, reboot after each group, and make sure your computer is working OK. If any update causes a problem, you'll know which group to uninstall. Then install one update at a time and reboot after each one. They'll either all install and you can go to the next group, or you'll know which specific update is at fault. Save it for last and go on with the next group.)

And no offense intended to you or any one else who may prefer installing individual files.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/3413-repair-install.html

 

[gregrocker]

It may be faster and easier to invest now in getting the perfect Clean Reinstall following these steps in tutorial which are same for retail.

After setup you can save a backup image so you never have to reinstall again.

If you use only the tools and methods given it will remain a perfect install.

Since the problem might be corrupt boot code on the HD I'd first wipe the HD with Diskpart Clean Command.

Otherwise work through these steps for Troubleshooting Steps for Windows 7

 

[keredd]

Wow. So what you guys are saying is that nothing will fix it short of a re-install. I've never tried a repair re-install but from what you are describing, marsmimar, it does sound less painful that a regular OS reload. The steps seem pretty easy although they seem oddly similar to a regular re-install. I might just hold off until my OS is unusable. This seems like way too much work to remedy having to reboot twice instead of once. However I do appreciate the help from all of you guys. I now know what to do as an alternative that the dreaded OS reload. Now I just wondered what would have caused this to happen in the first place? I had to load up a back up image once one of my drives I had in a RAID 0 died. I then restored the image to a single drive. I suspect that my back up software failed to back up these files.

 

[gregrocker]

It is a complicated operation that could have partially corrupted. We see nothing but problems here with RAID.

We gave you other options to consider besides reinstall so why say we've said that's your only option? A Repair Install is easy and keeps everything in place, just requiring you to run a few rounds of Updates and insert your Product Key afterwards. It's the next step if SFC can't fix files after being run a few times.

A reinstall is not only not to be dreaded but if it's done right according to tutorial ends up better than buying a new PC, since they come loaded with corrupting bloatware that corrupts and throttles the OS anyway. We see nothing but happy users who have clean reinstalled.

 

[marsmimar]

I concur with Greg. A repair install is easy and pretty much a few clicks procedure. And his tutorial on doing a clean reinstall absolutely works. I used it on a Sony Vaio and a Dell Inspiron and both machines are 1000% better than when I first bought them; when they were loaded down with factory crud.

One other thing to consider is something I call "dependency". Your operating system may only require an extra reboot now to get it to work. But there's always a possibility that those extra reboots may corrupt or damage even more system files down the road which could lead to full blown crashes, BSODs, etc. Worst case scenario is not being able to boot at all. As long as your machine is booting now with just minor issues, why not correct those issues before they become major? Just a thought.

 

[keredd]

A reinstall is not only not to be dreaded but if it's done right according to tutorial ends up better than buying a new PC, since they come loaded with corrupting bloatware that corrupts and throttles the OS anyway. We see nothing but happy users who have clean reinstalled.

Oh geez, buying a new computer did not even enter my mind. I built my current one so the current installation I have is a "clean" install asa you guys put it. No BS software from Dell, HP, or what have you.

If the re-install keeps all of the programs and drivers in place(such as the repair install is supposed to do) then you are correct, it's not a big deal. But if it loses the drivers as the warning on the page posts might happen, then Oi Vey! What a pain in the butt! Since the computer is custom built, I would have to get the drivers for my motherboard, GPU, etc. I think I'm gonna give it a shot anyways. Fingers crossed! Thanks for your help!

 

[marsmimar]

Just one more thought for whatever it's worth. If you have access to an external hard drive, create a system image and companion repair disk. If a repair install completely hoses your computer (a very, very unlikely event) you can use the system image to bring your machine back to life in about 30 minutes and it will be exactly the same as it is right now.

 

[gregrocker]

It seems you're not yet aware that Win7 is the first driver-complete OS, with almost all drivers provided by the installer and then quickly updated via optional Windows Updates when you enable Automatically deliver drivers via Windows Update (Step 3).

Please read Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7 which steps are the same for retail. It explains all of this.

This is not XP. In WIndows 8 you have no interaction with drivers at all which are all done in the background, an improvement which was developed in Windows 7.

As advised if you're uncomfortable with the Clean Reinstall then try the Repair Install which easier.

 

[keredd]

Just one more thought for whatever it's worth. If you have access to an external hard drive, create a system image and companion repair disk. If a repair install completely hoses your computer (a very, very unlikely event) you can use the system image to bring your machine back to life in about 30 minutes and it will be exactly the same as it is right now.

Excellent advice. I have used Acronis for a long time but have recently switched to Paragon 2012 free edition. Very recently. As in I have three backup copies and I have it backing up every day. My point is, I have yet to use it for a restore. I still have my Acronis backups going back until October with the most recent about 2 weeks old. So if worse comes to worse I can fall back on those. The thing is I am a very active computer user. I am constantly installing programs, uninstalling programs, creating virtual machines, playing video games with save features, etc. Believe it or not, a week old image can be VERY different from what I recently had. With differential/incremental backups it is easy to back up every day. I am going try the repair install and I will get back to you guys. I have complete confidence in your guy's advice it just those warnings about losing your drivers is the only thing that concerns me.

 

[marsmimar]

Some folks may disagree with this advice, but it's been covered before in a previous thread. What you can do is:

1. Download and install a free program called DriverMax.
2. Export and save all drivers to a folder on another drive (USB Flash, External HDD, etc.)
3. Run repair install.
4. Check for any driver issues.
5. If needed, use DriverMax to import driver(s) from saved location.
6. Follow prompts and OK

http://www.sevenforums.com/backup-restore/830-help-how-do-i-backup-my-drivers.html#post5673

 

[keredd]

It seems you're not yet aware that Win7 is the first driver-complete OS, with almost all drivers provided by the installer and then quickly updated via optional Windows Updates when you enable Automatically deliver drivers via Windows Update (Step 3).

Hmm, yeah I thought so too until I was having crash issues with the OS and it turned out to be out dated drivers for the motherboard. I will check out the settings listed in the link you gave me to see if there is a configuration that will insure the motherboard drivers are kept up to date via Windows Updates. Thanks for the help.

 

[keredd]

Stuck on transferring files, settings, and programs

Just my luck. I started the repair install and for some reason it is stuck on the step "transferring files, settings, and programs" . The bar hasn't moved a millimeter in over half an hour. Is it normal for it to take this long? What should I do if it becomes clear that it is not going to go any further?

 

[marsmimar]

You can abort the repair install. (You might have to do a hard shutdown using the power button. If so, hold the button down for at least 30 seconds.) When you reboot the computer you may get a black screen with white letters that Windows did not shut down properly (or words to that effect.) Use the up/down arrow keys to select the option to reboot Windows normally. The aborted repair install should not have affected your original configuration and you should be able to reboot into Windows 7 without any other issues. You could also run a check disk when you get rebooted just to verify HDD integrity.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/433-disk-check.html

 

[keredd]

Well, it rebooted and went to back to "transferring files, settings, and programs" and is showing 63% with the progress bar actually making significant progress. It's crazy though, I've never had an installation take this long. I'm guessing it's because it is an upgrade rather than a clean install. I started this process about an hour and a half ago.

 

[gregrocker]

A Repair Install can take hours depending upon how much crap it has to back up before reinstalling, then replace it all while trying to screen out bad settings affecting System files.

This is one of the most complex software operations in existence. It may ponder a questionable setting for an interminable time trying to decide if it should be reimported. If this cannot be resolved it may abort.

Even if it works perfectly, it will never match a Clean Reinstall where you start fresh with no chance of reimporting problems. But it often solves intractable problems like Updates failure, damaged System files (often from those same sketchy settings) and boot issue since it reinstalls the OS.

 

[keredd]

A Repair Install can take hours depending upon how much crap it has to back up before reinstalling, then replace it all while trying to screen out bad settings affecting System files.

This is one of the most complex software operations in existence. It may ponder a questionable setting for an interminable time trying to decide if it should be reimported. If this cannot be resolved it may abort.

Even if it works perfectly, it will never match a Clean Reinstall where you start fresh with no chance of reimporting problems.

Thank you. That is actually quite reassuring. At least I know that what is happening is normal and that a few hours is normal. I agree that a clean re-install is the way to go but it is infinitely more time consuming if you take into account re-installing all the programs you had and the Windows updates. This is why I keep backup images for three months or more. When I ran into any problems I simply rolled it back. I've had this computer for about a year and a half and never had to OS reload it. However the time may rapidly be approaching.

 

[gregrocker]

Sometimes a Repair Install can sort even the most bollixed Factory OEM preinstalls which are huge messes larded onto the OS to begin with.

You have what you need to do whatever is required.