Stuck in Start up Repair

[Rikster918]

Hello everyone! I just installed Windows 7 On my mothers Dell Inspiron 1525 which had Windows Vista 32bit just yesterday. Then it shut down and after finally getting it back to the startup repair screen it has now been stuck in repairing for 12 hours...I really need help as I am going back to school and my mother needs her laptop!

 

[wallyinnc]

Rikster, were you doing a clean install? Can you provide any details why it shut down and started with a repair?
If clean install and you don't need any files etc from that disk, I would first verify teh HDD integrity somehow and start over with the clean install.
If not, please give us some details
tks, and welcome to the forums

 

[Rikster918]

Rikster, were you doing a clean install? Can you provide any details why it shut down and started with a repair?
If clean install and you don't need any files etc from that disk, I would first verify teh HDD integrity somehow and start over with the clean install.
If not, please give us some details
tks, and welcome to the forums

It was an upgrade install..I guess a clean install. It shut down for some reason and went into the black screen I have been seeing on google. It is stuck in the attempting repair on the start up repair screen. The Hard Drive is fine

 

[wallyinnc]

Rikster, it was either an upgrade (keeping your Vista settings and files) or a clean install (wiping it out and starting from scratch). You are able to do both from the install DVD, it depends on what you choose at the install menu.

Do you want to keep the files you had in Vista? If not, I suggest you just start over and do a clean install: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/1649-clean-install-windows-7-a.html
Beware, this means you will erase all and any data which was on the disk before. It should keep a copy of most of it in a folder called windows.old.

If so, pleae give us more details about your system configuration. There will be some quesitons you will be asked, I suggest you check this post for the things needed to know to be able to help: http://www.sevenforums.com/installation-setup/28129-questions-use-help-installation-issues.html

Tks

 

[Rikster918]

Rikster, it was either an upgrade (keeping your Vista settings and files) or a clean install (wiping it out and starting from scratch). You are able to do both from the install DVD, it depends on what you choose at the install menu.

Do you want to keep the files you had in Vista? If not, I suggest you just start over and do a clean install: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/1649-clean-install-windows-7-a.html
Beware, this means you will erase all and any data which was on the disk before. It should keep a copy of most of it in a folder called windows.old.

If so, pleae give us more details about your system configuration. There will be some quesitons you will be asked, I suggest you check this post for the things needed to know to be able to help: http://www.sevenforums.com/installation-setup/28129-questions-use-help-installation-issues.html

Tks

It was an upgrade my mother needed to keep her files..It was from Vista Basic also. I cant get the system info because it is stuck in the startup repair attempting to fix errors part... Should I just turn it off again even though its on the repairing screen?

Also..I tried every boot option possible the only one that worked was the kernel one, all others even the different screen one didnt work.

 

[wallyinnc]

Rikster, I would say yes, but there is a risk you may damage the disk or at least the OS part of it. Do you have a backup of her data?

Could you elaborate on: "I tried every boot option possible the only one that worked was the kernel one, all others even the different screen one didnt work. "
Were you trying a safe boot?

What version Windows 7 are you trying to install? What is the origin on the DVD / file? If you created it from an ISO, how and how fast did you burn it?

 

[Rikster918]

Rikster, I would say yes, but there is a risk you may damage the disk or at least the OS part of it. Do you have a backup of her data?

Could you elaborate on: "I tried every boot option possible the only one that worked was the kernel one, all others even the different screen one didnt work. "
Were you trying a safe boot?

What version Windows 7 are you trying to install? What is the origin on the DVD / file? If you created it from an ISO, how and how fast did you burn it?

Its from the 32 bit DVD of Windows 7 Home Edition, my mothers gonna kill me if I lost her data... I tried all of the options in the F8 and the F12 menus and finally got some luck after I changed a setting in the BIOS to boot from the optical drive then whatever option in F8 has kernel in the name(sorry I forgot) was the option that opened the windows 7 installation window, then I selected startup repair
it found something to repair, restarted and went into the startup repair screen and the OS popped up in the box then I went to repair and its been stuck in that screen since 1130 last night...Please help

 

[Rikster918]

Can i downgrade it or something?

 

[gregrocker]

This is a lesson in what failing to back up your files can cost.

If you bought this Upgrade retail, you can call MS for their excellent tech support. Their phone number should be on the disk - this is your first lifeline.

Almost anything you try now could bollix your OS and make data unretrievable, although free data retrieval programs are certainly worth a try later. Hard shutdown the computer and see if it will start. Run startup repair again. If at any time it starts up, get those files out of windows.old file if you chose Custom, or from the Win7 if you chose Upgrade, or the Vista if it possibly rolled back your Uprade.

With your obvious level of experience, what I would do if I was you is explain it to your Mom and if she cannot afford to lose the data, get in the car with the laptop, charger and Win7 disk and go to the Geek Squad. Call them first to ask if they can help you right away if you bring it over. They have free diagnosis. Any data retrieval charge (around $100) is the cost for failing to backup. Afterward do a clean install from booted disk to formatted HDD, tho Mom may want the Geek Squad to do that too.


If the computer will not now startup and you try to boot from the Win7 installer disk and install that way, NO FILES WILL BE SAVED to windows.old or any place else. THe file saving method is to run the installer from the desktop and chose in-place Upgrade which reinstalls programs, data and settings, or CUstom clean install which puts all of your files in windows. old, but these must be done from the desktop and only if you can get it started up.

1) Did you run the installer from Vista (not boot) and did you choose Upgrade or Custom install?


2) When you boot into Win7 installer Repair console, does it find an installation to repair, and what is listed?

 

[acurachick]

i am having similar problem, received my windows 7 disk from dell, downloaded it everythings was working fine, then a upgrade came and now all i have is startup repair and it keeps looping...can't get into anything, safe mode wont work, last good confi. wont work and i cant even get into command prompt, it wont let me pass this startup repair and i even put the disk back in but it wont pick it up...please help..

 

[gregrocker]

The in place Upgrade is an inferior install which can quite easily fail without being recoverable.

The best way to Upgrade is to boot from the Win7 DVD, choose Custom install and Advanced Drive tools to format the drive before install.

Of course, you have to reinstall your programs, settings and files, but if moving into the best OS ever isn't a good enough occasion to do this - to get the cleanest possible install - then when is?

You should have a drivers/apps CD there to get any missing drivers or apps when you are installed, check the Device Manager for any missing after you get your first Windows Update. Others are available on the Support Downloads webpage for your computer model. Adobe reader/flash and Java runtime are downloaded at their sites.