Windows 7 issues/crashes at boot/startup

[Paul Gaugain]

Windows 7 Ultimate x32
My Windows 7 won't boot. After BIOS POST it there appears a blinking underscore in top left corner, and it stays in that state forever.(I don't want to perform a clean Windows install to not lose my work. I just want to fix my OS so I continue working further from last time)



I can't enter in safe mode, I can't call the System Recovery Options, so there is not much what I can do.


I attached this HDD to a computer with another Windows 7 (Ultimate x64), and from it I performed a chkdsk on my disk. There are no bads and errors.


--------
Windows 7 Ultimate x64

I have one more HDD with Windows 7, long time unused. It also crashes after BIOS POST just at the beginning of Windows startup logo. It restarts itself at that point.


I've tried the System Recovery Options for this disk, but unsuccessfully. Also I performed a chkdsk (results are OK) and a sfc /scannow, but the problem was not fixed. Windows 7 keeps failing to start.


These 2 disks with Windows probably were killed by my machine after several power outages. The disks are OK, I can access them as storage devices, but I can't boot the OS on them.

 

[iko22]

Hello Paul Gaugain, welcome to the Forum. If you had a Installation DVD or System Repair DVD
then you could boot to that, and use the System Recovery Options via the Disk.

Try my suggestion, and make note of any error messages.

 

[Paul Gaugain]

Unfortunately my DVD-ROM is not working currently. I'm thinking now to create a bootable USB, either a installation version, either a System Repair version...

 

[iko22]

Yes, you can create a bootable USB drive, Only you would need a working computer for that. If you had installation media on DVD, then replace the DVD-player on broken computer, would be best bet.

 

[Megahertz07]

After post, does it give any message (window is starting or can't find a boot able disk etc)?

How old is the computer?

During POST, enter BIOS.
Can you navigate on BIOS?
Is your date and time correct?

 

[Paul Gaugain]

I have now 3 HHDs. One IDE (160GB) and two SATA (1TB & 160GB). I can plug them by 2 simultaneously - one IDE and one SATA.
My main OS Windows 7 Ultimate x86 was on a 1TB Western Digital SATA, on which I focus now to repair the OS. The partition C here is large and almost full 79/100 GB.
I cloned the system partition to the IDE HDD, and then to the another 160GB SATA HDD and tried to fix it as a test case, to not lose something on my main drive.
I've managed to create an Installation USB with SP1, the same as mine.

An Upgrade Install was impossible since I can't boot in WIndows. Repair attempts (3+) didn't helped. So, on that test partition, I installed over another version of Windows 7, similar to mine old. Copyied data from windows.old over the new profile. It's not really I expected.

Since Upgrade install is not possible, can I fix manually a broken Windows version by copying manually Windows system files and folders from a twin/clone fresh Windows installation?

 

[Paul Gaugain]

After post, does it give any message (window is starting or can't find a boot able disk etc)?

How old is the computer?

During POST, enter BIOS.
Can you navigate on BIOS?
Is your date and time correct?

Intel Pentium DualCore E2200
MB: ASRock 775i945GZ
RAM: 4GB DDR2
HDD: 1TB Western Digital (SATA) with my broken Windows on C
160GB Maxtor (SATA) - with a clone of my broken OS here (cloned from IDE drive), and installed over a fresh Win7
160GB Seagata Barracuda (IDE) - with a clone of my broken OS here

No message, just blinking cursor and loading progress stucks at this point.


Strange thing happens - when I plug in USB ports my Xiaomi phone, the PC crashes instantly. Meanwhile the USB flash works while plugged there.


----------------
I can't edit anymore the topic #1 post.
Please ignore its second part, I don't really need the another Windows 7 x64 from the second HDD. It was an unused alternative, just to have it. I can now format that disk partition and install one more fresh Win 7 version or to clone one more time my main working OS. If there is an moderator, you can hide/strike, that part.
Done. Thank you Barman58.

 

[Paul Gaugain]

Since Upgrade install is not possible, can I fix manually a broken Windows version from a similar fresh Windows version, by copying manually some Windows system files and folders from the fresh Windows installation?

 

[Megahertz07]

Since Upgrade install is not possible, can I fix manually a broken Windows version from a similar fresh Windows version, by copying manually some Windows system files and folders from the fresh Windows installation?

You didn't answer if you can enter BIOS but it seems your computer is working (no hardware issues).

You can't fix windows using another installation. You don't know what is the problem.

As you have Windows working on the IDE drive you can try a SFC on the WD 1T.
Open a CMD window as administrator and type: (replace X with the drive letter assigned to the WD windows partition)

sfc /scannow /offwindir=X:\windows /offbootdir=X:\

Run SFC /Scannow on external drives - gHacks Tech News

 

[Paul Gaugain]

@Megahertz07, yes I can enter BIOS.

I forgot to mention that i changed the machine recently - I moved my HDDs to a new machine. Now I try to repair Windows on this new architecture.

I have probably to use some software like Paragon Adaptive Restore...
So the problem in fact is double complicated - broken Windows and new hardware. My chances to repair my working medium before failure are minimal... ((

Or moving a HDD with Windows to another PC is OK?

 

[iko22]

Hello Paul Gaugain,
Dont worry about repair install because now You have two options:

I've managed to create an Installation USB with SP1, the same as mine.

An Upgrade Install was impossible since I can't boot in WIndows.

I forgot to mention that i changed the machine recently - I moved my HDDs to a new machine. Now I try to repair Windows on this new architecture.

...
So the problem in fact is double complicated - broken Windows and new hardware. My chances to repair my working medium before failure are minimal... ((

Or moving a HDD with Windows to another PC is OK?

Either

Use Installation USB on original computer, and perform Repair Your Computer from Windows Recovery Environment.
See How to start the Windows 7 Recovery Environment | bleeping computer.​

And/or

Run SFC/Scannow (on external drive) see Megahertz07 post for more information.​

 

[Megahertz07]

@Megahertz07, yes I can enter BIOS.

I forgot to mention that i changed the machine recently - I moved my HDDs to a new machine. Now I try to repair Windows on this new architecture.

I have probably to use some software like Paragon Adaptive Restore...
So the problem in fact is double complicated - broken Windows and new hardware. My chances to repair my working medium before failure are minimal... ((

Or moving a HDD with Windows to another PC is OK?

You are trying to boot a HDD with Win 7 that was on an old computer on a new one?
That is not an easy task. New hardware requires new drivers that are not on the HDD.

If you attached the Win 7 drive to a new machine just to try to repair is OK. Don't try to boot from it or you may ruin the Win 7 on the drive.

So, what you want to do, repair Win 7 to run on the old computer or make it run on the new one?

 

[Paul Gaugain]

SFC/Scannow didn't really helped in this case.

You are trying to boot a HDD with Win 7 that was on an old computer on a new one?
That is not an easy task. New hardware requires new drivers that are not on the HDD.

Yes. I try to boot my old HDD with Windows 7 on a new computer.

If you attached the Win 7 drive to a new machine just to try to repair is OK. Don't try to boot from it or you may ruin the Win 7 on the drive.

Already tried a couple of days...

So, what you want to do, repair Win 7 to run on the old computer or make it run on the new one?

The old PC is gone, I'm trying to make the HDD with Windows 7 to run on on the new one.

 

[Paul Gaugain]

So, there is some progress.
I've made a bootable USB stick with Paragon Adaptive Restore and thanks to Paragon P2P Adjust OS I've fixed the cloned version of my original Windows 7 and now it works (on another HDD - IDE).
Also with Paragon Adaptive Restore I fixed another old unrelated Windows version about I told in post#1, struck text.

But... I can't manage yet to fix my original Windows 7. Paragon doesn't boot when that HDD (1TB Western Digital SATA) is conected to PC. When I swap and connect instead another HDD (160 GB Maxtor SATA) Paragon is booting ok and works fine.

Compare the momment where it stucked

• When succesfull Passed and worked after - https://funkyimg.com/i/32WDX.jpg
• Stuck (when 1TB Western Digital is connected) - https://funkyimg.com/i/32WDY.jpg (stuck after Try hd2,0). But why??

Even with a single HDD connected (my main 1TB Western Digital), Paragon Adaptive Restore stuck at some point and does not boot properly - https://funkyimg.com/i/32XbC.jpg


I think to try now some alternative of Paragon P2P Adjust OS

 

[Paul Gaugain]

So here are the disks details.

The current first HDD (160GB IDE).
Volume 2 - C - is the OS on that I am sitting now - a clone of my original OS (Windows 7 x86) from the second HDD
On Volume 1 also was an Win 7 OS x64, and it became broken (but I don't really care of it).
Notice below the Volume 0 - D - System Reserved.
Is it safe and possible to merge the System Reserved partition from the first disk into partition C, without any side effects? Or to change its letter without any side effects?

The second HDD (1TB SATA)
On Volume 3 - E - C - is my original OS (Windows 7 x86) about I was talking here, broken for a week now. This is the one I'd like to restore.
Should it be marked with Boot as well?

 

[Paul Gaugain]

What shows Acronis

On Disk1 there are 2 Windows on two partitions.
On Disk2 (my main old) is a Windows on the C(E. Should I assign to this volume a "System" status? Maybe this is the cause that it's non-bootable now?

 

[Megahertz07]

On OEM computers you boot to a "System" (Active) partition and then it transfers the boot sequence to the Windows partition (boot)
Your F: partition is already set as Active and boot. That is all you need.

Please edit your profile with all the new computer hardware specs. It will help us to help you.
User Profiles - Create and Move During Windows 7 Installation - Windows 7 Help Forums

 

[Paul Gaugain]

Here is the graphical representation of my drives and OS

So, I still have a broken non-bootable original OS, and a WORKING clone of it. The cloning was done after the original OS became non-bootable.

There should be a problem either with Boot sector, BCD data, MBR. I don't know very well these things.
I've just ran one more time the Paragon OS Adjust on the original non-bootale Windows, but it didn't fixed it.

If I try to boot directly from the HDD with my original Windows, it stops booting on a black screen with a blinking underscore (probably before Windows Boot Manager).

If I boot another HDD with the cloned Windows:
-- it has a Windows Boot Manager with an option pointing also to my original Windows from the another HDD
---I can boot perfectly from here the Working clone
--- But trying to boot the original Windows from the another HDD, I get stuck on a black screen (with no cursor/underscore) and no signs that Windows is loading.
So if Windows isn't loading, this is why I suspect a BootSector, BCD, MBR problem.

 

[Paul Gaugain]

If you had a Installation DVD or System Repair DVD
then you could boot to that, and use the System Recovery Options via the Disk.

Try my suggestion, and make note of any error messages.

Dont worry about repair install because now You have two options:


Either

Use Installation USB on original computer, and perform Repair Your Computer from Windows Recovery Environment.
See How to start the Windows 7 Recovery Environment | bleeping computer.​

And/or

Run SFC/Scannow (on external drive) see Megahertz07 post for more information.​

So, with the Installation media I tried to do the repair. It couldn't repair anything. After that I entered in CMD mode and ran Bootrec.exe /FixMBR, then /fixboot, then /rebuildbcd

There was a strange message:
Total identified Windows installations: 0

After that I ran bootsect /nt60 SYS /MBR

And anyway, the problem still persist.

 

[Megahertz07]

Please edit your profile with all the new computer hardware specs. It will help us to help you.
User Profiles - Create and Move During Windows 7 Installation - Windows 7 Help Forums