Win 7 stuck in a boot loop on dual boot machine

I've never used Linux so in that respect I'm no expert, but you might want to check these tutorials,

Dual Boot Windows 7 and Ubuntu

UNetbootin - Create Bootable Live Linux USB

Startup Repair Infinite Loop Recovery

The drive letters given in Repair mode may be different than when booted into OS.

What do you mean Startup Repair didn't work? Please try it several times and post back the exact results given.

gregrocker said:

The drive letters given in Repair mode may be different than when booted into OS.

What do you mean Startup Repair didn't work? Please try it several times and post back the exact results given.

Sorry I should have been more descriptive on that bit.

I tried it only once and it failed to find or repair any problems. It gave me the error codes in the attached picture.

Do you suggest I try it several more times then? Does that sometimes work?

Yes, if it doesn't start after several attempts, confirm that Win7 partition is marked Active then run it three separate times with reboots to repair or rewrite the System boot files to the Active Partition.
Partition - Mark as Active (Method Two)
Startup Repair - Run 3 Separate Times

You can also mark Active and post back a picture of your partitioning using free Partition Wizard
bootable CD. After marking Active Win7 partition or it's 100mb System Reserved partition (preferred if you have it), click on disk # to highlight it, then from Disk tab select Rebuild MBR, Apply, reboot. This can preclude the need to run the Repairs.

Be aware that GRUB on the HD can corrupt Win7 beyond Repair, which is why it's best to have Linux on separate HD booted only via the BIOS.

Dual boot Ubuntu-Win7

Okay thanks gregrocker. I haven't got time to attempt all that now unfortunately but will do so tomorrow night. I'll let you know how I get on.

I really hope it's not corrupted beyond repair though. Such a nightmare to reinstall everything!

It was happily sitting alongside Linux for a while though so hopefully it's not that.

Hi guys. Really sorry for the necro post but just wanted to update you and ask another question (more out of curiosity than anything else).

I finally got round to implementing the fix gregrocker recommended and it worked... sort of.

After 3 passes of startup repair with restarts Windows started booting properly again.

I did a few program updates, a little work and some web surfing then shut down again. Booted back in to Windows just to check and all seemed fine.

Next time I used the PC I booted into Linux. Whilst there I accessed the shared data drive. Next time I tried to boot Windows it got stuck in a boot loop again. I fixed it the same way and - out of curiosity - booted back into Linux, accessed the shared data partition, restarted and tried Windows... boot loop city!

So I figure either the act of booting into Linux and/or accessing the shared data drive from Linux is what is causing Windows to throw its dummy out.

Does anyone know if this is a known or common issue? I only ask as I'm dual booting Mint 12 and Win 7 on two other machines without this problem. I also used to dual boot Mint 11 and Vista on this same laptop and didn't suffer this problem.

Anyone know what could be happening and whether or not it's fixable?

Thanks, and my sincere apologies for the long post.

The best way of running Linux with Windows on one Hd drive is in VM.
Dual Boot Windows 7 and Ubuntu



To Remove Linux take look at this post:
Error 0xc0000225 on boot

theog said:

Remuve Linux from Dual Boot. (Base of)



Boot up using the Startup disk CD or Windows 7 DVD. (not the OEM manufacturer's Recovery Disk) If you have a Netbook, you will need a CD/DVD drive.

Make sure no USB drives are plugged.



If you have not made your Startup Repair CD

System Repair Disc - Create

Do you have a mate with Windows 7 & CD/DVD RW Drive, how could burn one off.



Attachment 167861



1) Boot CD or DVD & open a command prompt.

Command Prompt at Startup



2) Use the Rebuild BCD in this tutorial:

How to use the Bootrec.exe tool in the Windows Recovery Environment to troubleshoot and repair startup issues in Windows



Attachment 167862 Attachment 167863



3) FIX MBR.



Attachment 167864



4) Delete Linux Partitions

Partition or Volume - Delete



Attachment 167865 Attachment 167866



Attachment 167867



5) Create New Partition.

Partition or Volume - Delete



Attachment 167868 Attachment 167869

The best way of running Linux with Windows on one Hd drive is in VM.
Dual Boot Windows 7 and Ubuntu

With respect if I'm going to remove anything it'll be Windows. I've used Linux almost exclusively for about the last 7 or 8 years and find it more than suits my needs. It is handy having the odd Windows partition knocking about though. And I do like Win 7.

I was just wondering really why on this PC I've suddenly run into problems with Mint 12 and Win 7 when on other PCs I've not had any trouble - even though they're installed on the same drive. Also didn't have trouble with Mint 11 and Vista on this same PC.

Just curious really. When something goes wrong I like to know why and how to fix it if possible. Learning from your mistakes is often the best way I find

Anyways, any ideas what specifically has caused this and whether it's likely to occur again if I start from scratch and have another go? Also do you think there's anything I can do to prevent it happening again (bearing in mind I have to use the same HDD) whilst still having a dual boot setup?

Thanks for the responses so far guys.

Edit:

theog said:

The best way of running Linux with Windows on one Hd drive is in VM.

This particular PC - whilst theoretically capable - is not in practice powerful enough for a usable VM setup. I have two main rigs where I have Win 7 (and XP too) in VMs on my Linux desktop. On my laptops though I prefer to have native installs where possible.

As you can probably tell I like to have my cake and eat it too Therefore I'd like to keep a dual boot setup between Mint 12 and Win 7 on this PC if possible. If it's a no go then fair enough but I wanted to find out a little more info first.

After installing Mint 12 I booted back into Windows to check everything was fine and to format the data partition to NTFS from within Windows.

This is maybe the problem. On Mint 12 installation this partition had another signature which changed after formating.
You have to check what is mounted in Mint 12 and correct disk signature (GUID) for this partition/drive.

I suppose Mint 12 is reassigning a new disk signature when booting/mounting, then Windows is reassigning the same partition when booting and so on the loop.