Rescue/Recovery DVD fails to boot

Hi,
I have an Inspiron 1545 (circa 2008) and have used their recovery software to create a rescue DVD and it fails to boot with the following:

Windows failed to start. A recent hardware or software change might be the cause. To fix the problem:
...
File: \windows\system32\boot\winload.exe
Status: 0xc0000001
Info: The selected entry could not be loaded because tyhe application is missing or corrupt

Nothing changed, since I immediately tried to test the DVD just after making it. I'm concerned about a hard disk failure making the system inaccessible. I should add that the winload.exe file does not exist on the DVD.

Work through the steps for Troubleshooting Windows 7 Failure to Start.

What do you mean by a "rescue disk?" Is this the Win7 System Repair Disk or the Dell Recovery disks that reinstall all the crapware that comes with the PC.

Dell is normally willing to provide for shipping cost a clean copy Win7 Reinstallation DVD with only self-activation added so I'd inquire with them about that and consider doing a Clean Reinstall Windows 7

gregrocker said:

Work through the steps for Troubleshooting Windows 7 Failure to Start.

What do you mean by a "rescue disk?" Is this the Win7 System Repair Disk or the Dell Recovery disks that reinstall all the crapware that comes with the PC.

Dell is normally willing to provide for shipping cost a clean copy Win7 Reinstallation DVD with only self-activation added so I'd inquire with them about that and consider doing a Clean Reinstall Windows 7

Hi, thanks for your help. I'm talking about the Dell DataSafe Local Backup software that allows you to build a Recovery DVD that can be used to restore Windows to your hard disk should there be a problem with the current installation.

Within this application, there is the ability to "Create Recovery Media" which requires two DVDs. After creating the two DVDs, I booted from the first one to test and make sure it actually works, and I received the above message about winload.exe missing. Perhaps it's talking about the winload.exe located on the recovery partition? (although I would find that dumb since the idea is to restore in case of a complete disk failure).

The System Repair Disc application from within Windows also didn't work. However, I don't recall the error message it produced, as that wasn't the main focus of my post here. I'll test it again and see what happens.

gregrocker said:

Are you triggering the DVD to boot using thee Dell F12 key at boot? It sounds like it may be skipping The DVD and attempting to boot the hard drive, or do you know that the hard drive can boot? There may also be a problem with the disc generation, or poor quality DVDs.

Are there problems with your Windows 7? If the hardware is in question run Dell diagnostics from the F 12 key at boot. Will recovery commence from the F12 key menu?

We need more information about the problem with your PCother than that the recovery disk you tried to make will not boot. Recovery disks can often be made to boot by wiping the hard drive but you wouldn't want to do that if there is nothing wrong with your install.

Finally the factory install is an inferior install so if you're unhappy with it now I would strongly recommend doing the clean reinstall.

The problem is my win7 system won't boot, and using the Dell Recovery DVDs created using the Dell Recovery software produces the error I printed above.

Pressing F8 during boot, to start the "Repair my computer" mode, results in "Windows failed to start. A recent hardware or software change might be the cause".

My question really relates to know what the point of the Dell Recovery DVD really is? Shouldn't I be able to reinstall using that media?

I specficially asked you if Dell Diagnostics or System Recovery would boot and run from the F12 Boot key. Yet you ignored the step as though I hadn't even typed it, as well as all the links I've given you to open and read to learn what you need to know. This type of inattention to detail does not bode well for the absolute thoroughness required to do these steps. We can do our part but must rely on you to complete every step, read and understand every link - asking back all the questions needed - to not miss a single step.

You should be able to boot the disks to recover to Factory Condition. I even told you why they might not boot but you simply repeated the same thing you'd said before without commenting on the possible failure points I brought up.

These are not used for repairs however so to run Repairs if F8 boot options won't boot after trying it repeatedly to see if you can time pressing the key correctly, then you'd use a System Repair Disk or Win7 installation disk to follow the repairs for Troubleshooting Windows 7 Failure to Start. Those repairs try everything possible to start the OS leading up to if necessary rescuiing your files to do a superior Clean Reinstall which really is the best install of Win7 you can have - while the Factory Recovery is the worst install possible.

gregrocker said:

I specficially asked you if Dell Diagnostics or System Recovery would boot and run from the F12 Boot key. Yet you ignored the step as though I hadn't even typed it, as well as all the links I've given you to open and read to learn what you need to know. This type of inattention to detail does not bode well for the absolute thoroughness required to do these steps. We can do our part but must rely on you to complete every step, read and understand every link - asking back all the questions needed - to not miss a single step.

There is no such System Recovery option when choosing the F12 key. I started with a working system. I never mentioned anything about having a problem booting the system from the hard disk, only from the Recovery DVD created using the Dell software. It was only you guessing. My apologies for the confusion. The Dell Diagnostics passes just fine.

This was a Inspiron given to me by a friend to fix. I should have mentioned I'm more experienced than your average Dell user, but don't suppose that would have mattered. Turns out it had a bunch of viruses, including Rootkit.Boot.Phar.b, which involved the svchost.exe rootkit virus.

I wanted to create a Recovery DVD in case something happened to the system, and in fact, it did. During the process of removing the virus with a combination of Malwarebytes and Software Essentials, now it doesn't boot.

Before it crashed, I created a Repair DVD from within Windows, but it fails with "Windows failed to start. A recent hardware or software change might be the cause. It then prints:

File: \windows\system32\boot\winload.exe
Status: 0xc0000001
Info: The selected entry could not be loaded because the application is missing or corrupt

Pressing F8 then "Repair my Computer" results in the same error message but no details.

Pressing F8 then "Last Know Good" results in an immediate reboot.

Pressing F8 then "Disable automatic restart" results in a bluescreen with "STOP: 0x0000007B" which I believe is a hard disk driver error.

You should be able to boot the disks to recover to Factory Condition. I even told you why they might not boot but you simply repeated the same thing you'd said before without commenting on the possible failure points I brought up.

Yes, that was my initial question. Why can't I boot with the Recovery DVDs created by the Dell software?

These are not used for repairs however so to run Repairs if F8 boot options won't boot after trying it repeatedly to see if you can time pressing the key correctly, then you'd use a System Repair Disk or Win7 installation disk to follow the repairs for Troubleshooting Windows 7 Failure to Start. Those repairs try everything possible to start the OS leading up to if necessary rescuiing your files to do a superior Clean Reinstall which really is the best install of Win7 you can have - while the Factory Recovery is the worst install possible.

The System Repair disk didn't work either.

Is it possible to create original Windows disks to try the repair mode from that?

I should add that I booted a Linux rescue disc and the \windows\system32\boot\winload.exe files exist with a date of Feb 5, 2011.

RolandJS said:

If Windows ISOs [specifically "cut" for your specific Windows] are not available, you will have to purchase MS "blue-disk" Windows.
I don't know if OEM Windows will work; let's see what others have to say before you spend monies.

I'm sure I could find an original Windows disc, but that's problematic because of potential missing driver issues and the amount of time required to do a full install.

I'd really just like to know why the Recovery DVDs, that are supposed to recover your system, just don't boot.