'Startup Repair' on Win7 - how long does it take?

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neilwheel

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Hello all,

My desktop (Medion Akoya, i3 processor) running Win 7 Home Premium refused to go any further after getting to the login stage ( it accepts the password but after that, the screen goes black), so I attempted the 'Startup Repair' option on the Recovery disk.
I'm now at the point where the system is attempting to repair disk errors, but this has been running for over 14 hours now and shows no sign of going past this point. I tried clicking on the 'Cancel' button, but all I get is a message saying "the current repair option cannot be cancelled"

The HD is fairy large at 1TB but only 30gb of this has data on it. So, my question is : will the system eventually finish checking for disk errors and move on to the next stage of the repair, or does it sound like something is stuck and I need to power off/power on?

This is my first time trying to repair a Win 7 install and also my first attempt with a disk of this size. Is there anything else I can do - or should I sit on my hands for a while and leave Win 7 to get on with its job?
 

My Computer My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Medion Akoya E4355
OS
windows 7 home premium 32
CPU
Intel Core i3 - 530
Memory
3 GB DDR3 SDRAM
Graphics Card(s)
NVIDIA® GeForce® G210 DirectX® 10 512mb
This is a question without a definitive answer, The disk repair stage can take a long time on a large disk, I am old enough to remember when this used to take anything up to an hour a MB,with the then standard 20MB drive taking all day to check/fix.

Luckily that does not apply now but for a 1TB drive with serious issues I would not be surprised that it would take a long time, 24 hours or even more. the test and repair is for the whole disk not just the data, which is covered by other tests, prior to the sector by sector disk repair

The issue here is how effective is this repair going to be? maybe after 24 hours the repair will fail? It may be that if the data is backed up and safe and you have the time to work interactively with the system It may be more efficient to bite the bullet, and re-install fresh after a full format of the drive (partitioning the drive to OS plus other would also be beneficial IMO), would be more time effective

Only you can make this call, of course
 

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I realise it's a bit of a 'how long is a piece of string' question; what I should have asked perhaps is : "does anyone have experience of using Windows 7 Startup Repair on a large HD and if so, how long did it take"?
 

My Computer My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Medion Akoya E4355
OS
windows 7 home premium 32
CPU
Intel Core i3 - 530
Memory
3 GB DDR3 SDRAM
Graphics Card(s)
NVIDIA® GeForce® G210 DirectX® 10 512mb
Not personally

I have done a few startup repairs which were all completed quickly, minutes, rather than hours, but none of them actually went to the disk checking stage being just MBR or file issues
 

My Computers My Computers

System One System Two

  • Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
    ChillBlast - Custom to my design
    OS
    Windows 11 Pro x64 [Latest Release and Release Preview]
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    Ryzen 9 5950X, 3.8 - 5.2 MHz
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    Asus Prime X570-Pro
    Memory
    64GB [2 x 32GB] DDR4 3200MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1650 Ti
    Sound Card
    On-board SPDIF to 5.1 System + HDMI [5.1 system]
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    32" UHD 32 Bit HDR Monitor + 43" UHD 4K 32Bit HDR TV
    Screen Resolution
    2 x 3840 x 2160 @60Hz
    Hard Drives
    1TB M2 SSD OS, 500GB Fast Access SSD, 2 x 8TB Data + Various Externals from 1TB to 4TB, 10TB NAS
    PSU
    NZXT C750 80 PLUS Gold 750W Modular PSU
    Case
    Workstation Case [Matt Black]
    Cooling
    NZXT Kraken X63 280mm CPU Cooler +2x Quiet Case fans
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wireless MX Keys & K400 + others
    Mouse
    Logitech Wireless MX Master 3S
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    Chrome (always run latest Non-Beta)
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    Nexus 7 Android tablet x2
    Samsung 10.2" tablet
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    Wacom Intuos Pro Medium Pen Pad
    Wacom Intuos Pro Small Pen Pad
    Wacom Expresskeys Remote
    Loopdeck+ Graphics Controller
    Shuttle Pro v2 Control
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    System Manufacturer/Model Number
    Dell XPS 17 10750H
    OS
    Windows 11 Pro x64 Latest RP
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    Intel I7 10750H 5.0GHz
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    Dell XPS
    Memory
    32GB [2x16GB] DDR4 2933 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    nVidia GTX1650Ti 4 GB GDDR6
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    Stock [Realtek] 4 Speaker
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    17" IPS UHD+ Infinity Edge Touchscreen
    Screen Resolution
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    Hard Drives
    2TB M2 NVMe, 4TB External + various 500GB & 1TB External NVMe (also have access to spinner HDD from
    PSU
    Stock
    Case
    Stock XPS Aluminium & Carbon Fibre
    Cooling
    Stock - Active Fan Control
    Keyboard
    Backlit + Various Logitech
    Mouse
    Stock Track Pad + Logitech MX Trackball
    Internet Speed
    72 MB Down 18MB Up
    Browser
    Chrome
    Other Info
    Also run ...
    Laptop - Quad 8GB - Windows 10 Pro x64
    Nexus 7 Android tablet x2
    10.2" tablet
    Sony Z3 Android Smartphone
    Wacom Intuos Pro Medium Pen Pad
    Wacom Intuos Pro Small Pen Pad
    Wacom Expresskeys Remote
    Loopdeck+ Graphics Controller
    Shuttle Pro v2 Control Pad
    10TB NAS
You should better do a clean install. It takes only 20 min for installation of the OS and another couple of hours for installing the software. I remember I also tried to do a Startup repair , but after 4 hours I quit . Don't lose Your time.
 

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OS
Win 7 Ult 64-bit
CPU
AMD Athlon 455 3core
Memory
6 Gb 1333Mhz
Graphics Card(s)
GForce 545 1,5Gb 192-bit
Monitor(s) Displays
LG IPS234
Hard Drives
1tb
Case
Acer Predator
BisVal said:
You should better do a clean install. It takes only 20 min for installation of the OS and another couple of hours for installing the software. I remember I also tried to do a Startup repair , but after 4 hours I quit . Don't lose Your time.
Click to expand...

Trouble is, I've got a lot of data on the disk which I'm not sure has backed up. The disk seems to be partitioned with d: being the boot partition and c: being everything else. If I re-install Win 7, will it wipe the whole disk clean?
 

My Computer My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Medion Akoya E4355
OS
windows 7 home premium 32
CPU
Intel Core i3 - 530
Memory
3 GB DDR3 SDRAM
Graphics Card(s)
NVIDIA® GeForce® G210 DirectX® 10 512mb
After clear install only the data on installation partition will be lost
 

My Computer My Computer

OS
Win 7 Ult 64-bit
CPU
AMD Athlon 455 3core
Memory
6 Gb 1333Mhz
Graphics Card(s)
GForce 545 1,5Gb 192-bit
Monitor(s) Displays
LG IPS234
Hard Drives
1tb
Case
Acer Predator
I rebooted, holding down F8. Then I chose booting from the hard disk. after that Checkdisk in DOS started up automatically.
I'm letting it run. It's been chugging away all night, but at least I can see what's going on. It'll probably take the weekend to complete at the rate its going now but I'll be patient and leave it alone. So far, there have been a lot of unreadable file record segments, which seems to be the reason for the slow progress.

If CHKDSK goes into limbo, then I'll do a disk format on Monday and hope the system image backup I've got works.
 

My Computer My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Medion Akoya E4355
OS
windows 7 home premium 32
CPU
Intel Core i3 - 530
Memory
3 GB DDR3 SDRAM
Graphics Card(s)
NVIDIA® GeForce® G210 DirectX® 10 512mb
Your HD might be failing.

Even if the Disk Check fails I would test it using HD maker's full diag/repair CD scan: Hard Drive Diagnostics Tools and Utilities (Storage) - TACKtech Corp..

Sometimes the HD repair scan will fix HD enough that Disk Check can complete, returning the HD to service.

Before testing HD I'd copy my files out if you can't afford to lose them using one of the methods I posted earlier to retrieve files from unbootable OS.
 
gregrocker said:
Your HD might be failing.

Even if the Disk Check fails I would test it using HD maker's full diag/repair CD scan: Hard Drive Diagnostics Tools and Utilities (Storage) - TACKtech Corp..

Sometimes the HD repair scan will fix HD enough that Disk Check can complete, returning the HD to service.

Before testing HD I'd copy my files out if you can't afford to lose them using one of the methods I posted earlier to retrieve files from unbootable OS.
Click to expand...

It looks like something is stopping the CHKDSK from completing. I've been taking notes of the record segment numbers and it looks like the checker has gone so far, then returned to the beginning again. :(

I'm really hoping the system image is OK; but it looks like the HD may well be f*****d. I can return the base unit under warranty - would the system image restore onto a fresh HD?
 

My Computer My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Medion Akoya E4355
OS
windows 7 home premium 32
CPU
Intel Core i3 - 530
Memory
3 GB DDR3 SDRAM
Graphics Card(s)
NVIDIA® GeForce® G210 DirectX® 10 512mb
Win7 Backup Imaging is reportedly not as dependable as others in reimaging to another HD, however it has worked for me each time I need that done. New HD needs to be the same size or larger.

If the DVD Repair console or Repair CD will find an installation to repair, then it should be reparable or at least you should be able to copy your files out using one of the methods I posted.
 
Hi Greg,
I spent yesterday trying to get things going again; I tried booting up and skipping past chkdsk. This almost worked, with Windows loading but freezing as soon as it got to loading the desktop.
I am going to contact warranty support and get them to send a replacement HDD. I'll then load this in, put the damaged disk in the spare bay and try to migrate the data across. If that fails, I'll try the system image.

I tried to get the Paragon Rescue kit to work for me, but it wouldn't load. I've tried to download Paragon's Recovery Suite 10, but the download link is offline. If this comes back on before Monday, I might give that a try first.
 

My Computer My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Medion Akoya E4355
OS
windows 7 home premium 32
CPU
Intel Core i3 - 530
Memory
3 GB DDR3 SDRAM
Graphics Card(s)
NVIDIA® GeForce® G210 DirectX® 10 512mb
windows 7 repair disc

so I bought a system repair disc and now my comp is stuck at the windows blue screen that has some graphic art on it, but nothing else, the disc did ask me what language I would like to use to use the repair disc and then it just locked up at this screen, I am not sure if it is working or not? no activity seems to be happening?!!?! :confused::sarc::zip:
 

My Computer My Computer

OS
windows 7 64 bit
I have just interrupted a Win 7 startup repair. It had been working non-stop for 9 and 1/2 days (228 hrs) with no sign of finishing and I finally hit the reset button. The good news is that after this, windows started completely normally. I have yet to find out if the machine is going to behave from now on in the short term.

Before I ran startup repair the machine froze during startup in safe mode.

Win 7-64
400 GB hard disk with 100.000+ files and lots of space used.
 

My Computer My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
OS
Windows 7 home premium - 64
Hard Drives
400GB
Browser
Chrome
Make Sure You Accept The System Restore Or Else It Will Take A Long Time, I Experienced it and if you accept system restore, it takes 5 minutes.
 

My Computer My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium 32bit
The Windows 7 Repair Process can take aproximately two(2) to three(3) days for a One(1) TB hard drive, for a 4-TB hard drive it could take Four(4) days to eight(8) days. The process can take a long time because it is rebuilding the partition tables in some cases. After eight(8) days try using a DOS repair disk with Partition Table Doctor and other disk testing utilities.
 

My Computer My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Asus
OS
Windows 7 64-bit
CPU
AMD
Motherboard
Asus
Memory
4-GB
Hard Drives
Seagate
Antivirus
Avast
Browser
Firefox
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