Can't boot from HD or Win 7 Recovery, can boot from Ubuntu

[A2Bob]

I have a MSI 970A-G46 motherboard.
I can't boot from hard disk with Win 7 Ultimate nor from a windows 7 recovery dvd.
If I move the hard drive to another PC, it boots fine.
If I put the DVD in another PC's dvd drive, it can be accessed.
This machine will boot from an Ubuntu dvd and I can then access the HD directories and the recovery dvd.
What do I need to do?

Help and thanks

 

[skyred5]

Hi there.

Does it show any error message when it doesn't boot from your hard disk? Have you tried to put in the HDD from your other PC as well?

 

[TVeblen]

Hello A2Bob. Welcome to the forum.

The first thing that comes to mind is that there is something funky going on in the BIOS settings of the problem machine. A setting that interferes with Windows but not Linux.
So my first course of action would be to Restore BIOS Defaults.
(Just note the SATA Controller setting - if it is in AHCI Mode now then be sure it is in AHCI Mode after the reset. Or try it both ways - IDE and AHCI)

 

[A2Bob]

Thanks for replying.
1. There is no error message when I try to boot from the HDD. It freezes at the window with the message "Windows is starting" underneath the 4 color Windows flag.
2. I get the same results when I install another (known good) HDD from another machine.
3. The BIOS defaults have been restored with no effect on the problem.
4. I tried changing the SATA mode from IDE to AHCI. The result was a blue screen that shows for a fraction of a second and the machine re-enters the boot process loop. I was able to freeze the blue screen using a slo-mo video cam app. The blue screen message screen capture is attached.

thanks

 

[TVeblen]

That's good. No problem with BIOS settings, and it seems obvious you installed in AHCI mode.

What I didn't realize was that this is a freeze during the Windows startup. That changes things.
(Keep in mind that "Boot" refers to the BIOS system start. Your machine must "Boot" before it can even begin to find and load an OS.)

The point in Windows startup where the 'flags' come together is where your hardware is being initialized (in Windows) and drivers are being accessed. So that indicates that there is a problem with a piece of hardware or it's driver.

Have you made any changes to your system lately? Have you updated any drivers?

 

[A2Bob]

A little history: I was having trouble with my Dell desktop locking up intermittently, requiring a reboot. I ran anti virus and malware programs and didn't find any serious threats. I came to the conclusion that I had bad memory or the motherboard was going. I decided to buy a used machine to either harvest parts or replace the Dell. So, I bought someone's custom build with the specs I listed in my original post. It had Windows Ultimate installed (nothing else) and booted fine. Here's where things get murky, I don't remember exactly the order I performed things. I believe the first thing I did was to make a recovery DVD on the custom machine. Then I installed the HDD from the Dell into the custom machine and download and installed the MSI drivers. It ran, but exhibited the same problems as the Dell. So, I deduced that it wasn't a hardware problem with the Dell. So I put Dell HDD back in the Dell and did an image restore, which seemed to work. I also did a clean install on the Dell, so that works OK now.

Now to the current problem. I put the HDD from the custom machine back into the custom machine and that's where we are now. Won't boot windows, will boot from Ubuntu DVD.

thanks

 

[TVeblen]

It sounds like you could have some of the core drivers switched.

Have you tried a Startup Repair?
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/681-startup-repair.html?ltr=S

If that doesn't work you could try a Repair Install:
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/3413-repair-install.html

Of course, a clean install would be your best bet. Providing all the hardware is good.

 

[A2Bob]

I tried startup repair with the recovery disk I made before the mess up. It goes thru the loading files bit and stops at the last file and just sits there (I've let it sit for hours).

The custom came with Win Ultimate, but with no disc. He said he lost it (yeh, right). I can try to do a clean install with the Windows Home Premium that came with the Dell. Don't know if that will work.

Would it help if I put the Hdd from the custom into the Dell, download and install the Msi drivers and then reinstall in the custom?

Thanks again for your time.

 

[TVeblen]

I don't think so. The drivers will not install in a system that does not have the hardware those drivers are for. You would get a "device not found" message.

Does the custom PC have a Windows Ultimate Key? Could be on a sticker on the case.
If so you could download and install an Ultimate ISO and use the key to activate it.

You could install Home Premium to see if you can get Windows to run on that system at all. If it does you would have the option of upgrading the install to Ultimate if you have a key.

 

[A2Bob]

OK, thanks for your help. I'll re-post if I find a way out of this.