Solved No login prompt when booting Win7

[Leo48]

The machine in question was working well when it was last used, about a week ago.
On my return it failed to boot, and the automatic "recommended option" to repair the startup, failed repeatedly.
A search revealed that the same symptom was reported by "ilikemittens" in 2010.
The screen shows a blue whispy image in the background and a large mouse cursor, but no login window.
Unfortunately, the system disk is not to be found and my repair disks are not to hand either.


I know this fault can be tackled by activating the built-in Admin account and booting from that.
Does anyone know where I can get hold of the .iso of a Win7 repair disk?
I have access to Linux (as Ubuntu) on this laptop and there's another one available, which still runs WinXP. So, I have sufficient hardware to solve this problem, but not the software.

My efforts to create a Hiren's USB stick have been thwarted, so far.
The idea was to see if Hiren's had a utility that might help get the non-booting laptop running again.
If anyone is able to confirm that Hiren's has the tools I need, that would be a help.


Referring to the 2010 post, the responses to ilikemittens's problem were far from satisfactory.
Basically, the user had to trash the system by performing a clean install.
That is not an option I wish to consider.
I'm sure this login problem can be fixed with a little expert knowledge of Win7.

Surely, by now there must be a 'magic bullet fix' for the missing login prompt problem.
Any help getting the Acer 5740G back to normal would be greatly appreciated.

 

[samuria]

Welcome to the forum. Can you first try on the start screen presing cntrl alt an del see if that brings the login up

 

[SIW2]

Does anyone know where I can get hold of the .iso of a Win7 repair disk?

17514x86.iso

17514x64-v9.iso

 

[Megahertz07]

Link from M$ to download Win 7 HP 64
Win 7 HP 64

Link is valid for 24H (12:25 GMT)

 

[Leo48]

Thanks Samuria, SIW2 & Megahertz07. I can confirm that ctrl+alt+del produces no result.

SIW2, I tried using your 64-bit .iso, but it brought this error:

Error: No configuration file found
No DEFAULT or UI configuration directive found!
boot:

I used ISO2USB.exe to produce the USB stick, but this initially gave external exception C06D007F when run. However, the programme appeared to complete the task without further error. Unfortunately, it's been a bad day at the office, as the Linux laptop is now displaying "grub rescue >", so we're now two machines down!

Megahertz07, I shall try to use the other laptop to look at the link you sent. Thank you very much for this.

Btw, can you recommend a better programme to produce the USB stick from the 64-bit .iso file?

 

[Paul Black]

Hi Leo48,

BTW, can you recommend a better programme to produce the USB stick from the 64-bit .iso file?

This one is used by many of the members on this forum, myself included.

To burn the ISO to a USB, you can either use Rufus 3.3 or Rufus 3.3 Portable.

I hope this helps!

 

[Leo48]

Thanks Paul. I used Rufus to make the USB stick with Win 7, no problem.
However, the option "Repair your computer" was not successful.
After two hours the system was still attempting a repair, but the HDD light was out for a long period and did not come on again. It gave me the impression that the repair routine had given up (without any message) or was stuck in some loop. Reluctantly, I had to cut the power.
So, the Acer is still a work in progress.
I'm very disappointed with the failed repair.
How can I break in and fix this?
I'm thinking that a registry edit is the only way forward, but I don't have a Recovery Console disk to hand.
Is there a download that's compatible with Win7?
I'm still looking for the elusive magic bullet for this problem, if it exists!

 

[Megahertz07]

You may have a disk issue.
On post#3 SIW2 gave you a link to one of his tools.
Download and burn a CD or install on a USB flash disk using Rufus.
Boot from it and you will have many tools.
Find the drive letter assigned to your C: drive, open a CMD window and type
chkdsk c: /f

 

[Leo48]

A second attempt with the Win7 USB stick was successful!
The machine spent a very long time "Repairing disk errors".
After about six hours it booted to the normal login window.
You are right Megahertz07, it looks like the HDD is about to develop a permanent fault.
That HDD is now earmarked for replacement with an SSD, as soon as possible.
Thanks to all who contributed to this thread, which can now be considered closed.

 

[Megahertz07]

If Check disk found bad blocks or bad clusters, your disk is dying. Back up your data on an external disk ASAP.
Did you download the Win 7 HP 64 from M$?
To install win 7 on the new HDD or SSD, you'll need your key code. Is it still under the case or inside the battery case?

 

[Paul Black]

Hi Leo48,

Just to add to Megahertz07 suggestions, if you have any purchased software, make sure you have the license keys for them, or get them from the software itself!

You will need your Product Key for the version of Windows that you are re-installing. This is the ONLY version that you will be able to activate. On a laptop, it will either be on a sticker on the bottom, or in the battery compartment. If the sticker is too worn to read, or there isn't one, then you can retrieve it by either using Belarc Advisor or Magic Jelly Bean. Write this Product Key down and keep it in a safe place.

I hope this helps!