REAL repair install win7/64 - NOT booting system

[zdoe]

ok - so i've crashed my system. i'm posting at the general section as the BSOD section seems to contain attempts to fix the cause of the BSOD - here that's not really the concern.

starting from scratch is NOT an option - need to restore the environment as it was. please don't tell me "clean install is always better."

besides, help me with this one, and we ALL shalt be richly rewarded - the answer to this thread is an xp-style REAL repair install where you don't need the system up & running to repair.

so - BSOD on boot, seemingly when it's starting to load the user account that's set to autologin.

i have:
- memory.DMP created at the BSOD. 200Mb.
- the non-booting 7 HD.
- registry hives backed up by erunt. straight copy of these to ...\config didn't fix the BSOD.
- .reg export of the whole registry.
- also, of course i have a bunch of 7-restore points, but the WINre environment refuses to let me access them.

so far i've thought:
- do a clean install, then merge the .reg backup to it after having copied the program folders over. but in the past i've had at best mixed results when attempting to import .reg backups.
- PCmover, if i can get it to build the "moving van" from the crashed OS. don't know how to do this.

your thoughts / ideas? much appreciated.

 

[richc46]

Try a boot log and lets see what it looks like.
http://www.watchingthenet.com/how-to-enable-boot-logging-for-fixing-startup-problems-in-windows.html

 

[gregrocker]

Funny how you post what you want the answer to be.

But sorry, like it or not: since Vista the Repair Install is done from the desktop as a last resort before reinstall.

The "real" repair needed when Win7 will not start is Startup Repair, which runs myriad tests including SFC which assures the system files.

If not, you can copy out your files using this method: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/93347-copy-paste-windows-recovery-console.html

The mucking you've been doing puts you in the waiting room for our BSOD squad.

But if you can't pluck the bugcheck file out using tutorial above to post for their expert diagnosis, then you'll need to move to the E.R.: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/681-startup-repair.html?ltr=S

I'd test RAM with memtest86 for 5-6 passes and HD using maker's diagnostics/repair extended CD scan first to clear hardware.

 

[zdoe]

richc46 - bootlog attached. i can't make much sense of it.

gregrocker - i know you're a guru, but please humor me! i'm not worried about the files / my data. all of that is amply backed up. the concern here is to restore the software environment and OS settings. and if we can figure this out now, we'll all be doing it for years to come.

 

[gregrocker]

What are the results from running http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/681-startup-repair.html?ltr=S?

You may need to run it more than once, and confirm Win7 is still marked Active: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/71432-partition-mark-active.html

 

[zdoe]

What are the results from running http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/681-startup-repair.html?ltr=S?

i've ran it a buncha times, it "attempts repairs," then comes up with "cannot repair this computer automatically."

 

[theog]

Check your HD.
1) Boot DVD, & Press Shift+F10 (for command prompt)
2) Boot DVD, & http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/682-command-prompt-startup.html (for command prompt)
Open an command prompt.
In the command prompt, type chkdsk C: f/x/r/v and press Enter.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/433-disk-check.html?ltr=D
Check Disk - chkdsk - Vista Forums
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/96938-check-disk-chkdsk-read-event-viewer-log.html

Check the hard drive with the manufacturer's diagnostic tools.
Hard Drive Diagnostics Tools and Utilities (Storage) - TACKtech Corp.
HD Diagnostic

 

[zdoe]

the HD comes out clean. the original reason for the BSOD is that i was attempting to go back in time a few hours with erunt.

but as i suspect that the prob may be in the user account(s) - can i use the command line to:
- enable the hidden administrator account?
- remove the autologin that's currently on?
- add a virginal admin-rights account?

if, how?

though - what i'd really like this thread to become is a conversation about how to do a repair install onto a non-booting OS partition. that way my beef will get saved not just now, but the next time as well. - yours, too!

meanwhile, i've found another registry backup i'd made with revo, that gregrocker kindly put me onto. probably that's the one i'll try to restore (it's the one just before the crash). may have to do a fresh install before restoring over that.

 

[zdoe]

so now i'm back up thanks to gregrocker/revo backup that i found.

meanwhile - back to the headline's topic - conceptually for now, for some reason my DVD doesn't offer upgrade so i can't test it:

repair install - have a barebones 7 on a separate partition next to the one you use - and has now crashed for whatever reason. initiate the upgrade on that, then change the environment variables to point to the crashed 7 instead of the barebones that got it started?

maybe a long shot, but worth a try.

views?

 

[gregrocker]

Let us know how it goes.

Better to Startup Repair which will do the necessary repairs short of completely reinstalling the OS as Repair Install does. This is gross overkill in 90%+ of cases. The other 10% might as well clean reinstall with file retrieval since their OS is borked beyond repair.

You should have Upgrade button available if run from the OS, although sometimes it will not run if version is inapplicable. I have had good success Repair Installing heavily bloated factory OEM so it is adaptable enough.

Still wondering if the bugcheck file can be accessed and posted here from irreparable Win7 using this method: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/93347-copy-paste-windows-recovery-console.html

Perhaps it will point to needed repairs which can be run from WinRe, or (more likely) Safe Mode. In that case maybe the bluescreen upload tool should be relied upon, but from Safe Mode?

 

[zdoe]

gregrocker - i'll never be you & you'll never be me.

i'll only consider 7 ready for prime time when it does do a repair installation, even if via workarounds. as you know, repair is a very powerful tool not only in crash-recovery, but in transporting a software environment to another box without having to re-install / re-tweak each apps settings. and various other situations.

i work with video & need so many complex apps in the system that a fresh-install would take weeks, or months. & if that week is when a client is awaiting delivery i'll just have lost that client.

i was suspecting that there may be some versions-check happening at the start of the install that determines whether upgrade dialogue appears - something like this:
How to Upgrade the Windows 7 RC to RTM (Final Release) - How-To Geek

 

[gregrocker]

We use that workaround a lot here to change Win7 versions that won't be unlocked by Anytime Upgrade.

Please keep us posted on what you find. This is indeed very interesting and potentially useful.

You can also migrate OS using SysPrep: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorial...lation-transfer-new-computer.html#post1161038

 

[zdoe]

sysPrep looks promising, and of course i've never even tried it. still, it seems that you're far likelier to end up in re-activation hell than you would with a repair. and it needs the source box up / running.

btw - off subject - revo is not as good as i 1st thought - on its last two full backups the software hive was size 0. and it doesn't store the backups to the user configured-directory despite the option being there. let's start a fund-raisinig initiative to get mr. lederer to update erunt!

 

[gregrocker]

SysPrep removes activation so it is a fresh slate on startup on the new hardware, or when reimaged.

I've never used Revo for anything but uninstaller.