Windows 7 Repair Install screen black before install finished

[technicaltitch]

Screen goes black half way through Windows 7 Repair Install

Hi all

Half way through the Windows 7 Repair install the monitor drivers seem to have corrupted. The screen works fine up to the Windows logo on a black background, then the screen goes dead.

Everything is still working underneath, key presses seem to affect the hard disk, caps lock works, I can even hibernate with the sleep key, but I can't get Windows running so I can install the monitor drivers (or do anything else).

Repair Install did ask me to uninstall the ATI Catalyst drivers, but the screen worked fine after.


I have tried:

• Restarting
• Typing my Win 7 license key and pressing return
• Connecting to an external monitor via HDMI
• Booting from a USB and DVD Win7 installer disk and trying the Startup Repair, Restore, installing drivers (I think they only go into memory), etc.
• As above but using the DOS prompt, copying fresh copies of the monitor driver files inf/monitor.pnf inf/monitor.inf and sys32/drivers/monitor.sys then rebooting
• Trying every option in the BIOS (although nothing was promising - was hoping to turn off PnP but there was no option)
• Trying a new repair install by booting from the Win7 disk - it boots, loads fine, but at the compatibility check demands I start Windows then run the installer from within Windows

Is there any way to avoid a fresh Windows install? All I need to do, I think, is install a different video driver, and I have full access to the file system.

Huge, huge, huge thanks for any leads at all, been on this a few days now and this Windows install unfortunately contains months of effort I can't port to another Windows install (VBox servers etc). I'll post here if I get anywhere.

 

[technicaltitch]

Sorry but a quick bump. I've edited to make it clearer - was writing the original at 5am cross-eyed after hours at the screen.

 

[gregrocker]

This behavior most often happens when the video card is outputted to a television or projector. You can enter Device Manager from boot to try to disable the erring device to see if it will allow Win7 to start normally to a VGA or HDMI monitor: Device Manager - Access During Windows 7 Installation

Check also in BIOS setup for monitor output settings.

Otherwise compare the install you have to the perfect install compiled in http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/219487-clean-reinstall-factory-oem-windows-7-a.html#post1839164 as if it is the grossly inferior factory install or done much differently then you might want to invest now in a perfect install. Be sure to read the Special Note to Dell Owners at the end to preserve bootable diagnostics if they still function.

You'll avoid problems by installing only the display driver provided by Win7 installer or Updates, unless it only provides Standard VGA in which case I'd import the latest from the Dell Support Downloads webpage for your model and never the ATI or Nvidia bloatware package of it's driver. This is because OEM's often modify this driver which is vetted by MS before loading into Windows Update, and the bloatware package provides nothing but problems.

 

[technicaltitch]

Some absolutely fantastic links, thank you very much indeed, although relevant only if I finally give up on trying to save my existing install, which I'm slowly resigning myself to. I tried running the device manager from the repair install but it wouldn't load and anyway would be working on the repair OS not the laptop OS I guess. I changed every BIOS setting, nothing worked and nothing relevant anyway. I never had the chance to install any custom drivers - this was with whatever driver Windows gives out of the box, so I am very happy to know about that Device Manager command if I do a fresh Windows install, assuming I can get far enough in the sequence of steps before the screen dies.

I do have a disk image of the Windows install shortly before I started the repair install. It includes all the problems I was trying to fix, but I could get any files - drivers etc - from it. Is there a way I can manually install a driver with only access to the file system? I could copy the files onto the Win7 boot USB drive, boot into repair, call the DOS command, and do whatever I like to the files - this is why it seems there must be a way!

Huge thanks once again for your very illuminating post, it'll come in very handy if/when I resign myself to a fresh install.

(The previous one was a Dell OEM one, I had lots of problems from day one, not sure whether it was hardware or OS, never had an OS need a repair install so quickly.)

 

[Imrankhan]

Hi,
You may try to load the display driver, before install and then proceed, to install.
DriverExtractor - driver recovery software
Try using this app to put the installed display driver onto a USB.

 

[technicaltitch]

Another handy utility thanks. Do you know if this tool can extract from and install into a Windows install that cannot boot up? Or does it have to be run from within that booted Windows environment? That is exactly what I want to do, but the Windows install the driver is in (an image of the install previously), and the Windows install I want to install it into (the half-completed repair install), don't boot. Do you know if it can still help on a broken Windows file system?

 

[gregrocker]

Please read again the steps for how drivers are handled in Win7 from http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/219487-clean-reinstall-factory-oem-windows-7-a.html#post1839164 as they are not like XP at all. These steps are printed in red so they can't be missed. Win7 will provide the drivers for almost all devices during install and via Windows Update. Any still missing after all Updates are installed are normally easily found on the PC's Support Downloads webpage.

 

[technicaltitch]

Thanks for the advice gregrocker, but note that this is precisely the problem. Windows 7 repair install has automatically installed a driver for the monitor which turns the monitor off, preventing me from entering the Windows license key, which prevents me booting into Windows and accessing any driver functionality. The screen turned off half way through the repair install process. What I want to do is put the HDD into a SATA caddy, force-feed the half finished repair install with some drivers by accessing the file system manually, then resume the repair install at the point I enter a license key. I did get the repair install to download updates, although it only seemed to download a megabyte or so.

 

[gregrocker]

What makes you think that Windows Update provided such a driver that would do that? I've never heard of such a thing and doubt it its the case unless you have found known cases of such behavior.

Plug in an external monitor to the VGA port on most laptops to see if the problem persists.

A Repair Install should not ask for a license key until afterwards when its time to activate.

 

[technicaltitch]

I have two theories. I'm not saying it was Windows Update, but the driver is something bundled with Windows, as at no point have I had any opportunity to intervene in the process. I initially thought it was corruption on the disk, but I've replaced the three driver files for the default monitor. My alternative theory (just from thinking about your question thanks) is that the repair install corrupted its registry when it was merging in the registry from my previous Windows install - it seems Win7 repair installs Windows then copies in everything from the old Windows (as opposed to XP where it seemed to just copy new Windows OS files over old Windows OS files).

I've tried HDMI - do you think VGA is more likely to work? I went to buy a VGA cable and the shop said VGA was no more likely to work than HDMI.

The repair install I believe has completed and just needs activating.

I have found nothing online from anyone with a similar problem for any monitor, let alone my specific one.

 

[Kari]

Have you tried to boot to Safe Mode? Does it work?

 

[technicaltitch]

Thanks for the suggestion. I get no boot up menu on the half-completed repair install booting on C. I do get the boot menu when I boot from a repair CD or DVD, but that doesn't let me fix the half-finished install on C.

 

[gregrocker]

Access Safe Modes by tapping F8 to try to boot into Advanced Boot options at reboot. Try this several times as it requires a certain rhythm.

HDMI is fine. The point is to try an external monitor. Did you ?

If the Repair Install will not roll back then you'll need to abandon it, do a http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/219487-clean-reinstall-factory-oem-windows-7-a.html#post1839164.

Read the Special Note for Dell Owners at the end as the only partition worth keeping is the Utility partition IF the diagnostics will still boot. Delete all others to create a new one in the space for the install.

 

[technicaltitch]

Yes sorry I did try HDMI. I've tried F2, F5, F8 and F12 repeatedly and get no boot options. Suspect you're right there's no way to fix this. Seems pretty poor that a 'repair' install has destroyed my Windows install due to some tiny driver error. Repair installs just don't seem to be particularly supported these days - no install media with computers, you can burn an OEM bloated image but not installer, never had one crash like this before, etc. I bought a new laptop so I could work while this calamity was going on and am installing as much as possible portable - sick of building OSs and would use VBoxes more if they didn't also cause issues.

Where on the filesystem is the registry stored? As one last attempt I might just copy the old registry over it.

 

[gregrocker]

I provided you with the pristine install media. Why not invest the same amount of time in doing a perfect http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/219487-clean-reinstall-factory-oem-windows-7-a.html#post1839164 which can be preserved in perpetuity with an image, instead of trying to salvage the worst possible install of Win7 one can have which now won't even boot. Have you even experienced perfect native Win7, and wouldn't you want to?

You obviously had compound corruption to have it fail like that. Now do the perfect reinstall like should have been done to begin with.

You can try copying in the registry backup using the same procedure as for http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/139576-startup-repair-infinite-loop-recovery.html

 

[technicaltitch]

I'm extremely grateful to you for trying to help me repair my bloatware
install, I am very sorry for any offense caused. The last thing I'd wish
to do is offend someone who has so patiently and generously helped as
you have.

I want to rescue the bloatware install because it runs many virtual
servers that will not run on my new PC due to VBox hardware
sensitivities. These servers that took months of my life to create and
cost a small fortune in bandwidth (downloading Android and Cyanogen
source) which I thought I had safely backed up (as I have multiple
copies in multiple locations of the disk images).

I'm moaning about Dell providing only an image, rather than proper Windows media. In
the past I'd get a Windows disk and a drivers disk, these days you get a
piece of software that will 'allow' you to burn one copy of the
bloatware image it comes with, which is a massive inconvenience given
the OS needs a reinstall every few years.

I hope that clarifies any ambiguity in my posts and motives, apologies.

 

[gregrocker]

Dell is the only brand I know which will provide a clean copy branded OS Reinstallation disk. A driver's disk is dated the minute it's pressed, so the better alternative for fresher drivers is to run all rounds of Window Updates and then any which are missing can be imported from the Dell Support Downloads webpage for your tag number.

You can try copying in the registry backup using the same procedure as for Startup Repair Infinite Loop Recovery.

But in the same amount of time you can have a perfect http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/219487-clean-reinstall-factory-oem-windows-7-a.html#post1839164 which offers the best possible install preserved in perpetuity by an image, instead of a lemon which now won't boot.

 

[technicaltitch]

The infinite loop repair tutorial is exactly what I was hoping for. Huge thanks, that is fantastic! Hope I wasn't explaining myself unnecessarily, I am hugely grateful for your generous assistance.