Windows 7 startup repair stuck on searching for problems forever

[DJSDer80]

I have an HP Desktop with Windows 7 Pro, 1TB HD, 12GB RAM, on it that is about 8 years old. Yesterday as I was browsing the web the computer just froze on me and no mouse clicks worked. So I then manually shut down the computer and restarted. After the restart the Windows logo would come up and then after that the screen goes black and only the mouse cursor is visible. Typically at this point is where my desktop will load with taskbar, etc. So I let it sit for a few minutes to see if it would load up, but nothing. So I shut down the computer manually again and restarted again, hit F8 a few times, and tried to boot it in Safe Mode. After clicking on Safe Mode, the computer loads a bunch of files, but does not boot after that. Just gives me a message on the bottom "Please wait...". I waited for like 5 minutes and nothing. So I shut down the computer again and restarted, hit F8, and started the Startup Repair. The Startup repair dialog box poped up and the blue cursor is moving left to right. Right below that it shows "Searching for problems" and below that there is a message "Check disk for errors: This might take over an hour to complete...". So it has been running now for 30 hours and so far no resolve. How long do I need to run this or has the process hanged at this time. I've read all posts on the internet where folks let it run for 12 hours, 1 day, 2 days, and even 3 days before the computer finally did its thing and fix the issue. The message hasn't even changed to "Attempting Repair" but just "Searching for problems". Also I've read if I try to cancel it now or shut it down I might wipe sectors of the hard drive and lost data. Is this true or can I go ahead and see if it will cancel by clicking on the cancel button or if not then do a manual shut down. What should I do next?

 

[SIW2]

I would stop it. But it is quick and easy for me to reinstall.

Sounds like it might be a problem with the disk. Do you have another to hand?

Is there HP disk diagnostics you can run from bios?

Restoring a recent image to the current disk is one thing to try. Then if there are still problems, restore the image or clean install to a different disk.

You could first have a look at it with my boot media. You will be able to see what you are doing .
17514x64v24.iso


extract the iso to create bootable usb stick using this or similar View attachment Usb7ice.zip

 

[DJSDer80]

I would stop it. But it is quick and easy for me to reinstall.

Sounds like it could well be a problem with the disk. Do you have another to hand?

Should I just hit the Cancel button to stop or if that does not work do a manual press of the power button? Currently I don't have another hard drive on hand? Any other tests to run to see what might be the issue on hand instead of going for the drive right away?


I wanna try as many tests to see if it will work without having to do a fresh install if possible.

 

[SIW2]

Try cancel first.

You didn't bother telling us what model machine you have . A lot of HP have disk diagnostics that you can run from bios.

 

[DJSDer80]

Try cancel first.

You didn't bother telling us what model machine you have . A lot of HP have disk diagnostics that you can run from bios.

So this morning I checked the computer and the startup repair was still going, but now the message had changed from "Searching for problems" to " Attempting repair". So I guess something was happening there for a while. So now it's been 48 hours now since I started the Startup repair. Lets see if it will eventually fix it or not? I will keep you updated on what happens next.

 

[TechnoMage2016]

You have a lot more patience than I do. By now, I would have backed up all my data, and done a Clean RE-Install, maybe from a Ghost Image or a Clone copy of my main drive.



Please, let us know how that "Fix" turns out. Eh?


TM

 

[DJSDer80]

Try cancel first.

You didn't bother telling us what model machine you have . A lot of HP have disk diagnostics that you can run from bios.

You have a lot more patience than I do. By now, I would have backed up all my data, and done a Clean RE-Install, maybe from a Ghost Image or a Clone copy of my main drive.



Please, let us know how that "Fix" turns out. Eh?


TM

So after Startup repair went to "Attempting repairs" message for like 36 hours, yesterday it went back to "Searching for problems" and it has been at that stage still. So at this point is this some sort of loop that will never end? Should I move forward and try to cancel it at this point and move on to try something else to see if it will boot up?

 

[townsbg]

I repair isn't going to normally take 36 hours. I would do a repair install unless you have your drive imaged. It would also be a good idea to scan the hard drive for errors as stated.