Windows files broken after a series of unsolicited shutdowns

[cipley]

2)
The net user command just lists all user accounts and the second command terminates with system error 1376 and saying that this local group does not exist.[/QUOTE]


There's your problem then!
The question then becomes how to recreate that group without access to the registry.
VK - any ideas??

if regedit is not possible, is command REG ADD HKLM\....... possible?

just thoughts.

 

[Steve06]

i can confirm that regedit.exe works with new task... just what do i need to enter?

Did not find any events related to explorer.exe, however there's an event along the lines of "possible heap damage". can post more about this later as I will now be AFK for the next 3h.

 

[NoelDP]

This is well out of my experience and comfort-zone!
I'll see if anyone else has bright ideas.

 

[VistaKing]

Steve06

Launch the Task Manager once more . Click on File -> New Task (Run...) type in compmgmt.msc inside the Computer Management window Double-click on Local Users and Groups or just click on the black triangle . Then choose Groups on the Right hand side do you see Administrators ?

 

[gregrocker]

You can try booting into DVD or System Repair Disk Command Line to Enable Built-in Administrator from WinRE - Windows 7 Forums.

This should get you into the OS if it is salvageable to see if you can resurrect your accounts, and if not create new ones if it is the accounts that are unstable and not overall OS.

You might be better off wiping the HD against infection and proceeding with a Clean Reinstall. The OS may have been ruined by TuneUp Utilities which are a frequent problem seen here. Stick with the tools and methods in the blue link to get and keep a perfect install (even for retail).

 

[Steve06]

1. The heap-related issues reported in the event log are the following:
Source: WER-Diagnostics
Event ID: 2
"Possible heap corruption detected (exception code 3221225477). Initiating further diagnostics."
This event occurred a couple of times during the day.

2. Under compmgmt.msc there is in fact an administrators group among plenty of other groups.

UPDATE:
I have found why NET LocalGroup Administrators did not work and threw an error:
Due to a localization of my (German) Windows license, the administrators group is spelled differently, and when I type NET LocalGroup Administratoren it indeed works. So at least we have ruled this out.

 

[VistaKing]

You could have a corrupted profile . Can you create a new profile ?

 

[Steve06]

This was one of my earlier ideas. I can certainly do this from my secondary admin account. The question is then how to migrate my user data and settings. Should I try to start the migration wizard (don't remember the exact name) from the corrupted profile, or is there a checklist outlining how to do this manually?

 

[Steve06]

You can try booting into DVD or System Repair Disk Command Line to Enable Built-in Administrator from WinRE - Windows 7 Forums.

This should get you into the OS if it is salvageable to see if you can resurrect your accounts, and if not create new ones if it is the accounts that are unstable and not overall OS.

You might be better off wiping the HD against infection and proceeding with a Clean Reinstall. The OS may have been ruined by TuneUp Utilities which are a frequent problem seen here. Stick with the tools and methods in the blue link to get and keep a perfect install (even for retail).

Hi greg and thanks for joining the discussion. I might ultimately do a clean reinstall, probably taking the opportunity to transition to Windows 8 then (as it seems promising in terms of security and performance), if I see that things remain unstable or inaccessible. In the beginning I was reluctant to do this because of having to install and configure all apps all over again and also because I was not sure how to go about retrieving all personal data and settings effectively without losing something. I think that by now I am over the first concern, but am still not certain how to save all important data.

I'm not quite sure what to make of your tip related to enabling the administrator account, that is what the ultimate goal would be, or what I could do then which I cannot now?

 

[VistaKing]

Steve06

As for settings are you referring to Themes ? and Wallpaper? I wouldn't move a corrupted profile's settings to a brand new created profile .

Take a look here

C:\Users\{corrupted UserAccount}\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Themes

See if the wallpaper or themes is mentioned there .

 

[gregrocker]

There is a step in the Clean Reinstall tutorial showing how to rescue data from Win7 which will not start or is too unstable.

I would not reimport any settings as this is a corruption path.

Can you navigate the current install and access your files from built-in Admin account? You might try running the Repair Install.

 

[cipley]

Assuming that your personal data is stored within My Documents, you may need to log in to built-in Administrator to salvage the data, as greg suggested.
I believe you may need to use Safe Mode to do so.
If not, you have to use other means like booting from a Live CD, for example...there should be another tutorial in this forum for that purpose.

 

[Steve06]

I think I will proceed with the repair install as it seems to me that there is no downside to it?

 

[gregrocker]

It's up to you. I would do the reinstall to assure you have a perfect Win7 install which results from sticking with the tools and methods given in Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7.

The Repair Install can pass back through some corrupt settings and not fully reverse the ruin resulting from using tools like Tune Up Utilities.
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/219487-clean-reinstall-factory-oem-windows-7-a.html#post1839164

 

[Steve06]

I see your point, but since a repair install does not take much time I might try this first and then, if things do still not run smoothly again, consider a fresh start.

 

[gregrocker]

Let us know how it goes.

 

[Steve06]

The repair install took quite long with about a dozen of restarts (or so it felt) but it finally finished.
The interesting thing is that this has NOT resolved the issue with the main user account showing only a black screen (that is, not being able to run explorer.exe).

In my opinion, I have two options:
a) create a new user profile and move all my data (not the settings) from the old damaged account
b) make a clean fresh install of Windows 7 or 8

I'll now sleep over it and resume Wednesday afternoon.

 

[VistaKing]

Take your time .

 

[cottonball]

Steve06,

Give this a whirl...

After you log in and get to the blank screen, press the Ctrl Alt Delete keys, simultaneously. Ctrl Shift Esc
may work also.

Task Manager should open.

Go to the Processes tab, and look for: Explorer.exe

If it is there, right-click it, and select: End Process

Once done, whether it was there or not, go to the Applications tab, and click: New Task...

Type in: Explorer.exe

Hopefully, this will force the GUI to load...

 

[Steve06]

We tried such a thing a couple of pages ago. The problem is that explorer.exe is not loaded by default and when you launch it it appears for a second in the process list but immediately vanishes. The question is why it is shutting down.