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Please help with Windows 7 not booting

H

HORNO

Weaksauce
Joined
Mar 25, 2010
Messages
95
Hello! So, here is my problem.... Windows 7 x64

On March 14, windows update discovered I needed some updates. It auto downloaded the updates (which I didn't realize) Then later on, I shut down... came into the room about 2 hours later and Windows was still shutting down (actually it was on the blue screen that says, shutting down) Not knowing that the computer updating, I shut the computer off by hitting the power button because I thought it was weird it didn't shut down 2 hours earlier.

The next day I tried to boot up... and now the computer will not boot to the desktop, even in Safe Mode. I have tried to do a system restore to dates before March 13... even Feb. 28th... but system restore is not working (I'm guessing that's because it may have been turned off at some point by my friend who helped setup the computer.)

So, I also have tried the System Recovery Options options page which asks me for my administrator account password... which (idiotically) I don't have. I am very good about writing down passwords, but I for the life of me can't find this one. Another friend suggested that maybe there was never a password that I inputted so I should try leaving it blank next time I try (which will be later when i get home from work.)

This is the System Recovery page that I am talking about. Step 4 is the one I'm having trouble getting past because of the password.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/668-system-recovery-options.html

When Startup Repair ran, it found that a file named ntoskrnl.exe was corrupt. That was the only error that showed up and Startup Repair could not fix the problem.

So, without having to completely reinstall Windows 7, which for me is an unholy nightmare that I'm trying to avoid like the plague, do you have any suggestions for me to get this up and running? Is there any way to flash the boot up process from the Windows 7 CD? I did try to run the Windows 7 CD but the only option I got was to re-install Windows 7. Ugh.

I've tried all the Safe Mode "modes" and they do not boot to the Safe Mode desktop. They just boot into the system restore mode.

Any thoughts, advice, Zanax, you could provide me would be greatly appreciated.

Also... I am sort of an intermediate with computers so the more details you can provide for me the better. Basically... please talk me through the steps.

Thanks in advance for any help!!!
 
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Start the recovery console and run sfc /scannow. You might need a few additional switches to specify which offline Windows image to scan.
 
Okay, so this is a rig that you built. In that case, System Recovery isn't going to work. System Recovery is for pre-built machines that have a recovery partition such as those from Dell, HP, etc. Besides, even if it did work, it would be just like doing a fresh install anyway.

Did you try running sfc /scannow from the Recovery Environment like Snowknight26 suggested?
 
Nope... still at work... but later tonight, I'm tackling this little project nightmare. I will be trying Snownight26 suggestion as well as a dozen others I've found. Hope at least one of them works.

Lord Nassirbannipal said:
Okay, so this is a rig that you built. In that case, System Recovery isn't going to work. System Recovery is for pre-built machines that have a recovery partition such as those from Dell, HP, etc. Besides, even if it did work, it would be just like doing a fresh install anyway.

Did you try running sfc /scannow from the Recovery Environment like Snowknight26 suggested?
Click to expand...
 
Snowknight26 said:
Sure it will. Windows 7 assigns a 200MB partition to be the recovery console upon installation.
Click to expand...

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought that 200MB partition was just for the Recovery Environment itself. If you want to actually restore Windows from it, then you need an actual recovery partition with an image of Windows like the one that comes with OEM PC's.
 
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Well guys... have a little update... after 5 hours of trying various entries into the command prompt... I found this one that worked!:

dism.exe /image:<drive letter>:\ /cleanup-image /revertpendingactions

sfc /scannow /offbootdir=<drive letter>:\ /offwindir=<drive letter>:\Windows


Snownight... thanks for suggesting the sfc /scannow option. It definitely pointed me in the right direction.

BUT... my problems aren't totally clear yet:

Once the computer loaded back up to the desktop... I checked windows update and 5 of the updates failed. So, I started to update them one by one, which they did successfully... except one. The last update on the list, which is a Windows 7 x64 critical update KB2639308... still isn't updating properly and... it causes the infinite startup loop if I try to update. I read on microsfoft answers that several others were having the same exact problem as me... the first time they downloaded the update, it froze their computers, they turned off their computers and got stuck in the infinite startup loop.

So, I guess I won't be applying this update ever, unless it's included in a service pack release or something.

Also, when it goes into the infinite loop, and I run Startup Repair, the diagnostic passes all tests except it does say this:

Startup repair Diagnosis and repair details:

Boot critical file h:\windows\system32\ntoskrl.exe is corrupt.

Repair action: File repair
Result: Failed. Error code = 0xa
Time taken &#8211; 1763ms


I'm not sure if that file is actually corrupt or if this windows update is what is causing the corruption. I have no idea.

Here is the update I'm having issues with:

KB2639308

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2639308

Anyways, thank you both for your help and if you have any other suggestions I may be able to try to get that update working... that would be great.

Thanks!!!!
 
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Well... after hours and hours of trying to figure this one out, i finally gave in and reinstalled Windows. I got stuck in a startup infinite loop and I tried many things to get it back to the desktop. Nothing worked and I finally said screw it.

So, now have a fresh clean install and have to spend the next few months reinstalling and setting preferences for multiple programs. Oh well! Thanks for the help though!
 
HORNO said:
So, now have a fresh clean install and have to spend the next few months reinstalling and setting preferences for multiple programs.
Click to expand...

Feel your pain man, but you can prevent this full reinstall nightmare in the future. When your done fixing it up, check out Acronis or Clonezilla or Easus or even the Windows image tool. Make and test a backup image of your freshly fixed install, so that you never have to do this again.
 
Thanks for the sympathy and backup advice. I've never used those... but now I'm definitely considering in the future. I actually had most of my important stuff on other drives... its just the nightmare of reinstalling programs and preferences... and updating, etc. That is the big hassle for me.
 
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