Startup problems can be divided into three distinct categories: Problems that occur before the Starting Windows logo appears
These problems are typically caused by missing startup files (often as a
result of installing a different operating system over Windows 7),
corrupted files, or hardware problems. Problems that occur after the Starting Windows logo appears but before the logon prompt is displayed
These problems are typically caused by faulty or misconfigured drivers
and services. Hardware problems can also cause failure during this phase
of startup. Problems that occur after logon
These problems are typically caused by startup applications.
1. Startup Troubleshooting Before the Starting Windows Logo AppearsTroubleshooting
startup problems is more challenging than troubleshooting problems that
occur while Windows is running, because you cannot access the full
suite of troubleshooting tools included with Windows. However, Windows
does provide several tools that you can use to identify the cause and
resolve the problem if you cannot start the operating system. Most
important, you can start WinRE by booting from the Windows Vista DVD or
directly from the computer's hard disk. WinRE can start automatically if
Windows cannot start correctly. The WinRE tools include the Startup
Repair tool, which can automatically fix many common startup problems. Follow the process illustrated in Figure 1
to troubleshoot startup problems that occur before the Starting Windows
logo appears. After each troubleshooting step, you should attempt to
start the computer. If the computer starts successfully or if startup
progresses far enough to display the Starting Windows logo, you can stop
troubleshooting. The following sections describe each of these troubleshooting steps in more detail. NoteAfter
you enable Windows BitLocker, a lost encryption key can result in an
unbootable computer.
How to Run Startup RepairTo run Startup Repair, open the System Recovery tools and then start Startup Repair, as described in the following sections. HOW TO START THE SYSTEM RECOVERY TOOLSWindows
7 automatically installs the System Recovery tools, which are capable
of fixing almost any startup problem related to boot sectors, MBRs, or
the BCD registry file. The Startup Repair tool can fix most startup
problems automatically, without requiring you to understand the details
of how an operating system loads. The tool is so straightforward that
you could easily talk end users through the troubleshooting process remotely. To start the System Recovery tools, follow these steps: Restart the computer. If the System Recovery tools do not automatically start, restart the computer again, press F8 before the Starting Windows logo appears, and then choose Repair Your Computer from the Advanced Boot Options screen. Select your language and keyboard input method and then click Next. Select your user name and type your password. Then, click OK.
NoteMost
Windows 7 computers have the System Recovery tools preinstalled by the
computer manufacturer. On these computers, you can start the System
Recovery tools faster by pressing F8 before the Starting
Windows logo appears and then choosing Repair Your Computer from the
Advanced Boot Options screen. These computers can also automatically
detect startup failure (by noticing that the last startup failed) and
start Startup Repair. If you cannot start the System
Recovery tools from the hard drive, insert the Windows DVD and configure
the computer to start from the DVD. Then, follow these steps: Insert the Windows DVD in your computer Restart
your computer. When prompted to boot from the DVD, press any key. If
you are not prompted to boot from the DVD, you may have to configure
your computer's startup sequence. Wait while Windows 7 setup loads. When prompted, select your regional preferences and keyboard layout and then click Next. Click Repair Your Computer to start RecEnv.exe. When the System Recovery tools start, System Recovery scans your hard disks for Windows installations. If
the standard Windows drivers do not detect a hard disk because it
requires drivers that were not included with Windows 7, click Load
Drivers to load the driver and then select an operating system to
repair. Click Next.
From this point, the steps are
the same whether you loaded the System Recovery tools from the hard
disk or the Windows DVD. If Windows failed to start during its last
attempt, the Startup Repair tool will be started automatically.
Otherwise, the Choose A Recovery Tool page appears, as shown in Figure 2. HOW TO RUN STARTUP REPAIRThe
simplest way to solve startup problems is to load the System Recovery
tools, as described in the previous section, and then click Startup
Repair and follow the prompts that appear. To run Startup Repair, follow
these steps: Click
Startup Repair and then follow the prompts that appear. The prompts may
vary depending on the problem that Startup Repair identifies. You might
be prompted to restore your computer using System Restore or to restart
your computer and continue troubleshooting. After
the Startup Repair tool has completed diagnosis and repair, click Click
Here For Diagnostic And Repair Details. At the bottom of the report,
Startup Repair lists a root cause, if found, and any steps taken to
repair the problem. Log files are stored at
%WinDir%\System32\LogFiles\SRT\SRTTrail.txt. Restart the computer and allow Windows to start normally.
Startup
Repair can automatically recover from most BCD problems. If you prefer
to manually analyze and repair problems, you can use the command-line
tool BootRec.exe by starting the System Recovery tools and then clicking
Command Prompt in the System Recovery Options dialog box. BootRec.exe supports the following command-line parameters: /FIXMBR The /FIXMBR switch writes an MBR to the system partition. /FIXBOOT The /FIXBOOT switch writes a new boot sector onto the system partition. /SCANOS The /SCANOS switch scans all disks for Windows installations and displays entries currently not in the BCD store. /REBUILDBCD
The /REBUILDBCD switch scans all disks for Windows installations and
provides a choice of which entries to add to the BCD store.
How to Diagnose Hardware ProblemsIf Startup
Repair cannot solve the problem or if you cannot start Windows Setup,
you might have a hardware problem. Although most hardware-related problems
will not stop Windows Vista from successfully starting,
hardware-related problems may appear early in the startup process;
symptoms include warning messages, startup failures, and Stop messages.
The causes are typically improper device configuration, incorrect driver
settings, or hardware malfunction and failure. How to Use System RestoreWindows
automatically captures system state before installing new applications
or drivers. You can later use the System Restore tool to return to this
system if you experience problems. To start System Restore from
within Windows (including safe mode), click Start, click All Programs,
click Accessories, click System Tools, and then click System Restore. To start System Restore when you cannot open Windows, follow these steps: Start
System Recovery tools. Click System Restore.
The System Restore Wizard appears. Follow these steps to restore Windows to an earlier state: On the Restore System Files And Settings page of the System Restore Wizard, click Next. On
the Choose A Restore Point page, click a restore point. Typically, you
should choose the most recent restore point when the computer functioned
correctly. If the computer has not functioned correctly for more than
five days, select the Show More Restore Points check box (as shown in Figure 3) and then select a restore point. Click Next. On the Confirm Disks To Restore page, click Next. On the Confirm Your Restore Point page, click Finish. Click
Yes to confirm the system restore. System Restore modifies system files
and settings to return Windows to the state it was in at the time the
restore point was captured. When
System Restore is done, click Restart. You should now attempt to start
the computer and identify whether the problem was resolved. When the computer restarts, Windows will display a System Restore notification. Click Close.
How to Manually Repair the Boot SectorStartup Repair is by far the quickest and easiest way to solve most startup problems. However, if you are familiar with troubleshooting
startup problems and simply need to fix a boot sector problem after
installing another operating system, you can run the following command
from a command prompt (including the Command Prompt tool in the System
Recovery tools). bootsect /NT60 ALL Bootsect.exe is available from the \Boot\ folder of the Windows DVD and can be run from within WinRE or Windows 7. After running
Bootsect, you should be able to load Windows, but you may not be able
to load earlier versions of Windows that are installed on the same
computer. How to Manually Update the BCD Registry FileThe
simplest way to solve problems related to the BCD registry file is to
run Startup Repair. However, you
can also use the System Recovery tools to update the BCD registry file
manually by following these steps: Load the System Recovery tools, as described in the previous section. Click Command Prompt. Use BCDEdit to update the BCD registry file.
How to Manually Replace FilesIf
startup files are missing or become corrupted, Windows may not be able
to boot successfully. Often, Windows will display an error message that
shows the name of the missing file, as shown in Figure 4. Startup
Repair can automatically replace missing system files, but it may not
detect corrupted files. However, you can manually replace files using
the System Recovery command-line tool. To replace files, follow these steps: From
another computer, copy the new files to removable media such as a
CD-ROM or a USB flash drive. You cannot access Windows system files from
the Windows DVD because they are stored within a Windows Imaging (WIM)
file that is not accessible from within System Recovery. Start
System Recovery tools. After the System Recovery tools start, click Command Prompt. Your
removable media will have a drive letter, just like a hard disk. System
Recovery tools assign hard disk letters starting with C and then assign
letters to removable media. To identify the drive letter of your
removable media, run the following commands. C:\>diskpart
DISKPART> list volume
Volume ### Ltr Label Fs Type Size Status Info
---------- --- ----------- ----- ---------- ------- --------- --------
Volume 0 C Win7 NTFS Partition 63 GB Healthy
Volume 1 E Windows XP NTFS Partition 91 GB Healthy
Volume 2 D NTFS Partition 69 GB Healthy
Volume 3 I Removable 0 B No Media
Volume 4 H Removable 0 B No Media
Volume 5 F LR1CFRE_EN_ UDF Partition 2584 MB Healthy
Volume 6 G USBDRIVE FAT32 Partition 991 MB Healthy Use the Copy command to transfer files from your removable media to the computer's hard disk.
Infrequently,
startup files and critical areas on the hard disk can become corrupted.
If you are mainly concerned with salvaging readable data files and
using the Backup And Restore Center to copy them to backup media or a
network location, you can perform a parallel installation of Windows.
Although this may provide access to the file system, it will permanently
damage your existing operating system and applications. If you cannot start Windows after following the troubleshooting steps in this guide, you can reinstall Windows for the purpose of data recovery by following these steps: Insert the Windows DVD in your computer. Restart your computer. When prompted to boot from the CD/DVD, press any key. Windows Setup loads. When prompted, select your regional preferences and then click Next. Click Install Now. When prompted, enter your product key. Select the I Accept The License Terms check box and then click Next. Click Custom. On
the Where Do You Want to Install Windows? page, select the partition
containing your Windows installation and then click Next. When prompted, click OK.
Setup
will install a new instance of Windows and will move all files from
your previous installation into the \Windows.Old folder (including the
\Program Files, \Windows, and \Users folders). You now have two choices
for returning the computer to its original state: Reformat the system partition If you have an automated deployment solution in place , the quickest solution is to back up important files and redeploy Windows. If you need to manually reinstall Windows, you can follow this process: Back
up all important files by writing them to removable media, copying them
to an external hard disk, or copying them to a shared folder on the
network. Reinstall Windows. This time, choose to reformat the system partition. Reinstall all applications and reconfigure all custom settings. Restore important files.
Continue working with the current system partition
You can move important files to the proper locations within the new
instance of Windows. Then, reinstall all applications and reconfigure
any custom settings. Finally, you can delete the original Windows
instance by removing the \Windows.Old folder using Disk Cleanup.
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