Windows 7 Will Not Boot

[at1105]

Hello All! I am currently working on a Dell XPS laptop that was brought in because it won't boot after a virus removal attempt was done with AVG. Its running Windows 7. I attempted to boot it and it gets as far as loading that blue Windows 7 background but that's it. I can see the mouse pointer but no icons or task bar - just that stock Win 7 background. I even tried Ctrl-Alt-Del to see if Task Manager would load so I could see the processes but nothing happens. Sometimes it wont even get that far - it just sits at the pulsating Windows logo.

I attempted a Startup Repair after having to power it off but that didn't work. So I went for "Repair Your Computer" in the F8 Advanced Boot Options - still nothing. I also went for broke and tried the Last Known Good Configuration - nothing. So as a last ditch effort I loaded a Windows 7 disc to access the "Repair Your Computer" but when I click "Repair Your Computer" it just sits there. It looks just like when I try to boot it normally - all I see is the stock Win 7 background and the mouse pointer and it doesn't do anything. It never gives me the repair options. I'm at a loss here. Any ideas?

 

[BrentfromZulu]

First, I would add some paragraphs. It's kind of hard to read.

Safe Mode work?

 

[BrentfromZulu]

Also did you check memory / reseat memory?

 

[at1105]

It is hard to read. Sorry bout that. I reseated the ram with no change. I tried Safe Mode and Safe Mode with Networking and it starts loading files but hangs up and never goes any further. No blue screens or restarts just sits there with the list of loaded files and never gets any further. The last file it shows loaded at the bottom of the list is "avgidsha.sys".

 

[NYJimbo]

I would check the hard drive. I'm not going to tell you to backup anything, that's up to you.

But we see many dying hard drives get stuck like you are talking about. Most come in with viruses regardless of
the fact the HD is also on its way out.

 

[BrentfromZulu]

I would go with this::

http://forums.avg.com/ww-en/avg-forums?sec=thread&act=show&id=94159

 

[mr m]

But we see many dying hard drives get stuck like you are talking about. Most come in with viruses regardless of
the fact the HD is also on its way out.

Agree, I just told the client his HDD was toast after fighting this on and off for 2 days. The system was stuck in a "startup repair" loop.

SMART showed 0 errors and the drive would pass diags. CHKDSK would hang.

 

[drjones]

I would check the hard drive. I'm not going to tell you to backup anything, that's up to you.

But we see many dying hard drives get stuck like you are talking about. Most come in with viruses regardless of
the fact the HD is also on its way out.

Agreed.

 

[at1105]

Used the AVG Rescue CD to rename the files but it still hangs when I boot normal or into safe mode. I did notice that the AVG Rescue CD said there was issues with the HDD just before mounting the partitions. I'm going to run some HDD checks and see what pops up. It's got (2) 500GB Seagate drives. One has the OS and Recovery Partition and the other is being used for automated backups.

 

[drjones]

Used the AVG Rescue CD to rename the files but it still hangs when I boot normal or into safe mode. I did notice that the AVG Rescue CD said there was issues with the HDD just before mounting the partitions. I'm going to run some HDD checks and see what pops up. It's got (2) 500GB Seagate drives. One has the OS and Recovery Partition and the other is being used for automated backups.

I always tell people that computers don't have much of a sense of humor....so when one tells you something like "my hard drive is dying" they usually mean it.

I'll bet you've got a faulty drive.

 

[SynapseTech]

I would listen to the drive. If during the boot up process you hear repeated patterns then its defiantly bad. Another way to check it is to pop it into your PC and try copying a bunch of data from it. If there are no copying issues then the drive is most likely fine.

You can always try system restore from the windows repair menu. If this crashes then AVG also removed potentially infected files from the restore points and your basically hosed. You can also do this by hand and its much more reliable.

 

[drjones]

I would listen to the drive. If during the boot up process you hear repeated patterns then its defiantly bad. Another way to check it is to pop it into your PC and try copying a bunch of data from it. If there are no copying issues then the drive is most likely fine.

You can always try system restore from the windows repair menu. If this crashes then AVG also removed potentially infected files from the restore points and your basically hosed. You can also do this by hand and its much more reliable.

That's pretty reliable. You can/should also use the UBCD and either boot to the manufacturer-specific HD Diagnostics, or boot into PartedMagic which has a great HD Health Utility (Gsmart, I think?) and can also test the disk and is very good at recovering data from faulty/flaky/dying drives.

 

[at1105]

I've ran just about every HDD diagnostic tool on both Hiren's BCD and UBCD and it passed them all. I'm gonna try the original recovery discs and if that doesn't work I'm just gonna do a clean install. Thanks for all the suggestions!

 

[at1105]

UPDATE: I attempted a reinstall using the original DELL recovery discs which would end up hanging just like before. I decided to reformat the primary HDD and then tried a clean install but it would still hang. I took the primary drive out and put the secondary drive in it's place. I formatted it and tried the clean install....worked like a charm. Although the primary drive had passed all the tests, you guys were right - it was on its out or at least had some badly damaged sectors. Thanks again for the input guys, you all hit the nail right on the head.

 

[mr m]

Thanks for following up with the fix.

 

[ohio_grad_06]

Why I like Gsmart control, it will even tell you if a drive has pre-failure symptoms. That way if you want to be safe, replace it and be happy. No need to do extra work.

 

[drjones]

Glad you found the issue & thanks for replying with the fix / solution.