Hi everyone my computer restarted while updating some media player software and now my computer won't load past startup repair and says windows is unable to repair automatically i have tried system restore with no luck is there anything I can do to fix it or is there a way to recover what is on the hardrive. Thanks macneil
Computer not loading past startup repair
- Thread starter macneil
- Start date
shaneturner12
Tutorial Creator
Sounds like you need to reinstall Windows + all programs.
You may be able to recover what's on the hard drive by removing it from the system and placing it in a hard drive caddy (the external USB variety) - make sure it's the right size for the disc though, and plugging it into another system so you can copy over anything you want to keep, and run a disk check on it as well.
Once that is done, you will then need to reinstall Windows on the affected disk.
Shane
You may be able to recover what's on the hard drive by removing it from the system and placing it in a hard drive caddy (the external USB variety) - make sure it's the right size for the disc though, and plugging it into another system so you can copy over anything you want to keep, and run a disk check on it as well.
Once that is done, you will then need to reinstall Windows on the affected disk.
Shane
I might try the option of trying to get what is on the hd the laptop doesn't realy matter to me since I'm getting a new desktop to replace it nextweek but all my Reskins and routes along with everything els trainz related is on there so that's all I need really will a computer store be able to tell if the hd is still good. Thanks.
shaneturner12
Tutorial Creator
Good luck with that - it can be a tiresome process recovering data.
Shaen
Shaen
Gandalf0444
FVRR member
I does not sound like a hard drive issue(although shouldn't rule it out) Maybe just a windows 7 problem.
The hard drive is most likely perfectly fine, as it allows you to get that far.
Easiest thing to do is take the hard drive out, and get a SATA to USB 2.0 adapter and transfer all the needed files off...I.E. pictures, documents, trainz data etc.
Then run chkdsk on it using the computer you hooked it up to and see if anything is found wrong, if so it will be corrected, then you may be able to boot to windows 7 perfectly fine. However sometimes if chkdsk finds a lot of errors or severe errors everything will be lost, making you reinstall Windows.(reason why I said back up the data prior to running chkdsk)
Then simply transfer everything back to it's respective location.
If it turns out to be the hard drive, you will notice that you will get a lot of read/write errors. To circumvent this for a little while(so long as the drive holds out) you can simply copy the files in smaller batches. IE. If you try to copy 300 files you may get a read/write error. So copy 150 instead, if you still get it then go less, say 75, or 100 files.
Sometimes an entire folder can't be copied over. So simply go into the folder and copy the individual folder(s) or file(s) to a "replica" on the new computer. You will come across some files that simply cannot be copied...those are a lost cause unfortunately.
However the worst case scenario is that the computer BIOS as well as Windows will not recognize the drive at all from the get go or after sometime of trying to get the files off of it, it may die. Or if it does not power up at all. That can also be "fixed" with getting an exact replica of the drive and swapping out the PCB board...Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.
Then the absolute final way to get the data is to send it out to data recovery specialists...They operate in class 1 clean rooms and open up the hard drive and replace parts until they find the culprit. But then can costs thousands of dollars to do simply because of the building and equipment needed to sustain a clean room. But even that has a chance of not working.
The hard drive is most likely perfectly fine, as it allows you to get that far.
Easiest thing to do is take the hard drive out, and get a SATA to USB 2.0 adapter and transfer all the needed files off...I.E. pictures, documents, trainz data etc.
Then run chkdsk on it using the computer you hooked it up to and see if anything is found wrong, if so it will be corrected, then you may be able to boot to windows 7 perfectly fine. However sometimes if chkdsk finds a lot of errors or severe errors everything will be lost, making you reinstall Windows.(reason why I said back up the data prior to running chkdsk)
Then simply transfer everything back to it's respective location.
If it turns out to be the hard drive, you will notice that you will get a lot of read/write errors. To circumvent this for a little while(so long as the drive holds out) you can simply copy the files in smaller batches. IE. If you try to copy 300 files you may get a read/write error. So copy 150 instead, if you still get it then go less, say 75, or 100 files.
Sometimes an entire folder can't be copied over. So simply go into the folder and copy the individual folder(s) or file(s) to a "replica" on the new computer. You will come across some files that simply cannot be copied...those are a lost cause unfortunately.
However the worst case scenario is that the computer BIOS as well as Windows will not recognize the drive at all from the get go or after sometime of trying to get the files off of it, it may die. Or if it does not power up at all. That can also be "fixed" with getting an exact replica of the drive and swapping out the PCB board...Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.
Then the absolute final way to get the data is to send it out to data recovery specialists...They operate in class 1 clean rooms and open up the hard drive and replace parts until they find the culprit. But then can costs thousands of dollars to do simply because of the building and equipment needed to sustain a clean room. But even that has a chance of not working.
If you need to reinstall Windows 7 or even Vista, give this method a try:
http://windowssecrets.com/top-story/win7s-no-reformat-nondestructive-reinstall/
This will save you a ton of time.
John
http://windowssecrets.com/top-story/win7s-no-reformat-nondestructive-reinstall/
This will save you a ton of time.
John
shaneturner12
Tutorial Creator
A warning for users using JCitron's advice: if you have Windows 7 Service Pack 1 installed, this has to be removed before the 'reinstall' can take place.
Shane
Shane
Live Linux CD's are very good for:
1. Finding out if your PC has died or its just an OS problem.
2. Copying data of your Windows disk to USB stick memory card or burning to DVD
Surprised no one has suggested this?
http://www.proposedsolution.com/solutions/windows-7-or-vista-recovery-console/
1. Finding out if your PC has died or its just an OS problem.
2. Copying data of your Windows disk to USB stick memory card or burning to DVD
Surprised no one has suggested this?
http://www.proposedsolution.com/solutions/windows-7-or-vista-recovery-console/
nugget2225
Active member
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