# Your computer was unable to start



## sannesley (Aug 3, 2008)

Startup Repair is checking your system for problems... 

First off I'm running Widws 7 Home Premium as an upgrade from Windows Vista Home Premium. 

I was using our main PC at home this evening when for no reason whatsoever it just shut down and went to restart itself. 

When it tried to reboot Startup Repair started up instead. 

It goes through a cycle of checking the system for problems and then reports that "Startup Repair cannot repair this computer automatically". The problem details reported are as follows:

Problem Event Name: StartRepairOffline
Problem Signature 01: 6.1.7600.16385
Problem signature 02: 6.1.7600.16385
Problem Signature 03: Unknown
Problem Signature 04: 21200765
Problem Signature 05: AutoFailover
Problem Signature 06: 7
Problem Signature 07: CorruptFile
OS version: 6.1.7600.2.0.0.256.1
Locale ID: 1033

I reset the PC back to an earlier restore point and restarted the PC when prompted. This had no effect at all. The Startup Repair started up and started checking the system for problems again. 

Running the CHKDSK command from the command promptstated that Windows found problems with teh file system. I ran CHKDSK with the /F prefix and it did detect a problem with the Master file table which it reported to have fixed. 

I also ran a memory diagnostic to determine if the problem lay with faulty memory. It reported that the results of the test would be reported when the computer restarted. Snce the PC goes straight into startup repair I can't determine the outcome of the test.

Any help appreciated.


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## marco23p (Oct 10, 2010)

While when the pc rebooted its self it might have been a BSOD on automatic restart

You see start up repair comes up because there is a problem with the boot process, windows cant boot properly. It may be an HDD isssue, what is your HDD manufacture? (i.e, western digital, segate) and go to there website and find a diagnostic.

Let me know how it goes, and best of luck

-Marco.P


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## i MaRk i (Dec 29, 2009)

Hi-

As stated, a HDD diagnostic would be a good place to start. After you find out what manufacturer the Hard Drive is, you can find the appropriate tools and their links here:

HD Diagnostic

Regards,

Mark


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## sannesley (Aug 3, 2008)

Is there any way I can use DOS to determine the HDD manufacturer? The only other way I know of is to open up the PC and take a look inside at the drive. How will I know which is the C: drive? This is the drive that Windows is installed on.


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## i MaRk i (Dec 29, 2009)

> *1.* Determine the make and model of your hard drive(s)
> {...}- From outside of Windows: Unplug the system from the wall, remove the battery (if it's a laptop) and crack the case open. Look inside to locate the hard drive and write down the make and model number (although the model number isn't required for the test, it will help you to identify what sort of drive to replace if the test says that the drive is bad).
> ​*If you're* unable to see the hard drive info, follow the steps below for the Hitachi DFT. At the screen where it asks you if the list is correct, the model number of your drive will be there. Use Google to search for the model and that will let you know the manufacturer.
> {...}
> ...


From: HD Diagnostic

Hi-

In the above quote, it mentions two methods of viewing HDD information.

Also, you want to run the test on all connected drives, as one faulty drive can cause problems system wide.

Regards,

Mark


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## sannesley (Aug 3, 2008)

I'll give it a go tonight and let you know how I get on :grin:


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## sannesley (Aug 3, 2008)

Ok so I finally got a chance to follow the instructions that you good folks offered to help get this issue sorted out. 

I identified the drives as Western Digital by rooting inside the computer. I downloaded the Data Lifeguard Diagnostics DLGDIAG 5.04f from their website and burnt the ISO version to a CD. I then booted from the CD and run the diagnostic software on both drives in the PC. 

I ran both a quick test and an extended test on each of the 2 drives. All test completed and reported no errors. Can I assume that these tests mean that no physical problems exist on any part of the drives and so the problem must lie with some software issue?


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## sannesley (Aug 3, 2008)

So I found a Linux Live CD ISO called Parted Magic and booted from it and copied all my important data off both the internal HDD to external HDD so at least if I do start mucking around I shouldn't loose any vital software or data. 

Can any of you guys give me any advice or guidance as to what my next step should be?


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## TheGift73 (Oct 17, 2006)

Hi sannesley,

Do you have your Windows 7 disk with you? If you do, have you tried using that to do a Startup Repair or a System Restore, and try restoring your computer back to before the issue first started, which should be the day before you posted first on 05-12-2011


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## sannesley (Aug 3, 2008)

TheGift73 said:


> Hi sannesley,
> 
> Do you have your Windows 7 disk with you? If you do, have you tried using that to do a Startup Repair or a System Restore, and try restoring your computer back to before the issue first started, which should be the day before you posted first on 05-12-2011


To be honest I had thought of that as a possible next step, but with everything up to now not appearing to have sloved the problem I honestly think that a full re-intsall of either Windows 7 or Vista will be the only thing that will solve the problem. 

When I bought the PC it came installed with Windows Vista Home Premium. Because Windows & was due for release around 6 months after I bought the PC I was able to pre-order a version to allow me to upgrade from Vista.

Am I right in thinking that because my Windows 7 DVD is only an upgrade version that it would be of no use for using when I perform a clean new install onto my PC? I will probably have to re-install Vista and then upgrade to 7.. Double the work :sigh:


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## jcgriff2 (Sep 30, 2007)

Yes... Vista must be installed 1st; then Windows 7 upgrade.


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## sannesley (Aug 3, 2008)

I have 2 internal HDD. As it sits at the moment the faulty version of Windows is stored on the C: drive and the D: drive is for storage of stuff like music and photos. Does it make sense to install a clean version of Windows Vista or 7 on the D: drive providing there is enough space. I could then set the BIOS so that it boots from the Windows on the D: drive and if all works well I can then take my time check ingand transferring stuff over such as IE favourites, Outlook .pst files etc from the non-working version to the working version of Windows. 

Then once I'm content that everything is running the way it should be I could format the C: drive.

Does any of that make sense? I have just one concern that when I go to install Windows? Will an install require the HDD to be formatted? If so that would mean I would loose any data I have on the drive already.


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## sannesley (Aug 3, 2008)

Well I finally got Windows 7 re-installed tonight. The process was painless enough. 

One nice thing about installing Vista (then upgraded to 7) was that it recognized that there was an eralier version of Windows on the machine so it renamed it "Windows.old" and then installed the new version of Windows without wiping the corrupt version. Handy option for recovering any files. It didn't really matter anyhow as I dump the entire contents of the HDD containing the no-working version of Windows to an external 1TB HDD that I'd bought expressly for the purpose. To do this I burned a Linux Live distro of Parted Magic and booted from it and copied all my files over.

And yes, I did create a Windows 7 repair disc straight off the bat this time so if I ever find myself in a similar situation (here's hoping never) that I should be able to use the disc to help restore the computer. I want to set up a proper strategy this time to help prevent the partial pain that this problem caused.

Now to get on with the slow process of installing updates and software


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## jcgriff2 (Sep 30, 2007)

Windows Updates should go quickly.

If Windows.old still present, when you're to get rid of it - How do I remove the Windows.old folder?

Regards. . .

jcgriff2

`


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## sannesley (Aug 3, 2008)

jcgriff2 said:


> Windows Updates should go quickly.
> 
> If Windows.old still present, when you're to get rid of it - How do I remove the Windows.old folder?
> 
> ...


Good to know. :smile:


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