# Computer Freezes on Startup, won't boot from Windows CD or Hard Drive.



## snagillim (Oct 11, 2011)

I'm using windows 7, haven't had many problems until now. I just moved into a new apartment and i worry it's some power related damage... i don't know. 

I had the computer running when i moved in. Then i went to buy groceries, came back, accidentally kicked the power strip on/off switch beneath the desk with my foot and windows hasn't started since.

When i start the computer i have full access to my bios.

if i boot from my HD i am shown a windows error recovery screen asking me to start windows startup repair or start windows normally. Selecting startup repair gets me a loading bar then a black screen.. maybe after 10 min i will get a blue screen like the background of the ui when installing windows.

If i start windows normally i get the windows logo then a very fast BSOD flash then the computer restarts.

Booting from my windows 7 install disk lets me choose between install and repair... language selection.. then it freezes and i get the same windows style back slash ad infinitum. 

Thanks guys, i really hope i don't have any permanent damage. Anxiously awaiting your replies.


----------



## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

What Brand and Model PC?

Since you can get into the bios look for a PC(hardware) Health page and check the temps and voltage listings(12v, 5v, 3.3v).

If it a stock OEM PC reset to factory defaults save and exit the bios.


----------



## snagillim (Oct 11, 2011)

Wrench97 said:


> What Brand and Model PC?
> 
> Since you can get into the bios look for a PC(hardware) Health page and check the temps and voltage listings(12v, 5v, 3.3v).
> 
> If it a stock OEM PC reset to factory defaults save and exit the bios.


I built the pc its 3 years old

Cpu temp : 42c
Cpu v core : 1.168
3.3v. : 3.264v
5v : 5.045v
12v : 12.056v 
Icore : 21A
I12v : 1.9A

Efficiency 85.553%

I loaded failsafe defaults... doesn't seem to have fixed the problem


----------



## Rich-M (May 2, 2007)

If its your build you should have a Windows dvd. Sounds like your hard shut down shocked the hard drive and you need to run chkdsk /r to fix it. You can boot to Windows disk, choose "Repair Your Computer" then choose .cmd and make sure you are pointing to "c" drive, type in chkdsk /r hit "enter" on keyboard and then notice you have to restart to run you type in "y" and hit enter on keyboard then restart.


----------



## snagillim (Oct 11, 2011)

Rich-M said:


> If its your build you should have a Windows dvd. Sounds like your hard shut down shocked the hard drive and you need to run chkdsk /r to fix it. You can boot to Windows disk, choose "Repair Your Computer" then choose .cmd and make sure you are pointing to "c" drive, type in chkdsk /r hit "enter" on keyboard and then notice you have to restart to run you type in "y" and hit enter on keyboard then restart.


Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately after selecting repair my computer I just get that windows backsplash and my cursor... nothing loads


----------



## Rich-M (May 2, 2007)

Using a Windows Vista dvd?


----------



## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Is it actually booting from the DVD?


----------



## snagillim (Oct 11, 2011)

Rich-M said:


> Using a Windows Vista dvd?


Windows 7


----------



## snagillim (Oct 11, 2011)

Wrench97 said:


> Is it actually booting from the DVD?


I set it to boot from the dvd, yes. But it freezes after I select between install windows or repair


----------



## Rich-M (May 2, 2007)

Can you tap F12 after pressing the power button and then choose boot device as cd-dvd-rom, and then enter Repair from their? If not then the dvd-rom or the 
motherboard is the issue


----------



## snagillim (Oct 11, 2011)

Rich-M said:


> Can you tap F12 after pressing the power button and then choose boot device as cd-dvd-rom, and then enter Repair from their? If not then the dvd-rom or the
> motherboard is the issue


Well I boot from rom by changing boot sequence in my mobo bios. The problem is after I get past the beginning of the windows 7 loading files > select language > install windows/repair windows... after I choose between those I'm stuck and it won't take me any further.

Also, I wait a strangely long time on the "starting windows" screen after it loads the windows files.


----------



## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Do you ever get to point of being able to select "Advanced Drive Options" in the setup?


----------



## snagillim (Oct 11, 2011)

could a problem with my cd/dvd rom stop my hd from booting? maybe im having two problems at once.. hard drive and cd drive? arg.

No, the furthest i get when booting from the windows disk is "Setup is starting..." frozen on that screen with a loading circle for a cursor. also, in order to get to that screen i had to blindly hit tab then enter.. because there were no options on the screen. Pretty much after i choose between install windows and repair... it's all fubar. Infinite loading on a blank screen with the windows background with the little bird and the leaves on it.


----------



## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

No a problem with the DVD drive would not stop the hard drive from booting, but a problem with the Sata controller on the motherboard would affect both drives.


----------



## snagillim (Oct 11, 2011)

ahhh yeah i bet it's the motherboard. Could something as simple as cutting the power damage that? Guess it is getting a little old.

would it possibly help if i tried using different sata ports? i have 6. i imagine it would affect all 6 though. is there any way to trouble shoot if that is the problem


----------



## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Possible for a voltage spike to do damage.


----------



## snagillim (Oct 11, 2011)

Wrench97 said:


> Possible for a voltage spike to do damage.


would you advise that i stop using the power strip i was using? or is it just a freak occurrence?


----------



## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Is it just a power strip or is it a Surge Protector strip?

Just for fun try disconnecting the data cable from the hard drive and see how far the Windows install will go.


----------



## snagillim (Oct 11, 2011)

install seems to be working perfectly with the data cables disconnected from my hard drives. ... too bad i cant actually install anything lol

it was some cheap strip from ikea... it turned itself off when my microwave sent a surge to it.. instead of making my apartment breaker handle it... so im guessing its a surge protector.


----------



## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Na that would have been a draw not a surge, the MWave drew more current that the breaker in strip was rated for, the cheap ones are not really surge protectors they just have a circuit breaker in them to limit the load drawn. A decent surge protector/suppresser will have a Joule rating over 3000.

Back to the issue at hand it may be worth while to attempt to test the hard drive, do you know the brand/modle?


----------



## snagillim (Oct 11, 2011)

Wrench97 said:


> Na that would have been a draw not a surge, the MWave drew more current that the breaker in strip was rated for, the cheap ones are not really surge protectors they just have a circuit breaker in them to limit the load drawn. A decent surge protector/suppresser will have a Joule rating over 3000.
> 
> Back to the issue at hand it may be worth while to attempt to test the hard drive, do you know the brand/modle?


Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive


----------



## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Use the WD data lifeguard for dos tool burn to a CD and boot from the CD.

WD Support / Downloads / SATA & SAS / WD Black


----------



## snagillim (Oct 11, 2011)

Wrench97 said:


> Use the WD data lifeguard for dos tool burn to a CD and boot from the CD.
> 
> WD Support / Downloads / SATA & SAS / WD Black


im on wifi broadcasting from my phone so im going to do this once time warner decides to show up and install my net... since i don't have any iso burning software right now. ill come back soon when i get it done.


----------



## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

The free program Imgburn works well.


----------



## snagillim (Oct 11, 2011)

Do you think i should tell my landlord about the damage or is this kind of thing possible with well-installed wiring?


----------



## snagillim (Oct 11, 2011)

Wrench97 said:


> Use the WD data lifeguard for dos tool burn to a CD and boot from the CD.
> 
> WD Support / Downloads / SATA & SAS / WD Black


Sorry about the long delay, finally have internet in my new apartment. I did as you said with the image burn and CD... I'm getting a message now that says "Unable to locate the License Agreement file, DLGLICE.TXT!!!

Please make sure that the License Agreement file is located in the same path as DLGDIAG.EXE..."


----------



## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Check to see if DLGLICE.TXT is on the CD.


----------



## snagillim (Oct 11, 2011)

Wrench97 said:


> Check to see if DLGLICE.TXT is on the CD.


Yeah, it's on there.


----------



## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Your sure it's a WD drive not a Seagate or Samsung correct?

Did you use the .iso file?

Try down loading and burn it again.


----------



## snagillim (Oct 11, 2011)

Wrench97 said:


> Your sure it's a WD drive not a Seagate or Samsung correct?
> 
> Did you use the .iso file?
> 
> Try down loading and burn it again.


Yeah 100% sure i opened the case and looked at them. I burned the .iso file with imgburn and it verified the disk and everything, yeah.


----------



## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Try using the Ultimate Boot CD> Ultimate Boot CD - Overview, the WD tool has some problems on certain Sata controllers when set to AHCI mode.


----------



## snagillim (Oct 11, 2011)

Wrench97 said:


> Try using the Ultimate Boot CD> Ultimate Boot CD - Overview, the WD tool has some problems on certain Sata controllers when set to AHCI mode.


This image seems to have worked. I'm currently running the quick test from DLGDIAG v 5.19, will keep you updated. Is there any specific test i should run?

edit: quick test completed without errors


----------



## snagillim (Oct 11, 2011)

Also, i ran the defensive mode... hopefully that was right. I've ordered a new motherboard and surge protector from newegg. Thanks a lot for the help, hopefully that's the only thing that was damaged. I did a memory test too so i think it is just the mobo.


----------



## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

The long test is preferred, but since the drive was recognized(that's a plus) and passed the short test, plus UBCD booted from the CD drive makes wonder about the windows disk you were trying to do the repair from?


----------



## snagillim (Oct 11, 2011)

Wrench97 said:


> The long test is preferred, but since the drive was recognized(that's a plus) and passed the short test, plus UBCD booted from the CD drive makes wonder about the windows disk you were trying to do the repair from?


Well, I used that disk to install windows just like a week ago and it doesn't have any scratches... so i don't see why it wouldn't work now even to reinstall.

Should i try burning a copy then repairing with that?


----------



## snagillim (Oct 11, 2011)

looks like switching all of my drives to the 3 unused sata ports has made the installation work now... but it's saying i cant repair with this disk because the windows is a different version on my hard drive. presumably due to updates i guess


----------



## snagillim (Oct 11, 2011)

AHH! switching to the other sata ports has fixed the problem! guess i killed a few... will have to plug that surge protector in as soon as it arrives. everything is working fine no repair necessary... was just the ports.


----------



## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

The version issue probably means you have a Win7 RTM disk and updates installed SP1.

The Sata ports that you had them plugged into where they on a secondary raid controller by chance?


----------



## snagillim (Oct 11, 2011)

Wrench97 said:


> The version issue probably means you have a Win7 RTM disk and updates installed SP1.
> 
> The Sata ports that you had them plugged into where they on a secondary raid controller by chance?


Unfortunately i don't know what that means so i'm guessing they weren't


----------



## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Are their different color Sata ports on your board or are they all the same color?

Some will have 2-4 Sata 3 ports the rest Sata 2, or some boards will have 2 Marvell ports and the rest Intel for example.


----------



## snagillim (Oct 11, 2011)

Wrench97 said:


> Are their different color Sata ports on your board or are they all the same color?
> 
> Some will have 2-4 Sata 3 ports the rest Sata 2, or some boards will have 2 Marvell ports and the rest Intel for example.


They're all the same color and there's no indication of them being different types.

you can look at the specs of my motherboard here 

Newegg.com - MSI P7N Diamond LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard with SoundBlaster X-Fi Extreme Audio

My slave drive seems to be transferring a bit slower than usual now. For instance, if i'm playing music on it and extracting files at the same time the music might pause periodically, then the extraction rate almost slows to a halt.


----------



## snagillim (Oct 11, 2011)

actually i think it was just a faulty .RAR file that was gumming up the works, false alarm.


----------



## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Yep that has 6 Nvidia ports and 2 eSata by JMicron, so hopefully you'll have no issues down the road.

On-Board SATA
• nForce 570i SLI supports 6 SATA II ports
- Transfer rate is up to 3Gb/s.
- 2 eSATA port by JMicron JMB363


----------

