Windows 7 doesn't boot or show up in system recovery options

M

mikeavida

Member
Hi Everybody,

My machine won't boot windows 7. It just hangs shortly after turning it on. It does not show up in system recovery options. (This screen says 'If you're operating system isn't listed, click load drivers...)

I just purchased this computer. I don't have a windows 7 installation disc. I think there are two hard drives in raid (0?) format.

Any Ideas? Thanks so much for any help!
 
If it's a desktop, switch off at the wall (but leave the plug connected to earth the chassis), remove the left side cover, and disconnect/reconnect all of the HDD cables at the HDD and mobo ends to clean up the contacts. If it's a laptop, eject and reinsert the HDDs.
If that doesn't help and you're contemplating using the OEM hidden recovery partition to "factory reset" the PC, start by using this technique to rescue your data first.
 
Interesting development. The Ubuntu live cd I made wasn't loading. Nor was a pclinuxos cd that I had. I tried the windows recovery cd and it didn't load either. I unplugged the laptop and took out the battery. After putting it back together the windows recovery cd loaded, but this time windows 7 shows up as an operating system.

I'm assuming I should run startup repair. I think I'll do that in a few minutes if I don't get a reply and see what happens.

Any idea what is happening to my system?

Addendum:

Given that windows 7 was showing up in system recovery options, I figured it was worth a shot seeing if it would boot to windows. It did. I'm currently backing up important data.

But I think it's likely something is still wrong with my system. How should I continue with diagnostics?
 
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Good idea to get backups sorted. (Good idea to back up your user data daily in any case !) and set a System Restore Point.
It sounds like you had some hardware glitch (why I said to jiggle the HDDs in the first place), rather than a problem with W7.
Look through the event log (Control Panel > Peformance > Advanced > Event Log) for clues leading up to the point of failure.
You can normally get a free HDD diagnostic app from your HDD OEM website which will scan the disk for errors and check that it's functioning normally.
F8 extended boot menu will let you run RAM diags.
 
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