Hi Donk... I was just advised that the Windows 7 might be an illegal copy. Could this be an issue? I have heard some talk about update and virus functions checking to see if the OS is a genuine copy.
Thanks for your help, I will try the stuff you tried, but suspect if the OS isn't genuine he may be SOL. Mark -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Donk Sent: Tuesday, July 05, 2011 8:51 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [A-1-Computer_Tech] Windows 7 - Boot Failure... It sounds like your Windows 7 installation is seriously corrupted - and/or her hard drive is toast. If the drive is over 4 or 5 years old, I'd assume the drive is done for. First, have you tried booting into Safe Mode? Press the power button and keep tapping the F8 key till you see the boot menu. Select Safe Mode. If you can get to the Safe Mode desktop try running Vista's System Restore option to go back to a date before the problem started. Click Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools. Select "System Restore" and follow the prompts to go back to a previous date. She won't lose any personal data or files - it'll just restore the windows system files. If that fails try this: If you have the Win7 installation DVD, put it in the drive and boot from it (if it doesn't boot from the DVD, you might have to change your boot order so that the BIOS will boot from the DVD drive first). You'll come to the "System Recovery Options" screen. Select "Repair Your Computer" and try the different repair options it offers. Hopefully one of those fixes will work. If the problem is a defective hard drive - the only fix will be to buy a new drive and install Win7 from scratch. Good luck, Donk On 7/5/2011 10:15 AM, Absolute Sound Labs wrote: > Hello Everyone... > > Seems I got myself into another quest for an > answer in an area that I only know enough to be > dangerous. > > I just offered to help a female friend with he > son's Gateway MS-2285 Laptop with Windows Home > installed. I should have known better since I know > absolutely zero about Windows 7 because I am > trapped in the Windows XP-Pro era. > > The laptop will not boot. It starts up with a > program that indicates there is something wrong > and Windows 7 Setup& Repair will check the > system. > > After checking, it comes up with the message... > > "Setup and Repair Can Not Repair This Computer Automatically". > It then lists the following... > > Problem Event Name: Startup repair off-line. > > Problem Signature 01: b.1.7600.16385 > Problem Signature 02: b.1.7600.16385 > Problem Signature 03: unknown > Problem Signature 04: 21201000 > Problem Signature 05: Auto Failover > Problem Signature 06: 12 > Problem Signature 07: Corrupt File > > OS Version: 6.1.7600.2.0.0.256.1 > > Locale ID: 1033 > > The diagnosis and repair log says the following: > "Startup Repair-several times. Can not determine > cause. > > At this point the computer locks up and must be > shut down. > > Can anyone offer any ideas or suggestions to bail > out my a** from having to tell the lady friend I > can't help? > > Thanks for any assistance > > Mark > > ------------------------------------ If you have any questions or problems with any aspect of this site, please feel free to contact me directly [email protected] Please do not post personal issues directly to the group. To unsubscribe from this list, send an email to [email protected] Thank you for using A-1 Computer TechYahoo! Groups Links http://groups.yahoo.com/group/A-1-Computer_Tech/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/A-1-Computer_Tech/jo in (Yahoo! ID required) ------------------------------------ If you have any questions or problems with any aspect of this site, please feel free to contact me directly [email protected] Please do not post personal issues directly to the group. To unsubscribe from this list, send an email to [email protected] Thank you for using A-1 Computer TechYahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/A-1-Computer_Tech/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/A-1-Computer_Tech/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

