Windows 7 Can't Boot from any source

[bierman]

Having trouble booting computer after failed Windows 10 update.
After cancelling the install restarted machine but only came up with a cursor and a blue background.
Got to task manager so changed msconfig to start in safe mode on restart and was going to go back to a restore point. Tried to restart and machine won't boot. Nothing coming up on monitor. In fact, monitor not even being activated.

Tried using a recovery disk but it won't read or start with it.

Essentially machine turns on and then nothing happens. Was working fine just before.

 

[BIGBEARJEDI]

Hi and welcome to the forum

What version of windows were you upgrading from?

Most likely you have some incompatible apps/drivers/hardware. Did you remember to run the W10 COMPATIBILITY TEST prior to running your W10 upgrade?

Most W10 upgrades fail on computers that aren't running squeaky-clean BEFORE you attempt the upgrade. Many upgraders who fail to get the W10 upgrade done are suffering from a poorly performing computer prior to the upgrade, and attempt to use the W10 upgrade as a panacea to fix everything that was wrong with the computer on the older version of windows. this is not the case.

Next, we need to know the make/model of your computer. Is it a desktop PC or a laptop/tablet? Is it a self-built PC or a custom-built PC? If either of these, we need your Motherboard make/model, GPU card, and PSU make/model & wattage.

If you don't have those specs handy, please download the free SPECCY diagnostic fromLink Removed and post back the speccy output text file back here to this thread so we can analyze your hardware environment. From there we will give you more instructions to troubleshoot the problem.

<<<BIGBEARJEDI>>>

 

[bierman]

I was upgrading from Windows 7 to Windows 10

Understand about the compatibility test and didn't have any issues that would complicate the install. Also, my desktop PC (Dell Precision T3610 which was not a custom build job) was running fine without any issues. I had moved my laptop over to Windows 10 and found it stable so wanted to do the same with desktop before the freebie expired.

I can't run the the SPECCY diagnostic because my computer won't boot and can't run any programs. That is the crux of the problem. I have a machine that seems to have flatlined.

After posting the message I was able to get the machine to start up but it blue screens every time and restarts. The blue screen message is:
UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT_VOLUME

It won't start up normally, in safe mode, or run through the repairs process, stalling each time. I have tried to boot from both a DVD and USB with no luck. I have put these first in the BIOS order and have also removed all other BIOS elements (ie. hard drives) and still it will not read or boot from them.

At this point I would like to find a way to repair it enough to go back to a restore point.

I hope I have provided enough information and thanks for listening.

 

[BIGBEARJEDI]

Thanks for that information! Sounds like a coincidental hardware failure along with the failed W10 upgrade. That's the sort of thing that happens quite often when upgrading older computers. Did I understand you to say you disconnected or physically removed the Hard Drive from the computer? And you still can't boot from DVD or USB correct?

Next thing I would do, is unplug your PC from power (Mains) remove all your RAM sticks from the computer and power it back on again. You should be receiving audio beeps (we call these "beep codes") and they are built-in diagnostics for when the computer has low level booting problems such as yours.

You are getting display so the onboard Video chip or Video Card seems to be working since you get an error message on the screen. If you receive No beep-codes; chances are your Motherboard is hosed and there is a very expensive repair there to be had for $150-$300 for the replacement. That part may still be available in the online 3rd party market such as ebay or Amazon. Normally, we would ask you to capture the Blue Screen (BSOD) dump files and send them back to us for analysis. But, I believe you have experienced a low-level circuit-board failure, so this is not possible even if your hard drive turns out to be ok, which it probably will. You can test the drive on a different computer such as your laptop and we can tell you how to do that.

If you do get beep-codes coming from your Mobo with all the RAM sticks removed; it's probably still bad, but your Users Manual can tell you what part of the Mobo board failed. You can download yours from here: Link Removed.
This doesn't change the diagnosis and prognosis. If you have a circuit-board failure within the Mobo, it is not repairable and a replacement must be had. Otherwise, it's time to junk the computer.

Sorry for the bad news. You can also take the PC into your local computer repair shop and pay a licensed Tech to look at it for you; but I see this quite often. If you've replaced Mobos before, it might be worth spending up to $300 for a new Mobo and keep that computer running. However, IMO, since you can buy a brand new Dell Inspiron or Vostro PC with W10 pre-loaded at Best Buy for $250 including tax; why would you spend that kind of money to keep a 6 year old computer running?

Don't know whether or not you remembered to backup or create a backup image of all your personal data files from that hard drive or not to external media, but that would be important as most likely you're looking at needing that in place should you replace the computer. If your hard drive is SATA type I, II, or III you can put that inside the case of the new desktop and copy over the old files to the new hard drive by connecting the old drive internally via cable to the Mobo inside the case of the new PC.

Hope that's helpful.
BBJ

 

[Neemobeer]

What tool did you use to create the bootable USB? I would use rufus and be sure to pick the correct partition scheme for your system. Pick MBR if you are not sure and test. Obviously you will need access to someone elses computer.

 

[bochane]

And, if possible, testing the DVD player with a disk that has been used for booting before (repair disk / some windows distribution disk / ...) won't be a bad idea either and is easy to do.