Windows 7 Windows failed to start?!

[haruthefrog]

Hey guys

I'm trying to turn my laptop on and this is coming up -

"Windows failed to start, a recent hardware or software change might be the cause"

I'd appreciate it if anyone can help me solve this error. I don't have my installation disc. I don't know what to do!

Sincerely,
n00b.

 

[davidhk129]

Were you able to turn on the computer before ?
If yes, how long ago ?

Please answer the above before I continue.

 

[haruthefrog]

Were you able to turn on the computer before ?
If yes, how long ago ?

Please answer the above before I continue.[

It was last week, Monday I think!

 

[davidhk129]

OK. Go to safe mode and see if you can sign in.
How to go to Safe Mode :
Restart computer > immediately and repeatedly tap at F8 key until you see a black and white screen. That is your Safe Mode.
Use the arrow Up or Down key to select Safe Mode > after you have signed in, do a system restore. Pick a date that is older than one week. A date when you did NOT have this problem as your restore point.

How to use system restore :
http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/using-windows-vista-system-restore/

After system restore is completed, see if you can use your computer the normal way.

 

[haruthefrog]

OK. Go to safe mode and see if you can sign in.
How to go to Safe Mode :
Restart computer > immediately and repeatedly tap at F8 key until you see a black and white screen. That is your Safe Mode.
Use the arrow Up or Down key to select Safe Mode > after you have signed in, do a system restore. Pick a date that is older than one week. A date when you did NOT have this problem as your restore point.

How to use system restore :
http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/using-windows-vista-system-restore/

After system restore is completed, see if you can use your computer the normal way.

okay, I tried to do that just now, I went to go into safe mode and as soon as I pressed enter, there was a loading screen, then there was a flicker of bluescreen (too fast to see what it said) then windows error recovery came up to start a repair, it checked my system then "Startup repair cannot repair this computer automatically"

What do you think it could be? :0

 

[davidhk129]

............ I went to go into safe mode and as soon as I pressed enter..........

Please clarify.
When did you press Enter ?
After you used the arrow key to select Safe Mode ?

 

[haruthefrog]

............ I went to go into safe mode and as soon as I pressed enter..........

Please clarify.
When did you press Enter ?
After you used the arrow key to select Safe Mode ?

Sorry, yes, that's what I meant.

 

[davidhk129]

Seems to me you will have to re-install Win 7.
Assuming you do have a valid Windows 7 product key.

1. First download your version of Windows 7 ISO files.
Here is a link to Digital Rivers where you can download your version Windows 7.
Make sure also you select the correct "bit" version.
X86 means 32-bit.
X64 means 64-bit.

2. Use Windows 7 USB DVD Download Tool to burn the ISO files into a bootable DVD.
Here is the tutorial. Relax, the steps are real simple and straightforward.
Link Removed

3. You can now re-install Windows 7 using your Win 7 product key.
Here is a tutorial to do a clean install.
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/1649-clean-install-windows-7-a.html

Good luck.

 

[haruthefrog]

Thank you for your answers! You have been very helpful

Not sure how I'm going to do all of that without the use of a computer though.

 

[davidhk129]

How did you post all theses replies ?

 

[haruthefrog]

How did you post all theses replies ?

I have a smartphone.

 

[davidhk129]

Can you find a friend willing to let you use his/her computer so that you can do the ISO download and burn the iso to DVD ?
Then you can bring the DVD back home and do the clean install.

 

[haruthefrog]

Can you find a friend willing to let you use his/her computer so that you can do the ISO download and burn the iso to DVD ?
Then you can bring the DVD back home and do the clean install.

Good idea! I'll see if anyone would let me use their laptop!

Thanks for the info! Very much appreciated!

 

[haruthefrog]

Can you find a friend willing to let you use his/her computer so that you can do the ISO download and burn the iso to DVD ?

Good idea! I'll see if anyone would let me use their laptop!

Thanks for the info! Very much appreciated!

Then you can bring the DVD back home and do the clean install.

Oh, I wanted to ask - will I be able to keep the photos that are on my laptop? :/

 

[davidhk129]

No. All your files and folders will be gone.
You are reinstalling Win 7 back to the day it was taken out from the box. Back to Day 1.

 

[haruthefrog]

No. All your files and folders will be gone.
You are reinstalling Win 7 back to the day it was taken out from the box. Back to Day 1.

Oh :/ is there any way to get the photos? I want to save them from being wiped if I can.

Thanks

 

[davidhk129]

I don't see anyway you can do that.
Your problem is..... you have lost access to the computer. Therefore, what are stored in the computer are out of your reach.

You can wait a bit and see if someone has a better idea.

For your future reference : always store important files and documents in an external hard drive so that even if the computer goes kaput, your documents will not die with it.
Never store them within the computer.
After you have your Win 7 reinstalled, post back. A few tips you should have to prevent future mishaps.

 

[haruthefrog]

I don't see anyway you can do that.
Your problem is..... you have lost access to the computer. Therefore, what are stored in the computer are out of your reach.

You can wait a bit and see if someone has a better idea.

For your future reference : always store important files and documents in an external hard drive so that even if the computer goes kaput, your documents will not die with it.
Never store them within the computer.
After you have your Win 7 reinstalled, post back. A few tips you should have to prevent future mishaps.

Thank you!

 

[Sonny]

you might want to take your hard drive to a computer shop. They should be able to get your photo's for you. A friend of mine runs a repair shop and he has saved a lot of stuff from hard drives, even ones that seemed to be fried.

 

[badrobot]

Oh :/ is there any way to get the photos? I want to save them from being wiped if I can.

Thanks

There is one way to save your files from your laptop. I just tested it again to be sure. I ran Linux Mint 16 off a USB flashdrive (NO NEED to install to your laptop) and all physical hard drives are accessible there and you can transfer all your files to an external storage (USB flashdrive or hard drive). But you will need another laptop to create a USB bootable Linux Mint OS to run on your laptop. Maybe a friend's machine can help you. You can go to Linux Mint 16 website and there is a simple tutorial there on how to create a bootable USB. By the way, Linux Mint 16 is FREE for everyone. Screenshot below:

I agree with davidhk, always make a copy of your important files outside your machine. Never trust a good running computer. It only takes a wink of an eye to lose everything. External USB hard drives doesn't cost much these days. Personally, I should never have to worry about backing up my files because I know just what to do when something goes wrong. But I still do it simply because it's very simple and easy to do and you don't have waste time on retrieving files when the machine breaks down.