Hi,
Sounds like you have a Windows corruption problem, but more likely you have a failed hard drive causing this.
This will require you to do some hardware testing.
In the meantime, when you tried to do sfc/ scannow did you do this from Windows standard mode, or Safe Mode? If you tried in standard mode, you'll need to open a Command Prompt using Administrator Privelege to run this. And, the sfc command shouldn't be run until after you do
CHKDSK /r command. You can try to run those 2, and if they won't work from an elevated Command Prompt (Admin privelege), then you'll need to attempt to do so from
SAFE MODE (hit the F8 key repeatedly on Boot up). If neither works, you'll need to do hardware testing.
The 2 most common failures in Netbooks or Minis such as yours are the hard drive and the Motherboard. The best thing to do is start with testing the hard drive. Go to seagate.com and download the free
SEATOOLS drive diagnostic program. This is an
ISO image file, so you will need to burn to a blank DVD disk using the free
IMGburn program (you can Google it) to create a bootable test disk with which to test your hard drive. As most Netbooks do not have built-in dvd burners you may have to purchase or borrow an external usb dvd burner such as here:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NHASN5O?psc=1 If buying an externa USB dvd burner is out of the question, you could try to make a bootable
SEATOOLS on a usb flash drive, but that is much trickier to do.
Creating the DVD disc is easiest.
Once you have your
SEATOOLS disk, boot your Gateway netbook to it and run
BOTH short and long tests on your drive. If
SEATOOLS returns any errors, your hard drive has failed and must be replaced.
Occasionally, the RAM sticks also go bad, and can cause Windows updates to fail. To test your RAM memory, download the free
MEMTEST (you can Google it), and create a bootable dvd disc similar to method used for the
SEATOOLS drive diagnostic. Boot your Netbook into
MEMTEST and run the test on each RAM stick individually for a minimum of 8 passes. If
MEMTEST returns any errors, your RAM stick(s) have failed and must be replaced.
If you find no errors in
SEATOOLS and no errors in
MEMTEST, you can attempt to reinstall your Windows7 Starter from scratch. Generally, netbooks do not come with
WINDOWS RESET or FACTORY RECOVERY DISCS, so you will need to download and check the Gateway Owners Manual to see if there is a built-in
RECOVERY partition to do this for you.
At this point, if you haven't done so already,
I URGE YOU TO BACKUP ALL YOUR PERSONAL DATA, SUCH AS DOCUMENTS, PHOTOS, MUSIC, MOVIES/VIDEOS, E-MAILS, ETC. TO EXTERNAL MEDIA PRIOR TO RESETTING OR RUNNING RECOVERY DISCS OR PARTITION!!! THIS IS BECAUSE THESE PROCEDURES ARE DESTRUCTIVE AND WILL ERASE EVERYTHING YOU CURRENTLY HAVE ON THAT NETBOOK HARD DRIVE!!!!! Reinstalling your Windows should normally solve this problem, if you are on known good hardware (Hard Drive, and RAM memory).
However, it doesn't always fix the problem. If your problem persists at this point, you most likely have a faulty Motherboard and it must be replaced. Diagnostics to test your Motherboard are almost always Linux-based and require advanced skill sets to use. If you like, you can download the
UBCD Boot disc from ubcd.com to do further Motherboard testing, but if you've never done this before, it will most likely be inconclusive and you'd be better off taking your Netbook to your local Computer Pro and paying him to test and possibly replace the Motherboard if it is indeed faulty.
Most home users give up after the Windows reinstall, and either take it into the repair shop or replace it entirely.
Just so you know, Netbooks have a much higher failure rate than regular laptops as they are tossed around much more due to their small size, and don't have a lot of safeguards against dropping, and other physical damage due to their low-cost components and cheap constructions.
Give my tests a try and let us know how it goes.
<<<BIGBEARJEDI>>>
