Posted on 10/09/2019 5:35:00 PM PDT by ml/nj
So when I went to turn off my Windows7 machine last night, I got the warning not to turn it off because it was doing updates, so I left it going and went to sleep.
In the morning, it took forever to start, but it did start. I looked at Dilbert and turned it off normally. Now I've come home and the startup didn't complete after ten minutes or so, so I turned it off and then turned it on again.
The system suggested "Startup Repair" so I took that option and after a while, it asked if I wanted to restore to a known good state, so I took that option. But when I restarted the startup hung again. Off and on again; and now "Startup Repair" has been running for about 18 minutes with no end in sight.
Suggestions would be appreciated.
ML/NJ
Buy an inexpensive external disk drive and a backup program. Once you reload your system or get a successful repair and it is running OK, turn off automatic system updates. Run a complete system backup at least once a month with a backup boot thumb drive. Run system updates manually from the control panel.
If you can’t get it running install Linux Mint on a USB drive and run as Live ,you can get your stuff for a fresh install of win 7 ,D’oh
Pry open your wallet and upgrade to a new PC with Win 10. Do this before the Linux nerds hijack this thread and shame you for using an MS operating system. In my experience, Win 10 is near flawless for the average user when running a system designed for Win 10 with software designed for Win 10.
You missed this part...
“Please go to nearest WalMart and buy three $100 iTunes gift cards, then call me back. I will be able to help you then.”
All computers will die of old age at some point. It’s not always the OS that’s the problem. If you have an win7 machine you’re going to have age issues that will kill it at some point and you will lose anything that’s not backed up.
Hi ML/NJ
The “startup repair” isn’t useless - it just acts that way. Do you have the option to start Windows normally? I usually set the Windows Update to manual so that it only updates at my discretion. On the machine I’m currently using that option mysteriously reset and downloaded and installed a patch that would not complete. With no other option I powered down and then restarted, bypassing the startup repair.
It took forever to boot but finally finished. Try that and let us know if successful.
How much you want to bet it is now installing Win 10... Don’t put it past them.
But a “repair” download like that always did take quite awhile.
If you like your computer and like WIndows 7, get a $100 or under SSD and transfer the system (most brands include the software for doing this). You will have a MUCH faster system, and will have upgraded one of the less reliable pieces of hardware to a version with no moving parts.
I am going to guess they may be locked into a black screen with text processes scrolling until it’s done and reboots.
If you feel comfortable, you can remove the RAM and re-seat them. Make sure you have the power OFF when you do this
Now this is very good advice and it works. If windows locks up and you need to save your files, boot from a linux USB and it will let you bypass windows and still go access the windows files and salvage them to CD or USB.
Run CCLeaner. Gets rid of old work files and cleans up the registry.
I ran into something similar, recently. After a Windows update, rebooting my HP desktop machine would cause it to display in B&W “loading files” and then go into a Dell (!) repair mode. There was, it seemed, no way to escape the “loop”, as exiting the program merely took one back to “loading files” and then the repair program would start again. Interrupting the process with ctrl-alt-delete would also cause one to, once partially into the reboot, see “loading files” (etc.)
Preceding with the repair, all the checks the program would initially do looked ok, but there was no escape besides attempting a system recovery - which showed no restore point besides the original factory default (instead of the restore points that SHOULD be there), or do a restart with the same useless / inane result as above.
What REALLY threw me was where the heck this Dell program was coming from. It finally dawned on me that I had once used my external backup drive to backup my wife’s Dell machine. That backup is in a separate folder on that drive named “Dell Backup (and a date code)”. I disconnected the USB cable to that external drive (”F:”), and tried another restart: Voila! Everything worked as normal.
Looking at the Dell Backup folder, there is an exe file in there that apparently runs the Dell backup, and, somehow since this Windows update, that program is being fired up during the HP’s “start”, even though that never happened before. The temporary solution, it appears, is to simply make sure F: is unplugged during startup. I suspect I could also rename the Dell Backup program on that drive to be a “.bak” file (or even “.bax”) and not an .exe file.
What the heck MS changed to make my HP machine go off and execute that old Dell backup during bootup I have no idea. My HP seems to be running just fine so long as I unplug F: during any start or reboot, then, if I need it (I also archive data on F: separate from any “backups”), I plug F: back in once the boot is complete, and all is well.
I hope this helps someone...
My Windows 7 got some “Security Updates” a while back that caused Corel to not load. Also, some hardware would work in one USB port, but not another.
It was MS preparing my Wind 7 PC for the Win 10 update and had nothing to do with security. I installed Linux Mint Cinnamon, learned how to use GIMP, and only run Windows 7 in a VirtualBox for some Visual Studio .NET stuff. WINE runs the .NET stuff, no problemo.
The update took out my wifi on my little laptop, the little light signifying a connection doesn’t illuminate. I reinstalled all the add onsoftware and still no wifi connection; odd thing is I was loaned a Cisco Valet wifi antenna and connected okay. ‘Tis a puzzlement.
Keep it running. If it’s hosed in the mornings no, hard boot it and leave it down a few hours. Boot up and see if it goes back to restore. If restore doesn’t complete, your pic may be fried.
What version are you using? I have been running into a few folks who are having some bugs with 19.2 I am still running 18.3 flawlessly so far. We have a fellow user here who has a 19.2 install freezing up at right about an hour of use like clockwork. Trying to chase that down.
It was Qanon trying to lay some “drops” on you.
I honestly do not doubt this one bit.
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