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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
I’m running 10 got a string of updates and afterward it has been a total mess won’ start half the time even have to unplug the power cord and remove battery and when it does the problems continue with it it throwing all kinds of unwanted pages up and this is on a one year old HP
.
I’m enjoying Mint also. :)
I was thinking of moving from an Apple computer to a PC, but after hearing the horrendous stories of automatic updates being conducted, and the problems they can create, I decided to stay with Apple, because at least you have the option of doing updates when you want to, or not at all. My oldest son was an Apple user. He's the one who got me started on them, but his graphic designer, and videographer jobs over the years have forced him to use PC's. He also didn't like Apple's restricting the use of third party apps. That wasn't a problem for me since I don't use any of them anyway.
In his leisure time, he creates mods for Fallout 4, strictly for PC's. He uploads the mods online so people can download them, and use them in the game. He also live streams from his channel on YouTube. At home, he uses Linux, but there are times he has to use Windows, and there have been a few times when after setting a mod to upload, he later discovers that the upload was never completed because Microsoft/Windows had forced an update.
While I get irritated sometimes with the updates Apple recommends, I have a MacBook Pro from 2011, which has High Sierra on it, so certain updates take a bit of time to process, and I always hold my breath while they're being done. My son told me a long time ago, not to immediately jump on updates, and do them...but instead to wait, because there may end up being glitches that could mess up your computer. I've stuck to that plan over the past at least 30 years that I've owned Macs, and have never had a problem.
Lol, too late... But It wasn’t me who started it this time.
I guess you don't do the kind of work where having your PC reboot itself because Microsoft just launched the umpteenth upgrade and it needed a reboot isn't a real problem. Nothing like coming in to work in the morning and seeing that the programs you left running the night before all got terminated and your PC rebooted.
And I have always found it "flawless" to have to sit around in the middle of the work week while my PC spins up to 100% of disk usage during some Microsoft update and I can't get anything done.
Windows 10 costs the average person using their computer for work thousands of dollars per year in lost productivity.
Makes me glad Mac is its own closed ecology.
Still there are advantages to both wintel and mac systems.
On my Acer laptop, the problem seemed to be related to automatic updates.
Occasionally, after an update, my laptop would lock up with a black blank screen. I tried all of the Windows 10 repair options but could only restore the computer to original Factory condition. I could keep my files, but could not keep the programs I had downloaded. So, I had to reinstall them. Major pain in the ass.
This happened to me twice. After the second time, I turned off automatic updates. I now update once a week manually. Haven’t had a problem since. I think the automatic updates program screwed my computer up.
Suggestions would be appreciated.
If it were in front of me to fix, there's things I would be trying, from the Win 7 recovery envoronment. Chkdsk, system file check, things like that.
Wipe and repave. Then upgrade to Windows 10.
A computer with 7 would have been new in the 2009-12 or so range, so has some age on it. With a PC of this age, I'd always want to test the hard disk. Boot something like Parted Magic, and run the smartctl gui, and examine the attributes for power on time, bad sectors. Run short and long self test. And while you're there, copy off user files, because what you probably really ought to be doing is wipe and re-do.
buy a new puter.
Or, yeah, that too, given its likely age.
My W7 laptop/S are still OK. Heck, i even have an XP laptop and it’s doing great. I hate w10. Stupid One Drive keeps popping up. Next time, Im gonna hire someone to install Linux on a new laptop Ill buy on Black Friday..
“He also didn’t like Apple’s restricting the use of third party apps. “
I work in Hollywood, especially post production. Believe it or not, I know a LOT of independent special effects and post production guys moved to Windows because the apps are too expensive and correct, restrictive.
As a matter of fact, some of the 1 year old Macbooks graphics cards CANNOT compete with the newer graphics and memory chips out there on Windows laptops.
This is an easy, non-destructive solution, that often works.
Any Win7 users: 1) Make a complete backup.
2) Have Win7 make a startup recovery CD
3) Turn off Windows Update.
After I came home one night a few years ago to see my computer automatically upgrading to Windows 10, I shut the machine off and downloaded a program to remove all Win10 elements then I turned off the Windows Update and have been fine ever since.
If figured if Microsoft was so desperate to upgrade me *without my permission*, there had to be something about Win10 more important to Microsoft than it is to me. Some believe the difference is Chinese spyware.
I bought an extra copy of the Win7 operating system just in case I need to use it. It’s still unopened.
Incidentally, if you did make a startup recovery CD, punch F12 on bootup to change the boot sequence to your CD drive first before the hard drive and it will fix many problems that could have been corrupted in the hard drive OS. After running it from the CD a few times, you can reset the boot sequence to the hard drive and test to see if it boots again.
It appears if you like windows 7 and it works, microsquish will brick your machine to force you to use their software you now are charged annually to subscribe to.
Google kindly lets me know I read a page on 6/12/19 and that it knows of every other page I’ve read in the past few years.
Big Brother has observant siblings.
May he’ll have a grandchild that knows how to code and update computers gracefully.
what you are describing is not unusual and usually is fatal as it will almost never complete.
lots of things you could try, but probably your best bet is pull the system drive, attach it to a USB adapter connected to another computer and copy off all of your data and settings, and make an inventory of programs that need to be reinstalled.
then restore the system drive to the original factory state via the restore partition, turn off updates forever, and copy your data and settings back to the new system, and reinstall all of your programs ...
Try these steps.
This video looks good.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L26ft53EyGI
Or try these steps.
BTW you do not need to download Easy Recovery Essentials. That is an ad. Just follow the steps they provide.
https://neosmart.net/wiki/startup-repair-hangs-startup/
https://neosmart.net/wiki/startup-repair-infinite-loop/
Also ignore their ad and try their steps.
https://www.disk-partition.com/windows-7/windows-7-stuck-in-startup-repair-loop-0310.html
At work when we get a call about the “Startup Repair” screen and they are in a loop, we tell the caller they have to send the computer in to be re-imaged. Their files are backed up then Windows installed. You can take the hard drive out and insert a new drive. A 2TB drive is $55
https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16822184773
Install Windows. Afterward insert old drive as secondary. Just plug it in. The bios should recognize the new drive as the main windows drive. Once at the desktop you can open a folder and you will see the “C” drive (Windows) and your old drive. Copy the files over to the new drive from the drive letter> Users folder> your name> All your files are in the Desktop, Favorites, Documents. Just copy the Users folder> your name> over to the new drive then sort out the files you want.
Next you format the old drive. You now have a spare hard drive you can backup yur files to.
Installing windows is easy. Insert the cd in and boot to the cd drive and follow the directions. takes about 30 minutes, most of which is just watching the install.
I use Windows 7 and prefer over Windows 10
I'm not looking forward to the day I have to buy a new Mac. I have an old iMac from late 2010 or a bit earlier. I've never had to have any repairs done to it. There are no OS or Safari updates for it anymore. I had to stop using Safari on it and switch to Firefox, because Safari began telling me it couldn't get a secure connection to websites I frequented. I rarely use the iMac, usually only for a short time each day.
My MacBrook Pro is from early 2011. The only thing I had to have repaired in all the years I've had it was something with the video card, or something related to the video card. They had to take out the motherboard, and send it to a third party so they could do some soldering on it. That was about 3 years ago. It cost me $400 that I readily paid because it was a lot cheaper than buying a new Mac.
I bought my Macs new when I retired, hoping they'd last until I died :-) I hoped the same thing when I bought a Nissan Altima in 2005. The car ran like a top. The only major repair I had to have done was the a/c compressor. That was about 4-5 years ago. It still had the original exhaust system on it, and knew it was only a matter of time that I'd have to pay for a new exhaust system, including catalytic converter. I decided I didn't want to put $2,000+ in a 15 year old car, and so went out last month and traded it in to lease a 2019 Sentra. I still feel guilty about getting rid of that car, but I had to have a car I could rely on to take me out of New York State without breaking down. The car never left me stranded anywhere. The times it didn't start, it was sitting in my parking spot here. Most times it was because it needed a new battery. Never had to have the starter, alternator, or other part replaced. I figured my luck would run out one of these days, and I might not be in NY. My youngest son lives in Indiana, finishing up chemo treatments for colon cancer (polyps), so I need a reliable vehicle to get me there. I was renting cars from Enterprise to make the trips when I had to Altima.
The only thing I had to get used to with the new car is that it doesn't have a CD player. I'd copied my CD's before with iTunes, but never loaded them onto any other type of device to listen to. I checked around on the internet, and found that I could copy all my CD's, load them on a USB stick, because the car has a USB port. Easy peasy, and it works like a charm. At 72, I'm proud of myself for being able to figure it all out, and not having to trouble my oldest son, the computer geek. Getting old isn't fun. Getting old, and having to replace cars and computers isn't fun either.
I have always updated my win7 manually. I click Start/Windows Update. I never click on random “Notifications” that waltz in on pop-ups, emails or websites. As Kermit said: Don’t touch that Elmo, it’s still smokin’.
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