Need Windows 7 help, please.

vanity

[minnesota_bound]

Do you have the Windows 7 cd and serial number?
Insert then run repair. Hopefully it copies the needed files off the cd.

Try: How to Repair Windows 7 - with photos
https://www.wikihow.com/Repair-Windows-7

Try: How to Repair Windows 7 without Losing Data?
https://www.ubackup.com/windows-7/how-to-repair-windows-7-without-losing-data.html

[bgill]

Nope.

[bgill]

I’ve had a long talk with myself and decided the expense wouldn’t be worth it.

But thanks for the time.

[LibertyWoman]

I don't know if you've found your answer or not but here's my suggestion just in case.

If you have a smart phone, go to youtube and type in the message that is on your PC. There are many computer savvy people on yt and some have provided step by step instructions on what to do to fix different issues.

A few months back there was a power surge at my house and even though I have a power strip, my desktop would not come back online. There was a message on the screen (can't remember what it was now) and the rest of the screen was black. Anyway, I typed in the message on yt and about 5 videos came up on how to fix it. I was up and running in about 10 minutes after following one of the videos.

[blam]

"Try a System Restore if you have restore points"

I had exactly the same problem. After a while, I just decided that I'd have to get another computer anyway and I just started pushing buttons everywhere....eventually, 'Restore System' popped up. I clicked on that and everything returned to normal.

[OrangeHoof]

You know that Win7 is no longer supported by MS, so continuing to use it while hooked to the WWW is a really really bad idea.

I use mine every day with a VPN, an anti-spyware program, an anti-malware program and a (very old) firewall program running simultaneously. I also keep the Microsoft Update turned off. Works fine.

As to the original poster, among the other possible solutions is to get to a command prompt and run CHKDSK and it will check your hard drive for bad sectors and fix them if possible. Takes a little time but well worth it.

[Wuli]

Just as an additional side note:

Long ago I moved all my own data & info, of any kind whatsoever, including Email, to a USB connected remote hard drive. I also changed where it was my programs expect to get or put the data/info of mine, so that everything goes to the remote hard drive. The system can crash, and even get “unrecoverable”, and I can just plug my remote hard drive into a new PC. I do that all time when I travel, taking the remote hard drive with a laptop I use mostly when traveling.

Just a some thoughts for you.

Oh! I have a 2nd USB connected hard drive that is used to have a backup both an image of my remote hard drive, and the main hard drive on the PC. The backup of the main hard drive is done only as often as software is added or updated, and the data/info USB connected remote hard drive is backed up every nite I use the PC.

[Bob434]

Don’t give up yet, type in the ‘endless loop system repair’ into search engine, I’m sure there is a fix In there provided the HD isn’t failing

[Bob434]

Oh, and when you get it back up and running, download Macrium Reflect, and make a backup, store it on another drive, and restore fro that drive if anything like this happens again. You will need to buy an external HD, but they are really cheap and well worth the $$

[minnesota_bound]

You can download Windows 7 ISO from microsoft for free. You would need a serial number.

Otherwise buy a copy on Ebay. $50 or less. I have bought a few.

Or buy Windows 10. Home is $139 and supports up to 32gb ram. The Pro up to 192gb
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/store/b/windows?activetab=tab%3ashopwindows10

[GOPJ]

Have you done hard drive maintenance regularly? It can spot failures and predict errors like this.

For those of us who are clueless about computers AND have 7 - what exactly are you talking about? Is that defragging and checking for errors? Stuff like that? Or is there more to it?

[bgill]

Thanks. Taking notes but I’m still a dummy.

[Kmacva]

I would get and external hard drive enclosure, you can find them everywhere they’re not expensive. Make sure it the right type for your hard drive. Remove the suspected drive and put it in the enclosure. If you have another PC or have access to one. Use the supplied usb cable to plug it into the other PC.
And run “Check Disk tool”. It has a suite of tabs to check the disk. This will also isolate whether it’s the disk itself or your computer.

[daniel1212]

As Pollard said in post 6, make yourself a Linux Live USB stick,(download link) Peppermint is a quick one for old PCs. First, download and install Rufus, and then plug in a USB drive (even 4Gb will be big enough), start Rufus, choose the USB drive as the Device, and in Boot selection navigate to the Peppermint .iso and choose the standard options as below.

When done, boot your PC and look for the keys it tells you to press for boot menu (you might tap the pause/break key if you have one), or try tapping the F12 or F11 keys just after you start the computer, and then choose USB device as the boot source. Then hit Try Peppermint.. and wait about 10secs and let is load. Then in the bottom left place your cursor on icons till you see Files and open that. Then look for your hard drive and if it is there open that and see if you can see your files (also go to View at the top left of your window and and hit view hidden files). If so then put a large capacity USB drive, and right click on the folders you want to save and Send to the USB drive.

If you cannot even see your hard drive then try putting it in the freezer for a hour first (it might work) and immediately attempt the above.

In any case, if you can load Linux then you will know the issue is with your hard drive. Replace with a SSD! You can get a 120GB drive (enough for Windows itself) for about for under $24.00, thank God.

If you access your old drive then there are some safe free programs to clone your whole drive to, like AOMEI.

Hope this helps.

[daniel1212]

"For those of us who are clueless about computers AND have 7 - what exactly are you talking about? Is that defragging and checking for errors? Stuff like that? Or is there more to it? "

There can be more extensive testing, but just in the interest of speed then cloning the OS to a SSD is a normal wise action. See post above.

[Wuli]

I bought a certified refurbished win 7 PC from Staples a few years back, for an older brother. He’s had zero trouble with it.

I found one today on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/OptiPlex-3-00GHz-500GB-WINDOWS-64-Bit/dp/B00MEQKB98/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=windows+7+reconditioned+desktop+computer&qid=1626110695&sr=8-3

[daniel1212]

"I’ve had a long talk with myself and decided the expense wouldn’t be worth it. But thanks for the time."

How much can you afford? Refurbished used computers can be a bargain. But again, clone OS to a SSD.

[GOPJ]

If you cannot even see your hard drive then try putting it in the freezer for a hour first (it might work) and immediately attempt the above.

What???

[TChad]

What???

It's not a joke. I have had it work on a few drives.

[bert]

Like the man said.....

The old order changeth yielding place to new And God fulfills himself in many ways Lest one good custom should corrupt the world.