Windows 7 boot problems

[Crackle]

I've got a Windows 7 64 bit Packard Bell which won't boot. It did go into the repair utility once and cheerfully announced it couldn't fix it. I tried booting into various other modes but it won't and it's now reached the stage where it won't go past the bios. I've taken the disc out and it then boots past the bios and tells me there's no disc, so I'm reasonably sure it's a problem on the disc, corrupt boot sectors or similar.

So, can I make a bootable disc/USB if I neither have the original windows disc or ever made the recovery discs (I know, I know) because I'm struggling a bit with it?

My one thought was to buy a caddy for the disc and attach it to another PC and run some repair utilities on it but a quicker easier resolution would be nice.

 

[Pat "5mph"]

So, can I make a bootable disc/USB if I neither have the original windows disc or ever made the recovery discs (I know, I know) because I'm struggling a bit with it?

Don't think so, but you can download one if you have internet access from another pc.
BTW, I tried your route with a desktop running Vista: it did not work, not even the computer shop could fix it. I binned the lot and bought a new laptop. Good luck!

 

[Crackle]

Actually i think the hard drive has failed altogether as I managed to create a repair disc from another Windows 7 computer which works and tells me there's no operating system.

 

[Pat "5mph"]

Actually i think the hard drive has failed altogether as I managed to create a repair disc from another Windows 7 computer which works and tells me there's no operating system.

My condoliances: you lost all your data. me thinks!

 

[Crackle]

My condoliances: you lost all your data. me thinks!

Well, son no2 has but he tells me it's only completed school work, no loss but he's a bit miffed the world he created in Minecraft has been lost.

 

[ushills]

Try creating a linux liveCD like Ubuntu and see if you can run recovery utils on the hard drive.

There are also lots of other livecd rescue disks out there, try google.

 

[Crackle]

Try creating a linux liveCD like Ubuntu and see if you can run recovery utils on the hard drive.

There are also lots of other livecd rescue disks out there, try google.

I was reading about that but was unsure if it would work on Windows. I'll Google it and try it but I do think it's just plain packed in, might not have done of course but it wouldn't be the first hard disk I've had go faulty.

 

[ushills]

Have a look here

http://www.sysresccd.org/Sysresccd-manual-en_Backup_data_from_an_unbootable_windows_computer

PS your computer is not windows it's hard disk has windows on it, you can boot any liveCD and access the data on your hard-drive. Even if it is corrupt you should still be able to recover 99% of the information it's just that windows has thrown a hissy-fit, the information is still there.

 

[fossyant]

Possibly a wrecked master boot record. I've only done it once on XP and it took bloody ages typing in all commands before it was ok to reload XP. Caused by viruses. Nephew strikes again.

 

[slowmotion]

Download a demo copy of Ubuntu and save it on a CD. Put the disk in your wonky machine and boot up using Ubuntu. Even if Windows has been trashed, there is a chance that your files may still exist on the hard drive. You can search for the file paths in Ubuntu and copy them onto a memory stick. I did this ten days ago when my work PC flatly refused to boot up XP. By some miracle, I managed to recover all my emails, address book and my docs etc. I'm not an expert either.

 

[Thomk]

AVG rescue CD is well thought of. You can boot this from a flash drive as well I think if necessary:

http://www.avg.com/gb-en/avg-rescue-cd

Also - You can access the failed hard disc if you remove it and then rig it up to connect to another PC/Laptop via a usb to look like an external drive. You should then be able to access all the info.

Also/also - Are you totally sure it is not a power supply problem? Why is it that you can no longer access the bios? Do you hear bleaps on bootup?

 

[Crackle]

Many thanks for all the suggestions, I've learnt a bit. I've tried a few, including the AVG one just now but none can find or mount a windows volume, which leads me back to, failed disc.

It's a laptop Thomk.

What's peeved me more is the crappy response or lack of it from Packard Bell. Respond in 24hrs my left toenail.

 

[HovR]

As far as data recovery goes, I'd go with what others have said about creating a bootable Linux CD (or memory stick) and attempting to access your PC's HDD from there.

I have an external HDD with the Ubuntu distribution of linux installed, and when booting off that I can still access my internal hard drive running Windows, and all the data that is on that hard drive (photos, videos, documents, files etc). This will work as long as the hard drive is still operational, and the data you want recovered isn't corrupted (although Windows can be, and this will still work).

Linux is open source, hence most major distributions are free, with Ubuntu being one of the most user friendly.

If you can't recover the data yourself, you have the option of sending the hard drive off for professional data recovery, however that will be very expensive - Probably not worth it for one game save!

 

[slowmotion]

As far as data recovery goes, I'd go with what others have said about creating a bootable Linux CD (or memory stick) and attempting to access your PC's HDD from there.
Linux is open source, hence most major distributions are free, with Ubuntu being one of the most user friendly.

Absolutely. I got my Ubuntu download onto CD by pressing the middle button on this link's page...

http://www.ubuntu.com/download
Obviously you need a healthy PC to get onto the internet. There are loads of bits of advice on Google about how to find the file paths for missing emails etc. in your version of Windows. It's huge fun tracking down your data and saving it from a dying machine.

Very best of luck

 

[loadz]

Got a text from the wife this morning...
''Windows frozen."
So I texted back, "Pour some luke warm water over it.''
So she replied, "Computer completely farked now!"