Windows 7 want auto start during boot up.

[Glazed and crazed]

I believe a Saitek hardware driver hosed my Windows boot up process while I was restoring the drivers for several Saitek products. I tried using the Win 7 64k install disk to repair the MBR but that did not solve the problem. Windows 7, I assume is doing so, will prompt me to manually start Windows or run its repair program. The repair program was not able to repair Windows 7 so it starts up normally. If a driver hosed it up what file or files would it have been corrupted yet allow me to start Windows when prompted? From that it looks like something in the bootstrap routine may be corrupt but I am just guessing. Computer wiz kid I am not.

 

[Tom Tancredi]

Okay, first off it is normal for if there was a improper restart of Windows that it would come up asking to possibly repair or start normally. If you shut down/restart through Windows Menu (not hit the power switch!!) and it keeps saying it needs to repair, then that can be several issues.

Given your not happy after you did a system change, have you attempted (instead of guessing about the MBR, etc. ) to use Windows System Restore and go back a day or so before you made the changes?

 

[Glazed and crazed]

Okay, first off it is normal for if there was a improper restart of Windows that it would come up asking to possibly repair or start normally. If you shut down/restart through Windows Menu (not hit the power switch!!) and it keeps saying it needs to repair, then that can be several issues.

Given your not happy after you did a system change, have you attempted (instead of guessing about the MBR, etc. ) to use Windows System Restore and go back a day or so before you made the changes?

Hi Tom,
Yes I did in fact. I created one when I installed Net Framework 4.0 earlier that day and decided that was early enough to use and there were a few more restore points that Windows made when installing updates the day before. They are all gone, vanished! Per Windows OS "No restore points have been created on your computer's system drive" Just wonderful! What I have done since none of the recovery tools MS has provided with Windows 7 have fixed anything, I used the install disk to get to the command prompt and ran bootrec and used the options fixboot and fixmbr to no avail. I didn't think that would work since not one diagnostic program I have used has found anything wrong with either the MBR or the boot sector but it was worth a try. Short of installing Windows 7 again and hundreds of Microsoft updates, then installing programs and hardware drivers and spending a months worth of spare time doing all that I don't know what else to do other than hire some place to troubleshoot it for me and pray they don't make it worse. At least it boots with a little key press input from me that keeps the OS from running that ,in my case useless recovery program, it will boot up. It just can't do it all by its lonesome anymore. Thanks you for the reply.

 

[Tom Tancredi]

There is still a couple of questions I have at the moment; If you keep pressing F8 as soon as you see the Logo/BIOS of the computer maker (not Microsoft) and get to the options to go into Safe Mode, do you still not get any restore points?

After rebooting from Safe mode, do you still get prompted "manually start Windows or run its repair program"?

Last question I am repeating because I am not seeing a answer "If you shut down/restart through Windows Menu (not hit the power switch!!) does it keeps saying it needs to repair'??

 

[Glazed and crazed]

There is still a couple of questions I have at the moment; If you keep pressing F8 as soon as you see the Logo/BIOS of the computer maker (not Microsoft) and get to the options to go into Safe Mode, do you still not get any restore points?

After rebooting from Safe mode, do you still get prompted "manually start Windows or run its repair program"?

Last question I am repeating because I am not seeing a answer "If you shut down/restart through Windows Menu (not hit the power switch!!) does it keeps saying it needs to repair'??

 

[Glazed and crazed]

Question one answer: I did log in using safe mode today just to see if I still get stopped at the same error message and I did. It did not occur to me to check to see if there were any restore points available that I could not see in normal Windows boot mode so I really don't know. Something to try before I go to bed shortly. I Will try that once I am back up later this morning and provide you the answer to your first question.

Question two answer: Since I did not try a restore point while in safe mode the answer is unfortunately still "Yes".

Question 3 answer: Yes it still does. Very consistent that. I haven't been using the Power switch to shut down though. Windows still works normally once I choose the option to start Windows including the shut down, restart options. What ever the problem is I am thinking some file in the bootstrap routine must be hosed if it can't start the Windows executable. Whatever routine that is triggered when the BIOS can't start Windows normally and provides me the option to run a test or to start Windows that routine apparently can. That's better than what other people are dealing with who have boot up issues worse than mine and can't run Windows at all. I consider myself lucky the damage done wasn't any worse. Thanks again for your reply and I will try to provide a more concrete answer to your questions later today.

 

[Tom Tancredi]

Okay here is my take on the process, first BIOS does not interact with Windows at all. BIOS checks all the hardware then hands off to the MBR/ Botostrap to do it's job, again BEFORE anything about Windows. Second it can't really be 'bootstrap' or MBR as those are dealing with the Sector and Partion reads of what the files system is and what is set to boot from; again nothing for Windows YET to be involved with.

When you get the "prompt me to manually start Windows or run its repair program" this is a condition of the Windows OS loading its specific files (not bootstrap, as bootstrap would be to see if there is a OS to load and then to hand off to the proper drive /OS to load) to create the enviroment it determines there was a 'bad shutdown' or 'improper shut down' so files arent' properly set to say 'closed' status or other factors. This usually is Windows trying to be protective. Since you keep getting this inclusive to Safe Mode leads to the probability Windows itself needs to be repaired (boot off the DVD and force it to do so) OR the HardDrive has failure errors.

To test the latter, can you open a CMD prompt and run chkdsk /f (will take a long time) and see what the results are. Then do a sfc / scannow , both will require reboots afterwords, and lets see if they come up with any problems.

 

[Glazed and crazed]

Okay here is my take on the process, first BIOS does not interact with Windows at all. BIOS checks all the hardware then hands off to the MBR/ Botostrap to do it's job, again BEFORE anything about Windows. Second it can't really be 'bootstrap' or MBR as those are dealing with the Sector and Partion reads of what the files system is and what is set to boot from; again nothing for Windows YET to be involved with.

When you get the "prompt me to manually start Windows or run its repair program" this is a condition of the Windows OS loading its specific files (not bootstrap, as bootstrap would be to see if there is a OS to load and then to hand off to the proper drive /OS to load) to create the enviroment it determines there was a 'bad shutdown' or 'improper shut down' so files arent' properly set to say 'closed' status or other factors. This usually is Windows trying to be protective. Since you keep getting this inclusive to Safe Mode leads to the probability Windows itself needs to be repaired (boot off the DVD and force it to do so) OR the HardDrive has failure errors.

To test the latter, can you open a CMD prompt and run chkdsk /f (will take a long time) and see what the results are. Then do a sfc / scannow , both will require reboots afterwords, and lets see if they come up with any problems.

 

[Tom Tancredi]

I see a empty reply then a answer back, so I dunno where your at on this.

 

[Glazed and crazed]

Hi Tom,

Here are the results from the two test you asked me to run.

I ran CHKDSK and tracked down the WININT text file. I found a few things that CHKDISK corrected but the corrections didn't fix my problem in any tangible way. I still get that dreaded message.

CHKDSK is verifying security descriptors (stage 3 of 3)...
282368 file SDs/SIDs processed.
Cleaning up 831 unused index entries from index $SII of file 0x9.
Cleaning up 831 unused index entries from index $SDH of file 0x9.
Cleaning up 831 unused security descriptors.Security descriptor verification completed.
32921 data files processed.
CHKDSK is verifying Usn Journal...
33818720 USN bytes processed.
Usn Journal verification completed.
CHKDSK discovered free space marked as allocated in the
master file table (MFT) bitmap.
Windows has made corrections to the file system.

All other CHKDSK items reported no issues.

sfc/ SCANNOW reported no issues as well.

"Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations."

Thanks.

 

[Tom Tancredi]

Well at this point your stating all the hardware is perfectly fine, and it is just 'Windows' has a issue. Your only solution then is to backup the data files (My Document, My Videos, etc.) you can't backup the programs, and do WIPE on the drive and start clean. That you had index issues that were resolved but the system hasn't changed, would suggest the potential the Hard Drive may be failing too. The best test would be the WIPE then REINSTALL of OS as that will affect a large part of the drive and either 'Work' or cause more 'issues' which means the hard drive is failing.

 

[Glazed and crazed]

Well at this point your stating all the hardware is perfectly fine, and it is just 'Windows' has a issue. Your only solution then is to backup the data files (My Document, My Videos, etc.) you can't backup the programs, and do WIPE on the drive and start clean. That you had index issues that were resolved but the system hasn't changed, would suggest the potential the Hard Drive may be failing too. The best test would be the WIPE then REINSTALL of OS as that will affect a large part of the drive and either 'Work' or cause more 'issues' which means the hard drive is failing.

 

[Glazed and crazed]

It is really hard to accept the hard drive is going south considering the cost at the time,about three years ago at best,for a 150 Gig WD Raptor 10k rpm hard drive. Especially considering how little it has actually been running. The system has spent at least 70% of the time collecting copious amounts of dust instead of engaged as a Flight Simulator. So many planes, so little time. Oh well I have already bought a replacement 500 gig Raptor drive in case I need to do what you have suggested. The 150 gig was getting a little crowded but I hadn't intended on this happening for a reason to use it. Thank you for your interest and assistance with this problem. The experience has been educational if nothing else.