My PC is not booting past windows screen.

JordanN

I got back home and wanted to start working on some 3D stuff. All of a sudden, the whole computer froze and I shut it off.

Now it's refusing to boot past the windows logo.

I'm currently using safe mode but that's not good enough (3DS Max wont load here and it's all low res).

I tried looking for some solutions online but they don't have my issues (my hard drives still work, but I can't press "f8". And no system restore).

Really annoying time for this to happen. :poly127:

AtticusMars

Try system restore or windows repair

JordanN

Restore is not working for me. It says there are no restore points.

I don't know about windows repair. I don't have any disk on me.

JedTheKrampus

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/681-startup-repair.html

As long as you can't boot into anything but safe mode it wouldn't hurt to run Malwarebytes on it too.

JordanN

I have no blank disks right now.

I did run a malware bytes. It picked up 35 files but said they were non-threats.

throttlekitty

What all happens after the windows logo? Just goes black? Beep? Computer still running? Does the screen appear normally up until it stops or are there artifacts? Any recent changes in software or hardware?

You're most likely having a hardware issue, maybe failing hardware, PSU/power, drivers, or overheating. If it crashes at login or before desktop, I'd suggest starting with the video card, replace it with a spare if you can manage it.

edit: forgot about the safe mode part, which could be drivers. What OS?

Fwap

I had this the other day on my laptop, dead hard drive.
But you can get into safe mode which is weird.

Got a windows disc? pop that in and try boot from the cd drive, do a repair that way?

JordanN

throttlekitty wrote: »

edit: forgot about the safe mode part, which could be drivers. What OS?

Windows 7.

What I found out was, if I go into Msconfig and disable all the services/startup, I was able to get past the Windows logo and log in.

I tried troubleshooting but... it's too tedious. I tried loading only the Microsoft services and it still crashed. There are too many boxes to check off. :poly127:

I also tried disabling all the microsoft services and enabling the autodesk/adobe services but it crashes too. :poly127:

Fwap wrote: »

Got a windows disc? pop that in and try boot from the cd drive, do a repair that way?

My computer asked me to do a system repair and I said yes. Midway through the repair, it crashes. :poly127:

The Hard drives are still normal. I can move stuff and load programs.

Also, no windows disc.

repete

boot to safe mode and look at your Event Viewer/administrative events

if it's a software problem it will be listed there.

Xolo

JordanN wrote: »

if I go into Msconfig and disable all the services/startup, I was able to get past the Windows logo and log in.

I tried troubleshooting but... it's too tedious. I tried loading only the Microsoft services and it still crashed. There are too many boxes to check off. :poly127:

Troubleshooting one by one seems your best bet, but indeed tedious. Maybe figure out what services you need and only activate those. If the problem persists only troubleshoot those one by one. If it turns out you needed a service after all you can always restart it (right click computer, choose management, services can be stopped and started there on the fly)

this list seems useful in determining what you need.

nyx702

Could be hardware related. A bad stick of ram can cause all sorts of crashes. Try taking out all your ram and put one back in, start your comp, see if it crashes, if not shut down and put another stick in, rise repeat. Might as well pull the GPU out too while you are in there. Unplug all USB, network cables and everything but your mouse and keyboard. Strip it down to the bare bones to make sure its not hardware first.

Does it BSOD or just black when it crashes? If it BSOD write down and google the error code.

throttlekitty

JordanN wrote: »

Windows 7.

What I found out was, if I go into Msconfig and disable all the services/startup, I was able to get past the Windows logo and log in.

I tried troubleshooting but... it's too tedious. I tried loading only the Microsoft services and it still crashed. There are too many boxes to check off. :poly127:

I also tried disabling all the microsoft services and enabling the autodesk/adobe services but it crashes too. :poly127:

Try poking around in the Event Viewer logs: right click "My Computer" > Manage.

Or try enabling half of the microsoft services then reboot. If it works, then flip to the other half. If it crashes then, disable half of that set, and keep going until you have it narrowed down. I've never had to do this with services, let alone the microsoft ones; but if they're at fault you're still going to need to run a repair. Looks like you can do it with no disc:

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-system/how-can-i-repair-windows-7-professional-without-a/2d484164-fa74-45b6-9a8f-f7018a75327e

peanut™

This happened to me once, it turned out that i installed an automatic mouse clicker (200 click each min) so i could play a game while i was AFK. The clicker accidentally clicked the Mootools polygon manager on my desktop and it crashed ALL HD on my machine. Everything was zapped, i wouldn't pass the booting logo, i tried every recovery/fix/mem cleaner under the sun, nothing worked.

I had to reformat. I lost everything

JordanN

Here's an update, the problem is a lot more complex.

1. It turns out disabling the services doesn't work anymore. Basically, it still freezes at the windows logo even without them.
2. I also have to keep the services on to access the internet in safe mode. It's the only way I'm communicating right now. Double edge sword.
3. I tried running repair but it just freezes.

I'll remove the hardware as a last resort. There were no BSOD (but I did get a black screen at boot but only sometimes).

repete wrote: »

boot to safe mode and look at your Event Viewer/administrative events

if it's a software problem it will be listed there.

Unfortunately, when I check the events, it only lists one problem (the internet connection).

peanut™

Don't bother playing with it, buy a new HD install it and dump everything (jpeg, gif, avi, docs, *.obj) on it from the safe mode.

Reformat the troublesome HD.

Voila!

JordanN

The biggest reason why I didn't want to do a reformat is because of my 3DS Max and Mudbox license.

I got a student license back in 2013 and I don't think there's a way to transfers those or re-license them.

This is such a shame. My computer works in safe mode so it's not that any of the hardware appears defective. But trying to log in normally just causes everything to freeze and all my system repair/restore options freeze as well.

shaderfx

If you are still a student, then its all free for you now:

http://www.autodesk.com/education/free-software/3ds-max

JordanN

I have one more question.

How am I suppose to reformat when I can't get past the windows logo? Could I just insert the Windows disk and when it boots would it reformat?

Also, do I have to use the same OS? Since my computer is Windows 7, do I have to buy another Windows 7 or can I reformat with Windows 8.1?

peanut™

What Windows version are you under and how many HD are connected to your machine ? under windows 7 on my machine i only have to boot with the Win7 DVD in my machine and reboot.

Windows 7 will load and reformat from the startup.

peanut™

"Also, do I have to use the same OS? Since my computer is Windows 7, do I have to buy another Windows 7 or can I reformat with Windows 8.1?"

There is no problem with installing 8.1 ... you need to make sure that you pick "boot from disk" in the BIOS.

JordanN

Windows 7 Ultimate Service Pack 1 - 64-bit

I have 1 Solid State Drive and 1 Hard Disk Drive.

There is no problem with installing 8.1 ... you need to make sure that you pick "boot from disk" in the BIOS.

Thank you. I'm going to try this tomorrow.

JordanN

Bumping this again with just one more problem.

I bought the new Windows OS but I can't install it. I haven't used my DVD drive for years and I lost my cable for it.

Luckily, I had a picture saved of my computer before I disconnected my DVD drive.

See the yellow circle? What's the name of this cable? I need to buy the replacement so there's power.
The purple circle is the blue cable I have and it's connected to the DVD drive. But it has no power.

m4dcow

JordanN wrote: »

Bumping this again with just one more problem.

I bought the new Windows OS but I can't install it. I haven't used my DVD drive for years and I lost my cable for it.

Luckily, I had a picture saved of my computer before I disconnected my DVD drive.

See the yellow circle? What's the name of this cable? I need to buy the replacement so there's power.
The purple circle is the blue cable I have and it's connected to the DVD drive. But it has no power.

I don't see your image right now, but it is probably an sata power cable.

JordanN

Never mind, I finally figured it (there were SATA cables in my PSU).

It's finally over! The reformat is complete. My life can return to back to normal.

Thank you everyone who helped me in this thread!!!!!!!! :):)

JordanN

Holy crap, another crash. This time, when installing AMD Drivers.

Luckily this time, system restore actually worked

peanut™

The wire (2) you are showing is simply called a pin or powercable.

The wire (1) is called an IDE cable.