Pc # 2 Starts, Then Windows 7 Doesn't Load

PC # 2 Starts, then Windows 7 doesn't load. All I get is blank grey screen with small flashing point (not a (>) in left top most corner. Checked all hardware including key board.
Tried starting with with "Rescue' disk and System Recovery disk.
No joy - Hitting "Enter" on start-up shows all BIOS settings, meaningless to me.

Usually run all night (doing D/L). PC#2 was shut down in morning. may have been power blip (happens sometime) but other than that have no clue why it can't find and load Windows 7 on start up.
Help.

 

Try unplugging, hold the power switch, count slowly to 30, plug back in and try to boot.

Supposed to be a method for older laptops but I've done it recently on a Win '7 desktop. Even got in trouble since the wife had just powered off, then powered back on a few times during my work day. I tried the above and it cranked right up.

 

Thanks for trying to help. Still no joy. I'm been pressing various keys to see if i could get the machine to do something and along the way I stumbled upon a statement that said something like "no name for start up." I got it to show me all the BIOS settings and one I tried was "Reset to Default Settings" under heading of STARTUP. Nothing seems to work. Usually before Windows starts a screen comes up that allows you to either Normal Start, Safe Start, etc. I don't even get that screen. It goes directly to a blank screen with the little cursor light flashing (not a > input cursor).
The "Recovery" disk I made years ago when I first got the machine as it told me on first startup, doesn't do anything although the drive appears to read it.
I don't think I've lost Win7 on my hard drive, just the code that loads Win 7 STARTUP.
The machine can't find the Win 7 O/S. It's a Lenovo, so I don't have a disk with Win 7 on it. It came already on the hard drive.
But who knows what happened and how to fix it.
Any suggestions that doesn't involve a hammer?

 

You're calling this PC#2. You have #1? You can make a startup repair disk on a different pc.

 

Thanks. Yes! I have four PCs (2 Win7 and 2 XP). Where on PC#1 would I find the directions to make a startup repair disk? I thought of that but didn't know you could do it on a different PC.

 

I googled and got this.

===================================================
How to create a recovery disk?
Create the disk as a CD/DVD

Open Control Panel.
Go to Recovery.
Click on Create a recovery drive.
Click Next.
Click Create a system repair disc with a CD or DVD instead to create the disc as a CD or DVD and not as a USB flash drive, at the “Connect a USB flash drive” screen.
==================================================

There is no "Create a recovery drive" to select.

 

I’m at work and only have this iPhone. I think I found it before on the bottom left of a recovery page.?

 

Found it. Thanks. Created disk. Also created repair disk for Source Forge.
The damn machine will not read either disk. The drive flashes like it's reading but the machine seems to be ignoring it.
Tried putting in disk and then power up machine and power up machine and closing tray with disk. No joy.
The only thing it will let me do is press F1 on power up and shows me screens of BIOS settings (I think they are BIOS settings). Tabs along the top that let me go from screen to screen.

 

I did. They boot fine. I might try the other. I'm 82 and been using PCs since they first went on the market. I think this is starting to wear me down.
I might take to a local repair shop who has a great reputation and have him fix it.
I think it was caused by Windows never ending Updates (if it ain't broke, don't fix it) a power blip caused an interrupt and then tried to reboot. By then Windows had lost it's way.

 

All you suggested failed. I'm going to quit trying and take it in tomorrow.
Thanks for all your suggestions and patience.

 

I'm hoping they will stop updating Win7. That's why I never upgraded to 8 etc.
I bought a chromebook for my wife. What a disaster. Never could get it to work like a ordinary computer. Even bought the recommended printer but never got it to print. Finally sent it back for a full refund.

 

And that's why I have turned off updates.

 

Wonderful. Didn't know you could turn off updates. I went to Control Panel ->Windows Update ->change settings and set it on "Never check for updates"
Will that stop them?

 

Correct.
Also... Services > Windows Update > Disabled.

 

Microsoft policy, revolving around the release of W10, seemed to change dramatically around 2015-16. I noticed it too, and I quit updating W7 on the one desktop machine I updated regularly. I think that was around March of 2016. I don't update any of the rest of the machines, except the one laptop I own, which is fully updated.

Thankyou for the information and the link. The instructions on blocking telemetry linked from the post main contained some new information that I had not seen previously. I disabled a few things in Performance monitoring.

After double checking everything, so far, in spite of updating constantly, no telemetry on this laptop has been re-enabled by MS by an update. I have an older free version of Spybot Anti-Beacon that shuts off most telemetry and refreshes with every boot, but I had added Group Policy disable rules for good measure. However, I am keeping that link for good reference thanks to Evernote...

 

PC#2 is in the repair shop. In the meantime I thought I'd try #3 (WinXP) on-line. Up to now I only did some multitasking (disk burning etc.) on #3 &#4.
On-line with XP is a struggle. When Windows dropped all support, many applications did the same. The most obvious is FireFox. Oracle seemed to be OK. Some web sites are flaky and I'm very conservative with my browsing.
Anywho, I was thinking that maybe I should up-grade #3 and #4 to Win 7.
Is there anyplace on the Internet where I can D/L a free copy of Win7 and use it to get rid of XP on those two machines?
If that would be "illegal" then I'll pass. Don't need that hassle/exposure.

 

I know how to use 7 and it is the most popular O/S worldwide. So I don't plan to change. As suggested I've stopped the up-dates.
I would be willing to try Linux. How do I get it and how large (Gb) does the USB stick need to be?

 

I tried and was unable to get past the https://unetbootin.github.io/ D/L.
I got a .bin file and didn't know how to use it.
I recall trying to use a version of Linux about 10 years ago and found that to me it wasn't novice user friendly, very tech user friendly.
Thanks for trying to help me out, but I think at this point I'm just going to wait for the repair shop to revive my #2 PC and see if I can get back to where I was before it crashed and burned.
I don't use my PCs much anymore. Emails, maybe with an image file attached. That's about it. Most days I don't even bother to boot them up.
I've been retired now for as long as I worked (30 years for IBM) and I've drifted into the slow lane.
The Major Geek folks, like yourself, have saved my bacon more than once over the years and I thank them all for that.

 

From the first link in post #22, click
Download
(Windows)

 

One week and $100 later I got PC#2 back from the shop. The tech had no idea how it happened but told me that Win7 was severely corrupted. I told me what i said previously in this thread. Power blip during Win7 up-date during the night. As suggested I have turned of "up-date on ALL my Win7 PCs.
He loaded a another version of Win7 and saved all my files and programs. The machine runs exactly like it did before the "crash and burn" except for my vera crypt. I D/L the current version and it works just as in the past and I was able to access a remote USB that contained over 900 Gb of encrypted files.
Two annoying problems for which I'm waiting a call back from the shop tech.
1. When ever I boot up, it immediately asks for the registration numbers, which I don't have. So down in the extreme right corner just above the task bar it tell me that the version of Win7 is not genuine.
I assume that the registration number are similar the VIN on an automobile and it's tied to the machine not the Win7. I have not idea how to get the registration number. Reas some place that it is on a label along with Model #, etc. but that doesn't seem to be the case. It's a long number. Also I'm concerned that if i key in a wrong number Windows will shut done my version that is not genuine, As for me I don't care if it's genuine or not as long as it keeps running like it has been.
2. When I got it back from the shop the background was solid black (extremely annoying) so I used "Personalization" in Control Panel to put "My Picture" in the background just as I had with PC#1. It lasted about 30 minutes and then went back to all Black. After 4-5 tries I've given up. It wants to be Black. Maybe because it's not genuine.
And the beat goes on. If the shop tech returns my calls and either of those probems are resolved I'll post a follow-up.
Thanks again for you interest and willingness to try and help.
Major Geeks is still my "Go to" tech assistance.

 

The black Desktop is because Windows is not genuine.
Go back to the shop and tell the tech to fix it.

 

Shop is 3/4 hrs drive one-way.
I looked all over the outside of the machine and found a little label that said Registration #
Magnifying glass and flashlight let me write down the 25 numbers shown on label.
Keyed them in and voila! Win was happy (so I was happy). No more warnings and the Black background is done.
Thanks Eldon

 

Good for you.

Keep the Product Key in a safe place!

I'm guesstimating the tech used a pirated copy to repair Windows and then stupidly keyed in that product key.