Windows 7 Start Up in Safe Mode - need diagonstics

Several days ago, I downloaded the Windows 2013 install iso file (licensed) and installed it on my dell 64-bit system. Once it was done, I was prompted to reboot, which I did, then I went to bed.

In the morning, I saw that the Starting Windows logo was on the screen, where the reboot had gotten stuck. I used Safe Boot to get to an earlier restore point and got back in. I tried re-installing Office 2013 again, which was dumb, and had to repeat the whole Safe Boot thing again.

So, I seemed to be safely in the restore point where Office 2010 is working properly, and nearly everything else is OK, too. But I again had a problem starting windows again after a reboot, even though Office 2013 is not installed.

I am now logged back into Windows in normal mode and want to do the appropriate things to clean up, which probably includes doing some sort of registry clean up to clear out vestiges of Office 2013. Or, I may have a virus.

Another symptom, by the way, which I read about in another post, was a problem reading WMV files, which seemed odd. In that post, the problem was related to a Microsoft Windows update.

What are some good procedures and tools to use now, while I'm logged in to windows normally, to clean everything up so I can reboot normally again?

Thanks!

 

Thought I'd update what I've done since my original post:

-- Ran Windows Defender
-- Ran CCleaner
-- Ran McCaffee spyware check
-- Ran MS Fixit (to check for installed programs)

All came back clean and MS Fixit found no remnants of Office 2013 that needed deleting.

I was going to run MalwareBytes but I had to download an update first that will require a reboot.

BEFORE I REBOOT AGAIN, I want make sure I have tweaked anything I can first with the hope that the reboot will successfully take me into windows.

Should I attempt to install any outstanding windows updates first? And if so, should I first turn off firewall/virus software?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

Unfortunately, rebooting after running my various registry cleaners software did not solve my problem. Upon rebooting, Windows will not load and is stuck at the Starting Windows logo.

The only way out is to power down and launch using the Safe Boot (F8) Repair Your Computer option. From there, I let the system search for problems and repair, but it does not succeed. Then, I reboot again, use Safe Boot, and select Last Known Good Configuration. This takes me back a couple of days but I have been able to log into windows normally then.

So, I'm stuck and don't know what to do next.

Any advice is most appreciated.

Thanks!

 

Hello cmullin...

Is this the same thing as the installer for Office 2013?

Just trying to clarify what originally happened...

Also, were you using an uninstaller like Revo or Comodo Programs Manager to remove Office 2013 the two times you removed the program? I see you ran System Restore. Is that how you've been removing MSO 2013?

 

Hi AtlBo:

I really didn't do anything explicitly to remove Office 2013, which actually worked briefly until I rebooted. Instead, Office 2013 was removed as a result of using System restore.

At this point, with no Office 2013 files existing as far as I can tell, I am still unable to reboot and the successfully log in to Windows. I'll do another Safe Boot a bit later tonight just to get into Windows again but something is clearly wrong and it feels like either a botched MS Windows automatic update or a problem in the registry.

Any prescriptions would be most welcome.

Thanks!

 

cmullin...

Please correct me if I am wrong. You had no problems, then you installed Office 2013 and subsequently ran System Restore to remove it and get back to the previous state with Office 2010. Now you have a on again off again problem with your boots?

I guess it would be good to start with which version of Windows are you using and which A-V?

If you have Windows 7 or 8, chances are this kind of thing will work itself out over time with boots. Windows performs a fairly broad variety of scanning and repair (error correction) during boots if you have one of those two versions.

To start, I think I would after the run Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware. Download it here if you don't have it and see if it turns up anything:

http://www.malwarebytes.org/

If it does, follow instructions to get rid of what it finds and reboot if asked.

Next run a chkdsk /r:
1. Open the Start Menu and click on the Computer button on the right dark side.
2. Right click the hard disk drive that you want to check, and click on Properties.
3. Click on the Tools tab, and click on the Check now button under Error-checking.
4. On the menu select below, and press start
A) Check the Automatically fix file system errors box.
B) Check the Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors box.
5. Schedule for the next boot and restart the computer

Warning
Once the Disk Check scan starts, DO NOT STOP the scan to prevent possible damage to the data on your hard drive.

Take a look at the chkdsk report. If it fixes anything, save the report in a folder on your desktop, zip it, and attach it to your next post. Here is how to find your chkdsk report:

http://janetalkstech.com/2009/windows-tip-of-the-day-viewing-your-chkdsk-report

Are you still having trouble playing WMV files? Also, do you have the link mentioning the update as potentially the problem? It would be great if you could post it.

 

Hi AltBo:

I'll get back to my computer later tonight and run malwarebytes and provide you with whatever I find.

I'll send you my exact Windows version an ?? A-V ?? (sorry, don't know what A-V means.)

I am having trouble getting back into windows, though, even using various Safe Boot options, which of course I have to do to run malwarebytes, etc.

I'll keep you posted.

Thanks!

cmullin

 

cmullin...

OK, when you have the chance. A-V is short for anti-virus...

You can run Malwarebytes in regular Windows...just in case you didn't know...

 

OP can't boot into normal mode.

@OP, have you tried a clean boot?
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929135

 

I don't seem to be able to log into windows at all now using any of the safe boot options. There are only three system restore points available, all within the last few days, and after trying to recover to any of those points, the system displays an error:

Failed - unspecified error during restore (0x8000ffff)

This means that I cannot execute any application, like malwarebytes, nor do a clean boot, as Adrynalyne suggested. I cannot even get to a command prompt.

As recently as yesterday, I was able to push my way into windows using some combination of safe boot options but at that time I had access to a restore point dated 5/1/2013. My only available restore points now are 5/2 and 5/5.

Is there any other way to get to windows now? If I could access a command prompt, would that do me any good?

I am using Windows 7 (Home edition, I think)

Thanks for your help!

cmullin

 

It turns out that I have two recovery discs that I must have made a couple years ago after acquiring this Dell Inspiron. What do think about these instructions I found in another forum:

If you have the Windows 7 disc, start up the computer and hit F12 to boot off the DVD. Go into the recovery options, choose "command prompt" at the bottom.

Type "C:" without the exclamation marks and hit enter
Type "dir" and hit enter
Make sure the directories look like your C: drive, there should be the Users, Windows, Program File folders etc. If it is not right, try D:, E:, etc.

Once you know you are in the right drive, type "chkdsk /r" and hit enter. It will do a full check disc which will take about an hour.

After it is done, type "bootrec.exe /fixboot" and hit enter then "bootrec.exe /fixmbr" and hit enter. Reboot and try to boot into safe mode first.

I won't go this route till I read your feedback.

Thanks!

 

cmullin...I would say go for it at this point. You can't check for malware, so run the chkdsk /r. Perhaps it will repair your boot sequence, so you can have access to Windows.

Just a note to kick around. Back I think last month there was a bad update from MS for Windows 7 that they asked everyone to remove. Not that it's important at this juncture, but I wonder if it could have something to do with these problems? I guess not likely...

From MS:

 

Hi AtlBo:

It turns out that I CAN get to a command prompt after all so I decided to run this command with the hope that the output would be available in a text file:

C:\chkdsk /r > chkdsk_results.txt

If I get a usable file, I'll see if I can zip it up and send it to you.

Is there anything else I can try from the command prompt? I was thinking of trying to run malwarebytes but I'm not sure that would work.

Thanks for your help

 

You should be able to run mbam from a command prompt. Using the command prompt, you will have to change directories to get to the C:\prompt:

If your prompt looks like mine in XP (C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator) you will do this to get to the C:\ prompt (type these):

CD C:\Documents and Settings (enter)
CD C:\ (enter)

, then type:

CD Program Files (enter)
CD Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware (enter)
mbam (enter)

Sorry, I've forgotten which version of Windows you have. You can run an sfc /scannow. Just type sfc /scannow at the command prompt, but I would run the chkdsk /r first...

Yes, if you have a report just attach it to your next post...

 

Hi AtlBo:

I ran chkdsk and have attached the results. (I simply copied these from the dos display to notepad.)

Here are the results from scannow and malwarebytes, neither of which were able to execute:

scannow

X:\windows\system32>sfc /scannow

Beginning system scan. This process will take some time.


There is a system repair pending which requires reboot to complete. Restart
Windows and run sfc again.



malwarebytes

C:\Program Files (x86)\Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware>mbam.exe
The subsystem needed to support the image type is not present.


You'll see in the scannow log that I was prompted to reboot to complete a system repair. But of course when I try to boot normally, I get stuck at the Starting Windows screen. So I logged in again in safe mode, repair, command prompt, ran scannow again with the same results.

So, perhaps there is some fix in place that just won't instantiate because I cannot properly reboot.

By the way, as I was getting up to speed again with dos commands, I learned about PowerShell. That looks promising as a tool to assist with these sorts of problems but I can't get the shell to open.

Let me know if you have any ah ha moments after looking through the chkdsk log, which seems skimpy to me. Is that all there is?

Thanks again for all your help.

cmullin

 

cmullin...

I would say this would be the ideal time to back up your files. Do you have a bootable rescue disk? If not, you will need to have access to a PC with a burner, so you can burn one and then boot to the disk and use the features there to move your files to a remote drive. I'll post a recommendation, but do you have the ability to copy and paste files? I see you can't open them, but if you could boot to Safe Mode and then copy/paste your important files to a removable medium like a USB thumb drive or hard drive, it would spare you the need of a recovery disk for now.

Here is information on a good boot/rescue disk I have used:

http://falconfour.com/projects/7

http://falconfour.wordpress.com/tag/f4ubcd/

https://www.facebook.com/F4UBCD

This is obtained using a torrent, so you will need a torrent client (obviously on another PC). The developer has chosen to distribute the program via torrent. Don't let that put you off, it was recommended to me by one of the most trusted members here.

Long term, you should have something like the above, and it is a very good tool. It will give you access to your files so you can move them and then also many tools for running repairs on your system. Just burn the .iso to a CD/DVD and you are ready to go. The MiniXP program is the one to use that will give you access to all the tools in FalconFour.

On to your situation. Looks like you are really stuck here. You may need to see if you can run your restore disks. If you had a copy of your version of Windows (i.e Windows 7 Home or Premium and a working key (to be safe in case you would need to reinstall Windows)), you could run a repair installlation, and it might work for you. As mentioned, whatever is next, you will need to back up your most important files first.

If you have to run the restore disks, you will have to reinstall your programs, so there isn't any point in trying to rescue your programs with a backup. You could backup C:\Users and I think that will give you your Windows 7 settings. Of course the only way you will be able to run a back up will be from a rescue disk, although a copy/paste would accomplish the same thing if you can do this in Safe Mode.

Maybe someone else knows of something you can do. No executables will run on your PC, even using the command prompt. Chkdsk /r didn't repair the damage. System Restore doesn't fix the problem. To top it all off, sfc /scannow can't complete...

:major

 

AtlBo:

Wow! I've never been slammed this hard before.

I have most of my files already backed up redundantly on two separate 1 Tbyte drives, including most of my downloaded files, which include installable programs and other iso files. I'll double-check the contents on this laptop I'm using before I attack my desktop, which is a Dell Inspiron 620 64-bit machine.

You'll recall that in an earlier post, before I realized I had access to a command prompt, that I had two recovery disks that I apparently burned shortly after acquiring the Dell.

I will also download and burn the Falcon iso file.

I'm inclined to use the bootable disc that I will make from the downloadable files you recommend, rather than my rescue discs, especially since they come with a number of helpful tools.

Never having done this before, do you recommend that I use the bootable tools you're suggesting rather than my rescue discs? And once I get underway, am I given options to cancel?

What I'm preparing for, I think, is a reinstall of my Windows 7 OS. After that, I can begin reinstalling applications, including ironically, Office 2013, which may have started this whole mess but will probably install fine now.

Does this mean that Windows updates have to be downloaded / reinstalled?

Just want to get an idea of what to expect.

Thanks again for your thoughtful advice.

cmullin

 

cmullin...

If you are going to reinstall Windows 7, the FalconFour rescue disk is just a little bit of insurance. It gives you the opportunity this time and in the future, if something goes wrong, to save any files that you would like to have the latest copy of, etc.

As for using the FalconFour bootable tool to repair your current installation of Windows, I think you have exhausted all your options when the sfc /scannow didn't finish. However, you can use the rescue disk to go in and take a look around on your main drive and make sure you have everything you want to back up before you run the Windows installation. You could also run Memtest and various hard drive tests using the disk, but I don't think you need to go this route at this time...

Definitely if you have a copy of Windows 7 you can install, I would use that over your rescue disks...if your rescue disks had Microsoft Office on them. Installing Office 2013 over Office 2010 would seem to be somewhat of an inexact science.

Since you are going to reinstall Windows, I recommend downloading and installing Comodo Programs Manager as soon as the installation is finished. It records program installations and does a much better job than Windows of removing them. If you have it onboard first, it will capture all of your program installations.

Keep us updated on how everything goes getting reestablished...

 

Hello AtlBo:

OK, I understand my options better now. (I've successfully downloaded the Falcon iso, etc.) I'll get myself organized and get things going in the next day or two. I may have other questions along the way. Otherwise, I'll keep you posted on how it all goes.

I've already learned a lot and am almost looking forward to the whole process.

Thanks again for all your help.

cmullin

 

No problem...

The great thing about the rescue disk is that at the first hint of a problem, you can use the disk to run just about any tool in the book to repair the problem. When you get problems, sometimes you only have a boot or two into Windows to get it fixed before the PC freezes during the boot, but the rescue disk eliminates the need to go into Windows to run repairs and diagnostics. So using the rescue disk, you can get your most recently saved files if necessary and then work on saving an installation that isn't fully broken, since you didn't have to boot to Windows. It's alot of peace of mind I guess I would say...

heres to smooth installations of 7 and MS Office...

 

cmullin...

Just playing around with the FalconFour rescue disk. You can run Malwarebytes, SuperAnti-Spyware and other malware programs in mini XP. Right click on the tools icon in the system tray to see the different kinds of software you can run. When you start Malwarebytes or Hijack this, just ignore that it says it won't work. They do work...

 

Hi AtlBo:

I'm back into Windows now after using my Dell recovery DVDs.

I considered the few ways to finally attempt the recovery, and opted to try the recovery disks that I had made after originally setting up my Dell. When I did that, the Dell recovery system prompted me to save whatever I wanted into some location. It was a bit of overkill, since I had already copied over any important data, but I let Dell do that backup to a directory on my C: drive. (That took a few hours and resulted in about 124 Gbytes of compressed backup files. Like I said, a bit of overkill.)

Then, the Dell recovery system restored back to factory specs -- Windows 7, along with all the stuff it included originally, most of which I'll be removing shortly.

I then decided to see what I could do with some of the tools included on the FalconFour USB drive that I had prepared, but that confused me. (More about that in a moment.)

I downloaded Malwarebytes, ran it, and came back clean. (After doing some more cleanup and installs, I'll run it again and would be happy to send you logs, if you like, in case you see something I should know about.)

The Comodo application is very cool and I can't wait to use it to continue cleaning out unwanted programs and generally manage things.

By the way, Dell installs McAffee so I have that running.

Dell bundled MS Office 10 with the factory install, (that I originally activated with my MSDN license) and it's now sitting in an unactivated state. I'm going to completely uninstall it and then attempt to install MS Office 2013. If that kills Windows again, then Ill know I have a bad install, but I don't think that will happen. During my troubles, I had actually gotten Office 2013 working briefly before Windows died for good.

If the Office 2013 install is successful, and the reboot is clean, and all diagnostics are clean, then I'll continue with re-installing other software and copying over my data. I'll also dump that 124 Gbytes of backup files that I don't really need now.

So, the FalconFour tool is very slick and I barely understand it. Clearly, this is a very powerful set of tools for savvy repair folks, and if used incorrectly, could probably wipe things out. Even so, it would be great if you could guide me a bit about accessing Mini XP. When I try to launch it directly from my flash drive, a command window is displayed warning me that I shouldn't be running it on my target computer. In any case, even when I ignore that warning, I do not get any other window or options.

Finally, I appreciate your help and guidance and am much more confident now about what can be done the next time disaster strikes.

Thanks!

cmullin

 

cmullin...

It does pay to take the time to set things up the right way. Really great you were able to use those disks to get a clean installation of Windows 7.

About FalconFour, did you get to the point where you see the menu with MiniXP as a choice and then the choices other than minixp (like 5 or 6 diagnositics type programs)? So you burned the iso to your flash drive? MiniXP is a mini version of xp and has over 100 tools installed on the FalconFour disk. The developer just stripped it down XP and added the tools...all free tools, such as MBAM, MemTest, etc. I have seen one mention of legal issues to do with another disk called Hiren's. I didn't take the comments seriously, because there hasn't ever been any legal action against the creators of these disks. That's because the MiniXP program is not intended to be used for over 24 hours. May not be it exactly, but apparently there is some sort of protection along these lines protects the developers who have used MiniXP. I guess it could be MS added something to the boot of Windows 7 to stop the use of MiniXP. Apologies it wouldn't run for you. Anyway, in this case, your Dell disks did the trick for you. The only thing is it's nice to know you have the tools to check a hard drive or RAM if a machine is acting up and won't fully boot, etc.

The Comodo program won me over too. You're going to have the benefit of having all your programs being monitored. That's really nice. I installed it about 4 months ago, but only some of my programs are being monitored. I have too many to try to install them all.

Hope the Office installation works this time for you. Who knows what went wrong, but it's safer to install 2013 after removing 2010, I agree.

Having some sort of recovery disk is the key to salvaging data when things really go wrong. Glad you were able to get yours.

If you have access to a Windows XP PC, perhaps you could try FalconFour on it and see what happens. Works great on mine, and it would be interesting to know what's going on there...

 

Hi AtlBo:

My Dell had been working fine since I "fixed" it after restoring from my restore discs, and I've loaded most of my applications along with my data. All was well until earlier this evening, I blue screened while working with my video editing application, Cyberlink PowerDirector 11. (It's a CPU hog but I don't think it's the direct culprit.)

I powered down then powered up the computer, got into Windows just fine, and continued with my work, then blue screened again.

I'm logged back in again and ran malwarebytes, which came back clean. McAffee also comes back clean, as does PC Tools Registry Mechanic.

Here is the windows report about the blue screen event:

Problem signature:
Problem Event Name: BlueScreen
OS Version: 6.1.7601.2.1.0.768.3
Locale ID: 1033

Additional information about the problem:
BCCode: 116
BCP1: FFFFFA800ABB8010
BCP2: FFFFF88003B1E2CC
BCP3: 0000000000000000
BCP4: 0000000000000002
OS Version: 6_1_7601
Service Pack: 1_0
Product: 768_1

Files that help describe the problem:
C:\WINDOWS\Minidump\051913-22620-01.dmp
C:\Users\Charlie\AppData\Local\Temp\WER-89466-0.sysdata.xml

Read our privacy statement online:
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=104288&clcid=0x0409

If the online privacy statement is not available, please read our privacy statement offline:
C:\Windows\system32\en-US\erofflps.txt

I'm hesitant to try doing any more work until I run some more diagnostics since something is clearly wrong.

Any ideas would be most welcome.

Thanks!

 

cmullin...

Sorry got busy. How is your PC?

 

Hi AtlBo:

Thanks for getting back to me. My PC seems fine now, after I ran a utility that handles automatic driver updates. There were 18 drivers out of date. After that completed, and I rebooted, the system seemed healthy again.

(Sometimes it seems I have more "fixing" software than "real" software. That's just life in the PC lane.)

Still, it's always helpful for me to know what more experienced folks recommend for keeping my system clean. Which reminds me, I still want to try to dig into FalconFour again to get to those tools. (I don't have ready access to an XP machine, but when I do, I'll check it out there, too.)

Thanks in advance for any advice.

cmullin

 

cmullin...

I know what you mean about tools. If you think W7 requires tools, XP is even more difficult to rig...by a fairly large margin. The thing with XP is you know going in that you have no tools, so you can just go get them without thinking about what you will need :-D. Not to promote XP, but I am not in any hurry to upgrade at this point. If I get a new PC I might consider going to XP 64 bit, so I can add more RAM memory, but I think that's the extent of upgrading XP for me.

Let me know if you get the FalconFour CD running. Any boot rescue type CD you can come up with will be a big plus to have...