Windows 7 unresponsive in Normal boot mode

HI!

I have tried to seek advice for this problem on other tech websites; however, nobody has been able to give me any advice on how to fix this problem besides reinstalling windows. There has to be a better way.

The problem occurred a few days ago. I was watching a movie on my computer, per usual, and I fell asleep. When I woke I realized that my computer froze. I did a hard reset and when the computer restarted it was unresponsive. My cursor is constantly in an hour-glass and ctrl-alt-del doesn't work either.

I then booted in safe mode and the computer works fine. I noticed that several Windows updates had been installed that day so I uninstalled them. This didn't solve the issue. So I began disabling drivers in hopes that would fix it. This didn't work either.

I went into event viewer and saw that I got several errors that day which read: The driver detected a controller error on \Device\Ide\IdePort0.

There has to be a way to find out what the specific problem is. The computer works fine in safe mode...

Any help would be great! Thanks.

 

Welcome to Majorgeeks

"The driver detected a controller error on \Device\Ide\IdePort0" points a finger at a hardware problem, probably with the motherboard. If that's actually the case, no amount of reinstalling any Operating System is going to cure it - but, if you reinstall Windows and the problem is resolved, the error message would have been inaccurate.

If this is a case of Windows subsystems inaccurately laying the blame, a repair install of Windows should put any driver-type issues right, though not optimized, and the PC is likely to function correctly.

 

I don't even know if that is the actual issue. I just noticed the error and posted to provide as much information as possible. Is there anyway to troubleshoot this?

 

Describe exactly what happens when you try to boot into normal Windows please, be as accurate as you can, any clues at all may be of some use.

 

When I boot in normal mode the computer is unresponsive once I log in. My cursor remains in the hour glass and even ctrl alt del doesn't work. But when I boot in safe mode everything works great.

I wasn't doing anything to the computer when this happened so I don't know what went wrong. Also, my computer doesn't have any restore points (odd) so I can't do a system restore.

Safe mode prevents a lot of things from booting. Something it's preventing is the cause of the problem. How do I trouble shoot from here?

 

I learned nothing new from that.

How about using MSconfig, has that been suggested before?

Or uninstalling the IDE/ATA drivers from Device Manager? This might lead to a complete lockup though - try rolling them back.

 

One quick thought is if it didn't do a chkdsk after the hard shut down try doing that to make sure it isn't causing an issue.

Computer>right-click C: drive and select Properties>Tools tab>Error Checking. Leave only the first box checked or if you want to be extra thorough check the second box (second box adds at least 20 minutes for Stage 4 which may not be necessary). Hit check now and it will schedule for next reboot. Reboot, let it run and see if any change.

 

That's the only information I have.

MSconfig has not been suggested yet.

 

Do the Chkdsk as recommended by sach2.

If that doesn't work, study this page, do a clean boot.

Report back.

 

Greetings, lthebmanl...

Interesting symptoms. If at all possible, could you list the Windows Updates that might have been the cause?

I think sach2 and satrow are on the right track: the fact that Safe Mode runs well indicates that, at least hardware-wise, your machine is salvageable...

You might consider burning a Linux distro and booting to that disk - not only might you be able to recover any data that you wish to save, but you'll also be able to run the machine through some paces to test the hardware.

 

I did a check disk leaving only the first box checked. It seemed to have worked at first, but the computer becomes unresponsive shortly after booting up in normal mode.

I then tried to perform a clean boot. I was able to get into my C drive's properties and get to the tool tab; however, I was unable to "apply" the changes and schedule a scan on reboot. So I started the computer in Safe Mode and went through the same steps. This, also didn't work.

I then went back and scheduled another checkdisk, this time leaving the second box checked. The computer keeps freezing at 17%. I don't know if it necessarily freezes but it doesn't move after 30 min.

If I get the scan to complete I will look up what recent Windows updates were installed.

 

Gentleman!,

I believe that long checkdisk worked. I let the computer run over night and I woke up to my log on screen. After log in I was notified that my computer had installed windows updates. I checked and saw that the previously uninstalled updates were installed again. However, this time my computer seems responsive, but slow. I've been cleaning up cashed files and I'm about to do a system defrag. Any other suggestions to get this thing running a little faster?

Thanks again for all your help!

 

I spoke too soon. It's still unresponsive.

 

Not so good, time to revisit post 10 and get the data off there to be safe.

Then some hardware diagnostics. There are some tutorials over on Caliban's site that may come in useful too.

 

I made sure to backup all the important data on the computer.

Satrow:

Those links you provided were not helpful. I ran a hardware diagnosis which found no issues.

I don't think it is a hard drive issue. I can access all the data on my computer in safe mode. The computer works normal in safe mode. Is there a list of items that are prevented from starting in safe mode? I could possibly eliminate potential causes that way, seeing is how whatever causing the issue is clearly not running in safe mode.

 

Try going to the Start/Search box and typing in msconfig and hitting <enter>.
In msconfig window go to Services tab and check the box in the bottom left for "Hide all Microsoft Services". Then click the Disable All button to disable all the remaining services.

Start in Normal mode and see if you still have problems. If it runs better then you want to go back to msconfig and start enabling the services individually and rebooting into Normal mode to figure out which one is causing the problem.

 

I believe I have tried that once before. I just followed the steps you suggested and all items listed are noted as "stopped." When I unchecked the "Hide all Microsoft Services" I noticed several items still running. I'm curious if I should try stopping any of those services; however, I am uneasy about "stopping" some of them. Each running program's manufacturer is "Microsoft Corporation." The specific items are as follows"

TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper
Windows Firewall
Microsoft Antimalware Service
Network Connections
Network List Service
Network Location Awareness
Network Store Interface Service
Power (this one scares me)
RPC Endpoint Mapper
Windows Management Instrumentation
WLAN AutoConfig
Windows Driver Foundation - User-mode Driver Framework

I should note that this list is from msconfig in safe mode. I'm not sure if the list would be different in normal boot mode.

 

Sorry, I didn't realize Satrow had already had you do the same in an earlier link. I hadn't looked at this thread in a while.

No, I wouldn't disable any of those Microsoft services.

I'm really not sure what to tell you. Perhaps, you should reconsider a fresh install.

 

I'm trying to prevent a reinstall of windows. I have expensive software installed that I no longer have access to.

I'm convinced that there is a way to solve this issue. The computer works fine in safe mode which means that safe mode is preventing whatever is causing the issue from starting.

 

If you're convinced that the problems are being caused by some 3rd-party drivers and/or programs, then sach2's suggestion should be sufficient. It's time consuming (especially if you take the time to thoroughly test each step), but the procedure is pretty much fail-safe and practically guarantees that you'll find the culprit...