Windows 7 won't boot!

I bought a rebuilt computer a year ago, used it once, shut it off and now it won't boot. I have done a lot of searching and for the last 2 days feel like I am getting somewhere, but now I have hit a dead end. I have made 3 different rescue cds and 2 found nothing, but with the last one, avira antivirus rescue cd, the results came back with 3 alerts....
[unexpected end of file]/media/devices/sda2/windows/system32/catroot2/edb0048.log
and 2 others ending 0049.log and 004A.log
My question is how to I get rid of what ever is causing this so i can get into windows. After it wouldn't boot, I contacted the person I had bought it from and he said that there wasn't any virus protection at all on the computer. That would have been nice to know before I shut it off. I feel like a dummy because I didn't know this before. Before I did the rescue cds, I was in the "infinite startup repair loop" and the first time, I got corrupt registry as the root cause, then I did some research on that and used cmd to copy and I think I fixed that cause now I get a baddriver as a root cause. Please, can anyone help?

 

Which OS are you using?

 

all I can seem to get is OS Version 6.7.760.2.1.0.256.1 I dont know if that tells you alot.

 

I made a repair disk for windows 32 bit and it read it. So assuming others are right, since it read it, it is the 32 bit version of windows 7. Sorry, just thought about it.

 

From the repair disk have you gotten to the list of five options? Can you try a system restore? http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tutorials/system-restore-from-windows-vista-recovery-environment/

 

yes. i have gotten to those options but now it freezes when i do command prompt. Do you know how to enable system protection? i believe that's what it says when i try to do a system restore it says that I have to enable that before I can select drive c for the system restore. I am at my wits end lol.

 

What did you do at the command prompt to try and fix the corrupted registry? Just a basic idea is all I need.

Just as a quick check try hitting F8 without the CD at boot up. From the safe mode options try Last Known Good Configuration and see if that does anything.

 

wish I could, there is no option for last known good configuration. What I have done so far....
The first thing I did was try to fix the corrupt registry. I used the cmd *.* copy using mybackup then i restarted the computer. I am assuming that worked because I got a new root cause...bad driver. And to fix that I have have tried these cmds...
cd\windows\INF
notepad setupapi.app.log
regedit
then i went in and tried to set the driver to 4 which disables it I guess. In the log the only driver that seems to be giving me problems is this....
[DIF_SELECTBESTCOMPATDRV-PCI\VEN_14E&DEV_1677&SUBSYS_ (it goes on with more numbers and letters but that's all I wrote down. ) I typed offline when I loaded the hive and set the data value of that drive to 4. It doesn't seem to be working. In the instructions it said to continue doing this until it boots. Well there are no other drivers other than the ones absolutely necessary to boot. The computer has no programs downloaded. It was used one time, and it was used to surf the internet then shut down. I know it's malware but I can't get it off. Now avira is saying it's the catroot2 folder and it has some corrupted files. Do you know what I would need to do to fix these? Delete them using Command Prompt and put in new ones?

 

You are doing stuff that is above my knowledge. So I'm not sure what is going on.

A bad .log file should not cause any problems. Unexpected end of file might just be a corrupted file.

You could just rename the catroot2 folder to catroot2old and see if that makes any difference.

You could try chkdsk C: /r at the command line to see if it finds any problems with the filesystem.

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Curious F8 doesn't have last known do you have the usual Safe Mode, Safe Mode with Networking, VGA mode etc. but just no Last Known?

 

Yes...that's what I forgot I knew I did something else. I did the chkdsk c multiple times (not back to back) and each time is says there are no know problems. And to answer your other question, the only options I get from the boot menu are booting from different drives, partition utility, memory diagnostic and one other shoot cant think of it, but yeah, there's no last known. sucks. And about renaming, I don't know how using cmd. I haven't done anything like this in over 10 years, the other things I did, I was just following steps that I found on the internet. So no there's not safe mode, safe mode networking. None of those.

 

Renaming would just be rename catroot2 catroot2old

To get to the folder would be a matter of using cd to change directories/folders. The folder you are in is reflected in the prompt name. (You don't use cd to change drive letters but just driveletter and colon. So if you are on X:/Windows/Tools then C: and hitting enter would get you to the C: drive.)

Then cd windows and hit enter.
Then cd system 32 and enter
Then rename catroot2 catroot2old

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I know a very few computer manufacturer's use F8 to get to their utilities but I think it is worth playing with timing to try to get to Windows F8. Try hitting it repeatedly during the BIOS/POST screen. But also try waiting to the very end of the BIOS/POST screen before hitting F8 to see if it just might be there but the timing is off. Last Known would try to load an old copy of the registry which would be valuable if at all possible.

 

You were so right. F8 wasn't an option, but to no avail, I tried the options, and got the same, it just shut down and restarted. Except for one, I got this STOP: c000021a {Fatal System Error} Status of 0x00000000 (0xc00000001 0x00100400). No idea what that means. I want to say I was doing the debugging option when that happened.

 

o and it said cd windows, cdwindows, cd \windows, cd /windows, all are not correct paths. I tried all different kinds of alternate ways and got the same.

 

I'll look into the system restore error--most likely it was never turned on so no restore points were ever created. With the changes to the registry, I really am unsure what we are dealing with and doubt I will be much help. You said you copied your backup--how/where did you have a copy of your registry?

Changing directories is fairly simple.

Your prompt indicates your current directory. So if prompt is C:\> you are in C:. If C:\Windows> you are in Windows folder.

If you start from the recovery CD you would have a prompt like X:\recovery tools>
to change to the C: drive you would just type C: at the X:\recovery tools> prompt which will change your prompt to C:\>.
Then do the cd commands from the C:\> prompt.

Then cd windows and hit enter.
Then cd system32 and enter
Then rename catroot2 catroot2old

If your starting prompt is different than X:\some folder name> lwt me know what it is and I'll help navigate.

If from the C:\> prompt cd windows does not change you to C:\Windows> prompt then do a dir command at the C:\> prompt and let me know what you see. (Don't need a full list of files but a few might be helpful if no WINDOWS directory is listed)