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Question

Windows 7 boot problem

Sep 8, 2015 3:43PM PDT

Ok so I was on my laptop when everything slowed down and just stopped, so I rebooted my laptop, and when I started to boot windows 7, It didnt load. But after 10 seconds it tried loading recovery files, after that finishes it shows a older windows loading bar and just black screens, nothing. Do I just need to reboot??? Or is it something worse???

Discussion is locked

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Answer
Any other detail? Make, model, HDD make, age?
Sep 8, 2015 3:50PM PDT

Over the past few weeks similar failures on client machines. All needed a new HDD. Cheap to fix but many folk can't swap in a drive to test. Try booting up some Linux Live DVD/USB for a look at the HDD contents. There are bootable non-destructive HDD test discs but without make/model I can't tell which you should try.

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Details
Sep 8, 2015 4:01PM PDT

Its a dell laptop, studio xps 1647, about 3 years old, samsung hdd, but hdd is newer, about 4 months. Also left the computer sit at the black screen for a couple, now its the normal windows log in backround with the mouse, but nothing else

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Either a failing HDD or corrupted OS.
Sep 8, 2015 4:04PM PDT

Since it's a new HDD, swap in the old HDD for a test run.

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Old hdd
Sep 8, 2015 4:10PM PDT

Ok so I booted the old hdd..... and the same thing occurred, never had problems with the old hdd ever

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This is not good news.
Sep 8, 2015 4:16PM PDT

Be sure no USB things are plugged in.

Try again.

Still dead? try a Linux Live CD/DVD/USB. Many out there and it seems this is discussed daily. No we are not changing to Linux, installing or such. We only want to see if Linux complains.

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Linux
Sep 8, 2015 4:23PM PDT

Linux wouldnt even boot. Just wouldnt load off the usb device, and there are no usbs plugged into the pc

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(NT) You did burn the ISO "image" to the usb?
Sep 8, 2015 4:35PM PDT
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That sounds very bad.
Sep 8, 2015 4:39PM PDT

If you can make it to the BIOS, set the BIOS to defaults and one last try before the repair counter.