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General discussion

Windows 7 Disk Boot Failure

Jan 16, 2013 6:01AM PST

Hi,

I am running Windows 7 32 Bit Home Premium, and at random times the PC will shut down and come up with the BSOD. After I try to boot up the computer I get a message saying 'Disk Boot Failure Insert system disk and press enter. Most of the time the only way I can get it to boot up is if I open up the case and disconnect the hard disk and dvd drive and reconnect them. On the initial screen after pressing the power button, it'll take a while before it detects IDE drives. If I don't disconnect/reconnect them, then at the initial screen it will sit at that screen and will not detect any disk/dvd drive.

Does anybody know a proper solution without having to disconnect and reconnect the hard disk/dvd drive as I think that this may not be a good idea? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

*Other notes
- I have 4gb of ram (3.21 usable) and 10 mins after booting up, my PC will be using 1.20gb of ram and I have only opened the web browser.

Discussion is locked

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What PC is this?
Jan 16, 2013 6:06AM PST

There are many reasons for such a failure but I can't tell if it's something we've seen before.

The drive reconnection could be a good clue but I can't find make, model, age, and if you tried it with the cover off and a fan pointing at the PC.
Bob

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Re:What PC is this?
Jan 16, 2013 6:20AM PST

Hi,

I used the dxdiag tool and it came up with the following

------------------
System Information
------------------
Time of this report: 1/17/2013, 08:12:14
Machine name: SMOK3-PC
Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 32-bit (6.1, Build 7600) (7600.win7_gdr.120830-0334)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.
System Model: G41MT-D3
BIOS: Award Modular BIOS v6.00PG
Processor: Pentium(R) Dual-Core CPU E6500 @ 2.93GHz (2 CPUs), ~2.9GHz
Memory: 4096MB RAM
Available OS Memory: 3292MB RAM
Page File: 1771MB used, 4811MB available
Windows Dir: C:\Windows
DirectX Version: DirectX 11
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
User DPI Setting: 120 DPI (125 percent)
System DPI Setting: 96 DPI (100 percent)
DWM DPI Scaling: Disabled
DxDiag Version: 6.01.7600.16385 32bit Unicode
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Also, I am running said PC at the moment after reconnecting with the case opened and a fan facing it, and after 45 mins it is using 1.28gb of ram now. I have had the PC since 2011.

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Windows uses ALL available RAM.
Jan 16, 2013 10:29AM PST

You will encounter folk that want to see FREE RAM and well, you wait for them to figure out that free RAM is wasted RAM.

OK, the machine looks typical. If you do your own work, power down, remove power and replace the CPU HEAT SINK COMPOUND. Along the way you'll be checking for dust and working fans as well as if the heatsink is on proper as you button it all up.
Bob

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what about the following methods...
Jan 18, 2013 5:03PM PST

1.recover your system if you have backup before...
2.if you don't want to take a recovery, you can try to update the drives
3.create a bootable disk and boot your computer from the disk, then fix the issue with the software.
you can find kinds of softeware enable you to do this from the internet. I recommend Windows Boot Genius.
or you can also reinstall your windows 7 to fix it.